All Things D.C., Vol. 2: The Best of Washington

Posted by Blake the Megalomaniac (Follow Me)- Blake the Megalomaniac is a graduate of Virginia Tech and now lives the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. - To see more posts by this author click here

Here are some of the Washingtonian’s and their reader’s picks. Godspeed.

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We’ll begin with the Best Deli Sandwich. American’s eat something like a zillion sandwiches a year, no joke. Therefore, the act of chef’n up quality fare in the form of bread, meat, and cheese is vitally important.

Best Deli Sandwich:

Deli City Restaurant (220 Bladensburg RD., NE)

Eli’s Restaurant (1253 20th St.,NW) – I’ve eaten here and it’s a strong choice if your on or around 20th.

Chutzpah (12214 Fairfax Towne Center; Fairfax, VA) – I shop at the Safeway grocery in Fairfax towne Center but have never eaten here, only driven by it. Now, I have a reason to check it out. The snippet in Washingtonian on Chutzpah reads, “…does justice to the genre with a hefty corned beef redolent of cloves and cinnamon–a perfect combo with spicy mustard. The pastrami plays it shyer cousin, with a pleasant taste but no real punch.”

Parkway Deli (8317 Grubb Rd. Silver Spring, MD)

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I rarely meet people when I’m out. I don’t if it me and my
self-loathing personality or if it’s all the yuppie, self-important
types around here. Either way, the next listing should spark debate.

Best Places to Meet Singles:

Rumors (1900 M St. NW) – As one of my writers put it, “It’s like a Fairfax bar in D.C.” Take that for what’s it worth.

Marvin (2007 14th St., NW) - I did a google search on “Marvin” and clicked on the first return that popped up. The Washington Post cityguide described it as a lounge named after Marvin Gaye. Out of 53 user reviews, its average rating was 2 out of 5 stars. Maybe Washingtonian Magazine is missing something.

Local 16 (1602 U St.) – From the creators of Marvin, Washingtonian brings you Local 16. Does this magazine have a vested interested in these places or are they both credible places to meet people? (Note: Local 16 is also featured in Washingtonian’s most overrated nightspot list) You tell me because I’ve been to neither. Check em out.

Food for thought’s pick: Coastal Flatts on Thursdays strictly (Fairfax Corner), Velocity 5 (Falls Church), Buffalo Billiards (Dupont)

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I don’t seriously watch local news so I couldn’t speak on whether Doug Hill of channel 7 was better at weather than Bob Ryan.

Best in Local Media:

Elliot Segal (DC101) – It reads, “For the second straight year, shock jock Elliot Segal of DC101 radio topped the balloting for best local radio personalty and also for most annoying.” Annoying is about right. I can name 9 radio personalities off the top of my head who do as good or a better job than this misfortunate placenta. But my views on radio have been well-documented. So we’ll move on.

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I rarely eat brunch but for those of you who do, try these on for size.

Best Place for Brunch:

Tabard Inn (1739 N. St., NW)

Georgia Brown’s (950 15th St. Nw)

Whitlow’s on Wilson (2854 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA) – I know Whitlow’s is an average time at best on Friday and Saturday nights but now that I know they have more to offer than a clusterfuck’ish bar scene, will make me check their brunch game out. But in the name of convenience it will have to be following a night where I slept at a random hook-up’s place in Arlington — I’m not driving from Fairfax to Arl for brunch, c’mon.

Food for thought’s pick: Fireside Grill (Lorton Towne Center)

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Best New Bar Game:

RockBand, if you didn’t know then now you know.

Play Rockband at the Reef (2446 18th St., NW) on Tuesdays and Hard Times Cafe (14389 Potomac Mills Rd. Woodbridge, VA)

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Best Sightseeing:

Capital Segway (1350 I St., NW)

DC by Foot (dcbyfoot.com)

DC Ducks (Union Station 50 Massachusetts Ave., NE)

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Best and Worst of the Rest:

Best BBQ: 1. Red Hot and Blue 2. Famous Dave’s 3. Rocklands
Best Place for Vegetarian Food: 1. California Tortilla 2. Sunflower 3. Lebanese Taverna
Best Dive Bar: 1. Dan’s Cafe 2. Tune Inn 3. The Big Hunt
Best Wine Bar: 1. Proof 2. Cork 3. Sonoma
Best Place for Sushi: 1. Sushi Taro 2. Sushi-Ko 3. Kaz Sushi

Restaurant not Worth the Wait: 1. Cheesecake Factory 2. Lauriol Plaza 3. Tie; Matchbox, Outback
Overrated Bar/Nightspot: 1. Smith Point 2. Local 16 3. 1223
Worst Metro Line: 1. Red 2. Orange 3. Green
Worst Airport Security Lines: 1. Dulles 2. BWI 3. Reagan

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Sound off with your picks. Let everyone in on Washington’s best. udothedishes…