Hey all, I'm going to be traveling to Washington DC on memorial day weekend. I was hoping i could get some advice on places to visit with good beer selections and good food. I know I will be going from museum to museum, but want to have a few good spots to stop for food and beer. Thanks for your help!
Churchkey is probably the best beer-wise. The food is good too, but it's also one of the best beer bars in the country so it's going to be packed on weekends. RFD is fairly close to the museums. It would be a straight shot up 7th (less than a mile) from the National Mall. Decent tap and bottle selections. Typical sports bar type food. They do a shit job of keeping their tap menu updated on their site though.
Iron Horse on 7th (a block or so south of the Verizon Center) is pretty good for beer as well, but they don't have a kitchen. I agree on Churchkey - it is often super busy on weekends, but it's maybe a twenty-five minute walk from that area on 7th, and it's worth the walk.
I know you'll probably be shocked to hear this, but this isn't the first time your questoin has come up. :-) http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/dc-for-2-days.64712/#post-923095 http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-dc-march-13-15th.63991/#post-875911 The latter thread itself contains several prior "visiting dc" threads. Have fun.
Sorry, I just figured out how to search within the Mid-Atalntic section and found all the previous posts regarding D.C.. Hope i didn't annoy by reasking. I was previously only seeing results for Washington state. However, if I could add something... I'm looking for a good Gastropub or something similar, creative and good pub food, vegetarian options a plus (for my wife). Also, any really good brunch buffets in the area for Sunday. I like to end any vacation with a classy serving tray of bacon and eggs benedict.... Any reccomendations there would be awesome!
Churchkey, Rustico, Pizza Paradiso, Meridian Pint, Belga Cafe, Brasserie Beck... all those places should easily fill the bill for you in terms of good and creative food. Also, most DC restaurants are pretty considerate when it comes to vegetarian customers, and most of the places I mentioned will have at least several vegetarian options on the menu. I don't know how familiar you are with the DC dining scene, but while there are plenty of places where you can get great food with a great beer selection, prices in DC tend to be a bit on the high side. If you go to places like Churchkey or Brasserie Beck, be prepared to drop some serious coin there as well. I'm sure someone else can chime in and provide suggestions for a great buffet place in town. I'm not really into that all that much myself, so I can't really help you there. Good luck.
Brunch buffet = Smoke and Barrel BBQ Farmers, Fishers & Bakers is a good brunch buffet option as well
Its a little touristy Old Ebbet grill has one (love the oyster bar). All depends on where you are staying and area, there are plenty of good restaurants..
Take a look at this guy. You can really hone in on a specific location in your beer search. You mentioned museums, so Chinatown might be the first place to look. http://www.dcbeer.com/venues
Honestly, Birch & Barley, located just below Churchkey and owned and operated by the same people, would be your best bet. Just make reservations as both places are uber-popular and uber-busy!
I will go against the grain here. Tourist time near White House, Hay Adams Off the Record (okay selection, pricey, cool), Old Ebbitt (good food, okay selection), W rooftop (BMC at $8 per, paying for the view), and Willard outside (8 great beers). Drinking time? Taxi from Dupont Station to Bier Baron, taxi back prior to 9pm unless you are cool with acting out gay (which you may be, no judging, but I mean acting out), Pizza Paradiso, Big Hunt, then metro to Chinatown for RFD, and Matchbox for late dinner. Or, drinking time, metro to King Street Old Town, free trolley all the way to the river, drink your way back up for a decent selection at the O'Connells, Pizza Paradiso, Warehouse, Murpheys, Red Rocks, anywhere else you pass that looks fun. Jump back on the trolly once drunk to return to station. You can go north two blocks for Bilbo Baggins, but otherwise do not go off King. There is a welfare area that is hard to spot but not tourist friendly once you go a few blocks west of Baggins.
Logan Tavern has a good brunch (no buffet though), and decent beer selection. Stoney's next door has a good beer selection as well. And Whole Foods is right across the street which has a very nice beer department. http://www.logantavern.com/index.lasso http://www.yelp.com/biz/stoneys-bar-and-grill-washington If you're headed to Chinatown as others have suggested (and I second!), the Portrait Gallery is a nice museum to check out. Iron Horse, as mentioned, is good (but doesn't have food). Matchbox usually has great beer, and a nice brunch option (fantastic pizza/burgers too). Last I checked, Proof had a good beer selection as well - despite being a wine bar. These places are all in Chi-twn, within a block of the Verizon Center. http://www.npg.si.edu/ http://matchboxchinatown.com/ http://proofdc.com/
