Top 5 Spots to Eat and Drink in Washington, D.C.

Good morning, friends! If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know Matt and I spent the weekend in D.C. with my brother and his girlfriend, Amanda. Although I had anticipated writing a full D.C. travel guide, we were limited in what we were able to do because of the government shut down. Instead, we ate our way through the weekend, and this foodie has never been happier! Because I’m not a food expert, I’ve teamed up with the amazing Amanda from Into the Mixing Bowl (@intothemixingbowl) to share our Top Five Spots to Eat and Drink Your Way Through D.C.

District Winery

District Winey is an urban winery and event venue in the heart of D.C.’s Navy Yard along the Anacostia River. It is a fantastic place to catch up with friends and spend a relaxing afternoon. They offer three different wine tastings: Seasonal ($14), Winemaker’s Choice ($14), and Premium Custom Tasting ($16). In addition, they also offer a tour that explains how they source their grapes and other aspects of urban winemaking. This tour is only $35 and includes a seated wine tasting and a wine glass to bring home. After your tasting, you can stop in their attached restaurant for a bite to eat. The restaurant offers a set menu and rotates specialties daily so there’s always something new to try! If you can’t make it to D.C. to try this winery, their sister winery is located in Brooklyn, New York.

The Palm

The Palm is a high-end, family-owned steakhouse that has been in operation since 1926. Their doors first opened in New York City between East 44th Street and East 45th Street and have now expanded to 24 locations, including two international locations in Mexico. The Palm offers individual entrees with family style sides. Our personal favorite sides included the lobster mac & cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts. The Palm also offers an extensive wine listing and a variety of unique cocktails. For more simple drink options, we went with a classic margarita and Moscow Mule, and they did not disappoint.

A unique feature of the restaurant is the 837 club. To join the club, there is one time $25 registration fee that earns you membership and a $25 gift card towards your next purchase. As an 837 Club member, you receive Club points every time you make a purchase as one our the Palm restaurants or at the online store. As points accumulate, you can redeem them for a variety of rewards. Probably the coolest award comes after 15,000 points are achieved – you not only get a $1,500 food reward, but you also get a caricature of your face painted on the wall of the restaurant of your choosing, including an unveiling party.

Quinn’s on the Corner

Quinn’s on the Corner is a sports bar in Rosslyn with some seriously bomb brunch options. They are famed for having the longest brunch in Arlington, which lasts from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., as well as $1 champagne on Saturday and Sunday. They have various deals throughout the week including $0.50 wings on Monday, Free Taco Tuesday (with the purchase of a super mug), and trivia on Wednesday. Quinn’s has a unique love for pickles, offering their famous pickle back shots all day long. Plus, instead of bringing bread to the table at the start of the meal, they bring popcorn sprinkled with chili powder! If you don’t plan to watch whatever game is showing that day, Quinn’s also offers free board games that you can play at your table.

Ragtime

Ragtime is a cozy neighborhood restaurant and bar located in the heart of Court House. It has a Louisiana style flare and is a perfect stop for drinks and snacks or a full meal. They offer a variety of events throughout the week including trivia on Tuesday, comedy on Wednesday and live acoustic music on Friday and Saturday. On Sundays, they have a waffle and omelet buffet brunch for $14 featuring sausage, home fries, bacon and more of your brunch favorites. For an added cost, you can also enjoy a bloody mary bar.

You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu, but our personal favorites are the heaping nachos (which really are heaping!) and chicken fingers. For brunch, we recommend the lobster cake benedict, which is delicious and a great deal at only $13. While they have a large selection of cocktails, most with out of the ordinary names, a personal favorite is the Moscow Mule. This drink is specially made with Ragtime’s own homemade ginger beer.

Baked and Wired

Baked and Wired is a family owned coffee shop and bakery located in the heart of Georgetown. Everyone knows Georgetown Cupcake from the TLC show, but in all honesty, we personally prefer Baked and Wired over Georgetown Cupcake. Each and every one of their small-batch baked goods are prepared from family recipes with cupcakes big enough to split. Their dirty chai cupcake is heavenly and my personal favorite! Another popular summer treat offered are their ice cream sammies! They have six different varieties, made with homemade ice cream and cookies.

The shop also has a separate coffee bar, where they offer coffee to drink in the shop and take home! If you are only stopping by for coffee, make sure you skip the line and go straight to the coffee bar, as it usually doesn’t have a line. You can take your sweets and coffee into the back of the shop where there’s a plethora of tables and couches, perfect for getting some work done or catching up with friends. The quirky shop is located on a side street off the well-known M street so it can be easy to miss. Even with the tricky location, the line can extend well outside the shop and down the street, so we recommend going early!