D.C. is a bustling and right now, very chilly city. I feel like everyone loves the city for a different reason, and I've really fallen for its diverse and intellectual environment. I'm not sure there is any other place in the world where people are so into a 5-page "quizzo" that is harder than most college exams at the 4 Ps bar, or people are more excited for the night of the State of the Union than for St. Patrick's day. It took a while to get adjusted to the city, but lately I've grown very much in fondness for it. Here are some of my favorite places in D.C.:
The Newseum:
They have an excellent Pulitzer Prize winning photography gallery that is truly amazing. I warn you most of the photos are really emotion and depict horrible events from history so it can be somewhat depressing. But the exhibit has the stories behind every photo and also a video running with interviews from the photographers that really adds to the already moving photography. I highly recommend spending at least an hour or two in this one exhibit. The price of entry to the Newseum itself is pretty steep (around $20/person I think) but the pass is good for two days and the rest of the exhibits are really cool as well—they have a piece of the Berlin wall, a 9/11 exhibit, international exhibit, and Hurricane Katrina exhibit. You could spend two days easily exploring this place. Totally worth it.
Kramer Books & Afterwards Café:
Hands down the best bookstore in D.C., for people who are connoisseurs of such things. Although the café part is a bit pricey the food is great. And the best part is whenever there is a wait at the café -which is pretty frequent during busy hours, including brunch on the weekends- you can just browse through books to keep yourself occupied. It’s a little tight in there since it’s a small space and is almost always crowded, but the selection is truly amazing. It’s like an avid reader went through the hundreds of thousands of books housed in Barnes & Noble or Borders and picked out the only ones truly worth reading, and these are the ones that make an appearance at Kramers. That is so helpful because I love going to bookstores just to browse for new finds, and there is always something worth reading that I’ve never heard of at Kramers. They really cater to the international crowd and have the books categorized well, which makes it easy to find the things you’re interested in. And the deserts from the café are amazing. And I believe they are open 24 hours on the weekends. Can’t say enough good things about this place.
Tryst Café
Okay so I know pretty much everyone my age loves or loved the television sitcom “Friends”. And I’ve always wanted to find a place to hang out with friends and have a coffee that was exactly like Central Perk from the show—somewhere you can put your feet up and really relax on nice comfy couches to pass the hours socializing or reading. Well—here it is! Right in the heart of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. The atmosphere lends itself to chatting and relaxation, with a big bar (for coffee and alcohol at night) along the wall and lot of couches and big tables set up just right for customers—the space is fairly large but it’s almost always crowded, which is the only downside. The place is just offbeat enough, without being overboard with the original paintings and clever names for dishes. Their food is decently priced and they feature a large breakfast and lunch menu to go along with your delicious latte. The only problem is, being in Adams Morgan, it’s not accessible by metro! This is the kind of café I wish was right across the street from my apartment.
Bistrot du Coin
We just discovered this delicious French restaurant in the heart of Dupont Circle—the glowing pink Christmas tree above the front door and the packed tables on a Tuesday night indicated this was going to be a good find—and it was! For a French place the prices were cheap, the menu was really diverse and had lots of options, and the steak frites were amazing. Definitely would recommend—they even sell decently cheap wine by the bottle.
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