🚀 go-pugleaf

Elliott Coates asks:

>What's really good on Penn from second to 4th and how about 7th across
>from Eastern Market?

Proceeding eastword, let's visit the culinary highlights of my 'hood:

-- On First Street SE a couple of blocks south of Pennsylvania Avenue, 
HEAD'S serves great barbecue and wonderfully large portions of draft 
beer. Beware, however, of their Saturday-night buffet, at which time they 
refuse to serve their specialty unless you ante up for the rip-off trough 
treatment.

-- A few doors down, the venerable BULLFEATHER'S has what might be the 
best specialty burger in town, the Bull Burger, which includes cole slaw, 
thousand-island (some call it "Russian") dressing, swiss cheese and fried 
onions. Other than that, above-average bar fare.

-- On Second Street SE just south of Pennsylvania Avenue is LE BON CAFE. 
It's strictly a breakfast/lunch place with (inconsistent) counter service 
and rather high prices, but it's very nice for a light weekend breakfast. 
Try the cafe au lait (the best coffee in D.C., served in ceramic bowls a 
la francais) and perhaps a toasted baguette, or poached eggs on farm 
toast. The sandwiches at lunch time are quite imaginative, but that's 
where the prices start to get a little ridiculous.

-- BURRITO BROTHERS in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue serves 
excellent, huge, cheap "California-style" burritos. They're messy and the 
"dining area" is practically nonexistent, so stick to carryout here. The 
roast-pork burrito is especially good, and ask for extra salsa (it's 
wonderful salsa -- lots of cilantro). 

-- LE MISTRAL, further down the block (upstairs from CAFE LE MONDE), is 
perhaps the best "fancy" restaurant on the Hill. Very good French fare, 
very nice atmosphere. Definitely for special occasions.

-- TAVERNA THE GREEK ISLANDS at Third and Pennsylvania is great for 
either sit-down formal, sit-down bar service or carryout (downstairs). 
Stick to the gyros or other informal stuff, as the bill seems to climb 
quickly otherwise.

-- THE EMERALD ISLE in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue has a few 
delightful surprises among the bar food -- goat cheese on toast, steak 
and eggs served all day. And there's Guinness on tap. Lousy atmosphere 
and it's hardly Irish (the proprietor is named Enrique), but it serves 
its purpose.

-- MARKET LUNCH, at Seventh and North Carolina Avenue in Eastern Market, 
serves the best breakfast and lunch in town. The fresh-baked bread makes 
for dandy french toast or ham-and-egg sandwiches at breakfast, and at 
lunch the crab cakes are incredible. Be sure to specify "homemade" bread. 
Atmosphere note: This place is the OPPOSITE of Le Bon Cafe; it's like 
eating in a warehouse. And the lines on weekends are daunting.

-- LONE STAR CANTINA on Eighth Street SE just south of E Street is perhaps
my favorite place on the Hill. It's Mexican in the Rio Grande Cafe/ Cactus
Cantina mold -- the grilled fajitas, while not strictly Mexican, are by
far the best thing on the menu, and like Rio Grande and Cactus Cantina
this place fries up its own tortilla chips instead of presenting you with
Tostito's fresh from the bag (as the overwhelming majority of D.C. places,
some of them otherwise wonderful, do). Very good salsa as well, though
they have an annoying habit of *heating* it. I used to love Las Placitas
(across the street), but this place is so superior I hardly ever go back
there. One caveat: The service isn't the best, particularly if you're
heterosexual (don't be too put off by this, but the place does tend to
cater to gays). 

That was just a sampling . . . I'll be happy to defend my omissions.

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*    BILL WALSH, Washington, D.C. . . . . . bwalsh@access.digex.net     *
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*                          I'm just a Bill                              *
*                        Yes I'm only a Bill                            *
*                And I'm sittin' here on Capitol Hill                   *
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