Washington, DC has a special place in my heart. I first lived there in the Summer of 2006 during my internship designing the Penthouse Apartment at the Ritz Carlton. Having previously lived in Manhattan, I came to realize that DC was exactly my pace. A global city full of art, culture, and food but on a much more manageable scale and y’all, it’s incredibly clean. Really, for a large global city, it is pristine!
The second time I moved to DC was in 2012, soon after the Hubs and I got married. I received a job offer to relocate and we were both ready for a new chapter after having been in Dallas for years. We rented an apartment in the up and coming Navy Yard neighborhood but quickly realized that Capitol Hill was where we wanted to be. When you’re a local you say you live “on the Hill” – meaning the entire neighborhood of Capitol Hill, not the Capitol building itself. The Hill was full of historic row homes, beautiful gardens, quaint restaurants and charming tree lined streets – we felt right at home. After living there for 7 years and having the twins, we moved to our home state of Texas but absolutely love going back to visit DC.
I recently (November 2021) went back for a weekend to see friends and walk down memory lane – it was my first time back since February 2020 when the world stopped due to the pandemic. If you haven’t been to DC before, I’m so excited for you to experience it. Go into this trip as you would London or Paris or Rome – think architectural beauty, GREAT food, and so many places to explore.
DC is a global city full of history, but it’s also where people open small businesses and raise their families, and those are the vibrant gems that make this city who it is – dynamic, warm, lovely – which has absolutely nothing to do with politics. You can easily spend an entire week in DC and not see everything, but if you want a quick weekend trip to dip your toe into the nation’s capitol here are my tips for a stellar time:
Friday Night – Hotel Check In, Dinner and Drinks
Check in to your hotel and freshen up for a night out. If it’s your first time to DC, I would recommend staying in the City Center area as it is – well, central! It’s a great jumping off point to head in any direction in the city. Easy to catch a Lyft/Uber, catch the Metro at either the Chinatown or Metro Center stations, but also very walkable with loads of restaurants nearby. Best of all, it’s only a 10 minute walk to the White House and 15 minutes to the National Mall.
If you’re splurging on a nice hotel, I highly recommend The Conrad. It’s gorgeous and the service is top notch, a true luxury hotel experience. If you’re looking for a more budget option, try The Moxy. It’s still a great location and has nice, modern rooms but is much more affordable. They also have a fun lobby with games and hang out space, so if you’re staying with a group it’s a nice choice as hanging out in the lobby feels like hanging out in someone’s apartment. There are loads more options for hotels to stay nearby but these are two I have stayed in myself and would personally recommend.
For your first night dinner I’d recommend eating in City Center so you can get acclimated to the neighborhood. Centrolina is one of my favorites, you can’t wrong at this restaurant led by James Beard nominee Chef Amy Brandwein. You can sit at the lively bar to socialize, cozy up in a corner table for two or dine al fresco in the loveliest alley seating you could imagine. Afterwards grab a cocktail at either Fig & Olive, The Riggs, or Denson (go down the unassuming stairs for that speakeasy vibe).
Saturday Morning – Breakfast and Stroll Eastern Market
Before you dive into the National Mall and standard tourist to-do list, please go submerge yourself in the neighborhood of Capitol Hill. The thing I love to tell people the most about DC is forget your disdain for politics and go interact with the people who actually call the city home and no, they are not all in politics.
If you’re an early riser, you can grab breakfast at Jimmy T’s before it gets packed- a hole in the wall joint where the servers are salty and Cynde cooks everything herself (her Dad James opened the restaurant in 1969). It’s cash only and classic diner food. We took the twins here every Saturday for breakfast when we lived here, the waitstaff and Cynde and other regulars became our weekend breakfast family.
If you’re looking for something with a more elevated vibe, or a great Bloody Mary, try Ted’s Bulletin. Classic breakfast dishes, killer homemade pop tarts and boozy milkshakes in a 1930s vibe space. They definitely can build up a wait so I recommend getting there early.
After breakfast, it’s time to stroll Eastern Market. Our first row home on The Hill was right across from Eastern Market and it’s maybe my favorite place we’ve ever lived. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, 7th St SE between North Carolina Ave and Pennsylvania Ave, comes alive with craftsman, farmers, and artists all setting up tents to sell their goods and small talk with the neighborhood locals. The brick Eastern Market building on 7th St SE has been in continuous operation since it was built in 1873. If you want to build out a picnic, go inside and talk to the Cheese Guy at Bowers Fancy Dairy Products. They will let you taste as much as you like to make sure you get the perfect cheese for your palette. Grab a baguette from the bakery vendor and some olives and cured meats from the deli. The open air market goes on for blocks so definitely enjoy taking your time to explore!
Saturday Afternoon – Explore The Mall
You probably did a bit of shopping at Eastern Market, so head back to your hotel to drop your goods and put your feet up for a bit before heading out to the National Mall for monuments, museums, and general splendor. There is so much to see on The Mall, so have a game plan ready of what you want to see most and group it by proximity.
I’d recommend breaking up your time depending on the weather forecast. If you have great weather this afternoon, do the Memorials today and the Museums tomorrow. I’d recommend starting at the Washington Monument, cross 17th Street for the World War II Memorial, then walk along the Reflecting Pool to see Lincoln. Follow that to the Vietnam, Korean, and MLK Memorials then walk along the Tidal Basin for FDR and end with Jefferson – which has a stellar site line towards the White House. Catch an Uber/Lyft back to the hotel and put your feet up for before heading out for the night.
Saturday Night – Drinks, Dinner, Wander
Start your night with a great cocktail at The Mirror, it feels completely sketch walking up to it (or down technically because it’s below street level) but believe me the vibe is great and the cocktails are worth it. Big thanks to my fabulous friend Suzanne for showing me this new spot when I was in town! The address is 1416 K St NW, you’ll see a green awning for Vieux Carre – use the stairs to go down to the basement level. You’ll see some glass that looks like a bullet went through it, some ragged furniture, a For Rent sign, and a large mirror…open the mirror and behind it you’ll find the speakeasy. Order a Tom Collins and soak up the vibe!
Photo One Credit: Nick Klein-66 / Photo Two Credit: @wine.whiskey.water
As you as book your flights for this trip, book yourself a reservation at Crane’s – which received a Michelin star in 2021. Chef Pepe Moncayo is serving up a Spanish Japanese fusion menu thanks to his diverse background. He is Spanish-born, studied under a French-trained chef and has lived in Singapore. The dishes he creates are not an intentional fusion but simply the food he has created by combining his life experiences. I would HIGHLY recommend the oysters, bao buns, and patatas bravas but everything we had was delish.
After dinner you could bar hop in Penn Quarter, catch live music at The Hamilton, take a stroll over to The White House, or simply wander and stumble upon something new. This is my guide to the weekend but go find something this Saturday night that makes it your trip and turn it into a story you’ll love telling for the rest of your life.
The photo below is from our farewell party when we left DC for Texas. We started at the Kennedy Center, had drinks at Watergate, then hit Old Ebbitt for martinis and oysters…then we wandered over to The White House were a very lovely stranger took a photo for us with his nice camera and actually emailed it to us (another idea from my brilliant friend Suzanne). This photo is a memory I will never forget, I hope you make your own on this trip. And yes, that’s my friend Wayne (Suzanne’s husband) in a T-Rex costume…in front of The White House. Go live, y’all!
Sunday Morning + Afternoon – Museums on the Mall
Set your alarm so you have time to grab a quick coffee and breakfast then head back to The Mall for the museums at the top of your list. There is something for everyone at the Smithsonians but they are each expansive so prioritize what you want to see ahead of time. Most open at 10am on Sunday and I recommend getting to your first choice when they open. You can find a list of each one here with admission times and details. Below is a labeled map so you can get your bearings on where each one is located.
There are loads of food trucks lining the streets along the mall to grab lunch, you can sit on the grass or a park bench for a casual meal looking up at the Capitol. Also most museums have a cafe, so you’ve got plenty of options when you’re ready to take a rest and refuel. There is enough here to see until it’s time to grab your bags and head to the airport.
Enjoy your flight home and make a plan to come back – because there is much more to see in DC!
The Stacy Strategy 