Steven Rosson

Staff were friendly and helpful and, for the small number I actually observed, seemed to accomplish an incredible amount. They were helpful as one could expect in helping me check-in and get oriented with my surroundings.

The Downtown DC location is great. It sits at the corner of 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, relatively close (10-20 minutes on foot) to four metro stations covering all five lines. This is about a block from the Convention Center and about 5 minutes on foot to Chinatown.

There is a ton of history behind this hotel, which you can read all about in the Historic Hotels of America book next to the fireplace in the Wilkes Room (or on their website). It was originally built in 1918 as the Tudor Hall Apartments and housed its fair share of Senators and Congressmen. Needless to say, it is architecturally very elegant.

Another great thing about The Henley Park Hotel is its menu. The Coeur de Lion restaurant is an attraction in itself, though I was particularly impressed by the Blue Bar Cocktail Lounge. It features a light menu with smaller portions and very reasonable prices, perfect for a late-night bite (which I am always a fan of). I shared the arugula and pear salad, grilled portabella mushroom, and french fries, all of which were fantastic.

The only bad part of my stay was the reservation process. Their website features a horrid flash-only reservation interface that is quite difficult to see: I suggest calling instead.

Overall it was a great stay and one that I would certainly recommend. Oh, and unlike some other hotels in the Downtown DC area (cough Hyatt Regency cough), they have complimentary Wi-Fi and plenty of vegetarian food options.

Speaking of food, Bruegger’s Bagels near Chinatown was an amazing breakfast destination and one that I will certainly enjoy again on a future visit. We were greeted by a smiling five-year old gleefully holding open the door: I later learned that he was in fact from Texas and enthralled by my Longhorns shirt and not a byproduct of some recent change in child labor laws. The actual employees were very friendly (with a lot of pep for a Saturday morning) and happy to give their feedback on various menu items. I’d read great things about their salmon sandwich on a warm rosemary/olive oil bagel, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

For one of DC’s most famous brunch destinations, the Tabard Inn is pretty fantastic. Located close to the Dupont Circle metro stop and about five blocks from the White House, the three adjoining buildings were built as private residences between 1880-1890 and converted to a hotel in 1920. It’s a beautiful setup, though I’m here to talk about brunch.

I was with a party of eight and we were seated upstairs in a private room that looked like a nice household dining room: unlike anything I’ve really seen in a hotel before. Now I’m a big fan of limited menus with fewer and better quality choices, but this menu was also unique in that almost every item had at least one or two components that we had to ask our server (or consult Google) for help identifying. Even Google struck out a few times. My meal was a house-smoked salmon with capers and horseradish crème fraîche, complimented nicely by a Bloody Mary that earned a 4.5 out of 5.0 on the Rosson Bloody Mary Scale. Brunch was delicious, appropriately portioned, and, by the time I finished feasting on their multiple breads, quite enough to satisfy my appetite (and rule out any possibility of dessert). Reservations are best made at least two weeks in advance to avoid a wait of an hour plus.

For a lunch that is decent, Bullfeathers is a convenient distance from Capitol Hill and has a sense of humor with items like “Lobbyist Salad” and “The Filibuster” sandwich. I opted for the marinated grilled chicken platter, which consists of a chicken fillet topped with grilled pineapple and served with rice and fresh sautéed vegetables. It was a little dry, especially for something that calls itself marinated. My first Bloody Mary measured a weak 2.5 on the RBMS, though the second was much better and clocked in at 4.0 (though that may have been an aftereffect of the first). Though the food was not great, the service was quick and our server was funny. Combine that with any of their daily happy hour specials and it may be worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Axum Restaurant, a small Ethiopian spot, was perhaps my most unique dining experience ever. Washington DC is home to America’s largest Ethiopian community, so I suppose it’s no surprise that the Ethiopian food was – according to our Ethiopian cab driver – of utmost authenticity. The restaurant looks small and quiet, though looks can be deceiving. I was surprised to be carded (21+) on entry and quickly learned of a “club” on the second floor, which is apparently still part of the restaurant. The music was loud and not particularly conducive to a nice meal, though the people running up and down the stairs throughout the night were interesting to watch. Luckily the uniqueness of the food was an adequate distraction from the noise.

We ordered a combo vegetable platter, combo meat platter, and honey wine. The meat platter consisted of doro wat (chicken/egg stew), yebeg alicha (lamb stew), special tibs (sautéed meat with vegetables), and kitfo (minced beef heated and marinated in a mitmita spice blend). The vegetable platter consisted of gomen (greens), shiro (chickpeas), atkilt wot (curried vegetable stew), kik alicha (yellow split pea stew), yemisir wot (split lentil stew), and fasolia (Greek-style beans).

The food is all served in little piles on a large piece of Ethiopian pancake-like bread called injera, which is made from a fermented mixture of teff flour and water for a slight sour taste. Though enjoyable, the taste and texture is hard to get used to. The honey wine is delicious, though its sweetness creeps up slowly and is eventually difficult to stomach, especially with the injera. These are not two items that I would typically think to combine.

My overall conclusion is that Washington DC is, with exception to the political shenanigans on Capitol Hill, still amazing and always worth a visit.