Skewered ground lamb, house-made harissa, grilled tomatoes, sumac, onions. Mezze lunch $25
Zaytinya, Washington DC
I liked this dish. The lamb was tender, juicy and flavorful and I liked the different garnishes. Everything was nicely prepared. Eat it with some of their pita and you have a delicious bite!
Washington Monument and Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Served with French fries. Lunch set $25
Central Michel Richard, Washington DC
This beef tartare was delicious, but I thought it was a bit weird to serve fries with it. I would have preferred something flat to easily eat the tartare with. The French fries were good though!
National World War II Memorial – “Washington”.
Black hommus, barberries, mint. Mezze lunch $25
Zaytinya, Washington DC
I was not a fan of this dish. The salmon was dry and overcooked, and I really didn’t like the black hummus. Nothing really tasted good separately or in combination. Lame!
Cradle orchid, Anguloa clowesii, Orchidaceae, U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory.
With sauteed mushrooms, lardons. Lunch set $25
Central Michel Richard, Washington DC
This salad was simple and delicious! I loved the combination of the light crisp frisee with the earthy mushrooms and fatty salty lardons. Noms!
Bread and butter. Complimentary
Andrew Jackson statue, Lafayette Square.
Shiro-miso, roast pork (chashu), bean sprout, onion, garlic, ground pork, nori, and scallion. Add butabara kakuni (pork belly). $16.25
Daikaya, Washington DC
This place is super popular and busy during lunch (and I’m sure at night as well). I was able to squeeze into the counter to enjoy my bowl of ramen. The spicy miso broth very tasty, but I feel like it was a bit on the salty side. I’m glad I opted for the additional pork belly.
Small kitchen area where the magic happens!
Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Aged beef fat fried, garlic, salt, rosemary. $3.75
Red Apron Butchery, Washington DC
Hmm, these fries were good but I really couldn’t tell that they were fried in aged beef fat. When fries are made with duck fat I can taste the difference though.
Random water feature in someone’s front yard, Logan Circle.
Fired-roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic. Mezze lunch $25
Zaytinya, Washington DC
Mmm, this hummus was great and I REALLY loved the fresh baked pita bread. They were light and airy and really fun to eat.
Pita bread.
View from the Washington Monument.
Hot shredded muskovy duck and crispy skin, lettuce, scallions and hoisin sauce. $9.50
Wicked Waffle, Washington DC
I liked the duck more than the waffle. The duck tasted great and I like that they included the skin. I don’t think that the lettuce was necessary though – it just got wilty. The Belgian style waffle was kinda hard and dry so it was not my favorite. The workers were also pretty slow here.
Washington Monument.
Rare roast beef, ranch mayo, house made atomic cheese whiz. $9
Red Apron Butchery, Washington DC
Mmm, this sandwich was delicious! This was a fancy version of the Arby’s beef and cheddar sandwich (which I love, btw) and it was done right! I loved the cheese whz and the ranch mayo, and the beef was superb. Well done Red Apron!
Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
With fried green tomatoes, green chile cheese grits, and bread. $21.80
Market Lunch, Washington DC
This seafood combo plate was good, but I don’t know if it was worth the price. I ordered it with the fried rock fish upgrade and it was fine (albeit greasy), but I don’t know if it would have tasted substantially better than the normal fried fish. I did love the grits, but I should have scooped the butter out before all of it melted on top. I wasn’t impressed with the crab cake. It was too dense for me and a bit greasy. The fried green tomatoes were great though.
Thinker on a Rock, National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.
Lunch prix fixe $25
Ping Pong, Washington DC
I’ve never been a big fan of mocha ice cream. I don’t really like the texture and (non)flavor of the pound sticky rice coating and the small amount of ice cream filling is never satisfying enough. I’d rather have American ice cream or Italian gelato any day.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
1/2 lobster roll, 1/2 shrimp roll, 1/2 crab roll, lemonade, chips and a pickle. $20
Luke’s Lobster, Washington DC
Mmm, these were pretty good! I really liked that the lobster roll consisted of whole lobster claws. The rolls were fairly small but three of them were more than enough to make for a large lunch.
Lemonade and salt and vinegar chips.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Vittle Monster 