Capital Hill Roundup

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There’s no time to be in Washington, DC like August — hot, humid, and, well, hot and humid. But business calls when it does and so I was off to the nation’s capital earlier this week. I was sorry to see that several restaurants where I’d enjoyed fine meals — Butterfield 8, David Greggory, Les Halles — have closed their doors.

Luckily, there’s always someone ready to jump into the restaurant business. New entries (at least new to me) worth a visit are Cafe du Parc, Art & Soul, and Jaleo. Cafe du Parc makes up for the loss of Les Halles when you have the urge for steak frites, Art & Soul offers an inspired take on Southern cooking with local ingredients, and Jaleo is fit for a virtual trip to Spain with an especially nice list of Spanish wines by the glass.

As I was in town over the weekend and on my own, I decided to try something a bit more casual. On the advice of a friend-of-a-friend I headed to Busboys & Poets. This bar-cum-restaurant-cum-bookstore- cum-fair trade market, actually a small chain of three establishments, has ambition: They offer poetry readings, political discussions, and art happenings. They are proudly progressive and committed to being a sustainable business.

The neighborhood alone promised an interesting. The intersection of 5th & K, not far from Chinatown and the Verizon Center, is home to a big, mostly empty parking lot, a liquor store with metal grating over the windows, and Louis the Rogue’s Go-go Lounge.  If Dashiell Hammett had written in Washington, this would have been his corner.

The bar at Busboys is airy with an open ceiling to the second floor dining area. There was enough light to read, essential when I’m dining alone, without being garishly bright. Things started slowly as the barkeeps strove to raise not making eye contact to an art form. I finally secured a glass of Malbec. It was passable: certainly drinkable but I didn’t bother making note of the name. I started with the bruschetta with fresh basil. It was actually a flat bread pizza crust with a mound of chopped tomatoes, the basil mere flecks of green.  Oh well, I thought. Not every night can be a hit.

The room filled as I ate my meal. I’d come early for a Saturday night and it was clear that the scene would heat up in the hours ahead. The crowd seemed animated and friendly. I imagined this could be quite the neighborhood hangout if only the food was better.

Then came my crab cake entree. Served with crab grits and julienned vegetables, the crab cakes were sublime. The crab was moist and plentiful. There was enough spice to tingle the taste buds without overpowering the crab. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, the grits the perfect texture to stand up to the crab.

I won’t be adding Busboys to our Washington city page until I add a “dining alone” section — this is not a place to take a client unless you are pretty friendly — and the kitchen steps it up a notch on the appetizers. I’d welcome my fellow Nomads to stop by and try more of the menu. The downside of eating alone is that you can’t taste a wide range of offerings.

The highlight of the non-work portion of the trip was a visit to the Newseum. This showcase for the news media is interactive, informative, and fun. I don’t recommend it for a short visit as it has a $20 admission fee but if you have a couple of hours you are looking to fill, a visit is well worth it.

Have you been to DC lately? We’d love to hear about your experience.