womantraveler

DC: You Can't Go Home Again

I've moved in and out of Washington, DC at least a half dozen times over the past 30-some years, so it's more "home" than anywhere else. But what I keep experiencing when I return now on visits is that old adage, "you can't go home again." What happens when we leave and come back to favorite places? Our remembrances of the old days lock in time -- and the new experience can be terribly irritating. Let's face it, in the grip of our memories, we hate change! And then I found a favorite old haunt had not changed at all -- the restaurant, Vietnam Georgetown (read on).

First I have to grouse a little about how DC has changed. To wit -- traffic: Washington is gridlock. The city has grown three or maybe six times since it took off and decided to be more than a government town in the late '60s, but the road infrastructure hasn't. Downtown at rush hour is simply gridlock, not slowly moving confestion as in LA, but complete gridlock.

I got to ride on the Metro the first day it opened in the early '70s. What a frolicking overland cruise to the suburbs! Today those who have moved to the suburbs while they work downtown have to push and shove to get to work on the Metro, the system is so beyond its capacity. Same with the once innnovative highways, like I-66 through northern Virginia. Forget that. It was practically outdated once it opened. Today the fastest way from Dulles International Airport to downtown DC -- depending on the time of day -- is not along the highways that beckon you with road signs but via the twists and turns of neighborhoods, for which no maps exist. They have long caught onto this game by installing vexing road bumps throughout, but I still fool them and weave through their precious streets. One data point of small note: twenty years ago there were 90 Washington Flyer taxis serving Dulles International Airport. Today there are over 600.

But the theme of this article is not whining; it's goal is wisdom and some tools for being able to "go home again." Here goes...

Navigating the Washington, DC Landscape

As Congress and the White House launch their much-anticipated 2007 battles this week, thoughts turn to the US Capital and its attraction as a not-to-be-missed nerve center of the world. However, having lived in the Washington, DC happily off and on since the '60s, I'm alarmed what a struggle it is to visit now for work or pleasure. The region is practically unnavigable! Cultural expansion, a wealth of historical and political tourism and a breathtaking influx of new residents from home and abroad have resulted in a transportation nightmare (an overburdened Metrorail system, gridlock on the roadways and a dearth of downtown parking). Since 1960 the DC area has more than doubled in size to 5 million, and the giddy lack of planning controls is unfortunately evident today.

Fortunately there are bright spots -- the major improvements finally starting to go on line at Dulles International Airport and the growth of urban centers in surrounding communities, making a trip downtown often unnecessary for business travelers.

One tip for making DC manageable is to stay in one of the dozens of new hotels in close-in suburbs, such as Arlington, Virginia. Thirty years ago Arlington's Ballston area was a suburban crossroads of auto dealerships and small retail stores; today it's a bustling urban center served by Metrorail, Interstate 66 and hundreds of restaurants (many of them, particularly in the Clarendon area about two miles east along the same corridor retaining their Mom-and-Pop ethnic or neighborhood pub feel). A Ballston center dining highlight was the hibachi-style Matsukake Steak & Sushi Restaurant, where knife-juggling hibachi chefs entertain diners at large communal counters. There's also a new P.F. Chang's and, less expensive quality options in chain specialties such as Chipotle, Panera Bread and Chevy's Fresh Mex. (Beware of long lines by office workers at lunch.)

This explosive growth also is bringing spiffy new hotels, including the Westin Arlington Gateway, a high-rise structure at the multi-lane intersection of Wilson Blvd. and North Glebe Road. As a longtime Westin and Starwood hotels fan, I wish I could be more positive about the experience.

New Hotel Options in the DC Area

Another good hotel move. A new Westin hotel will be located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, a DC suburb that has plenty of class but needs more options in the business hotel variety. In fact, we could use some more Starwood hotels in the DC area in general. Cities like Alexandria are close enough to the District that they're convenient for business travel, while offering some easy and quality down time, such as restaurants, after hours.

Hollywood on the Potomac

Add more film crews to the traffic obstacles of getting around DC, as more permanent street barriers go up and the White House is less and less accessible. In July, Michael Douglas and Kim Basinger will start filming a new movie, while the Pentagon will be the locus of one of three new TV shows centered in the District this fall. Filmmakers still love the elegant dark-paneled Hay-Adams Hotel, where presidents, heads of state, actors, and other notables have temporarily lived and retreated. Its charm and cache are fashionably discreet, but with the best view of the increasingly distant White House for filmmakers' cameras, it will always hold its own.

Low-Pressure Business Dining in DC

In the Washington, DC, the nation's capital, where pressure and intensity accompany the everyday bravura of self-importance, I prefer to hold my business dinners in a more relaxed DC restaurant setting. Although this doesn't work in all cases, with certain colleagues we accomplish plenty by slowing down for a couple of hours, hearing ourselves without shouting and experiencing carefully prepared alternatives to predictable power-dinner menus (steaks, chops, whole fish and blah blah blah). Women particularly like this option, especially if we are kicking back a bit, though still accomplishing our business conversations. Added value -- in many of these locations the service feels more like a neighborhood restaurant, even a little bit of home.

I lived and worked for two decades in DC, then began visiting it as a womantraveler, and looked at some of the standby favorites differently as I ate out night after night. Accustomed to eating well at home, I wanted excellent food ideas, variety, healthy options (low fat and low cholesterol), attentive service, ample but not oversized portions and less formality -- all without sacrificing quality. By contrast, some of the well-known DC power spots are underperformers in quality and service, stuffy in atmosphere and often way too noisy for conversation. Practically speaking, in DC it's smart to have a list of options in different parts of the city, because gridlock is more common than movement in rush hour traffic across town.

Here are the restaurants I return to time after time in DC on Capitol Hill, downtown and in the West End and Georgetown. They're equally good for business lunches, too.