The first restaurant in Washington DC that I want to recommend holds a special place in my family and in my heart. This restaurant is called Claudia’s Steakhouse and is located in downtown DC on 15th and K St, right by the Farragut North Metro Station (so it is very convenient for a traveler exploring the city). To give some context on why Claudia’s is so special to my family, the restaurant owner, Claudia, is a very close family friend of ours. A long time ago, before my family moved closer to the city, we lived in a suburb of the DC Metro area called Waldorf located in Southern Maryland. In this quiet suburb, we found a small restaurant one day called Brasas that served delicious food from all over Latin America. After eating there a few times, the owner began to recognize us came out to meet us. This began a beautiful friendship that has lasted to this day. We became a part of Claudia’s restaurant family and met everyone from the chefs to the cleaning staff and spent countless nights there well past closing time just enjoying each other’s company. Brasas became a second home for me, and every birthday dinner for four years was spent at the restaurant until it closed down in 2016.

After closing down Brasas, Claudia decided to go bigger and open up this restaurant in the heart of the city. My first time there of course was on my 16th birthday in 2017. Claudia’s has taken on a different look from Brasas. It is much more upscale, and while it still maintains its Latin cuisine on the menu, it has fused into a legitimate steakhouse that also has a good selection of seafood options.

Claudia’s is the perfect place to go after a long day of tourist activities or a place to end your vacation in the city. You will want to dress nicely and have an empty stomach that is ready to eat. While a tad bit pricey, the food is 100% worth it. While Claudia may not be around because she has gotten married and started a family in Palm Beach, Florida, the restaurant still has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and they love to see new faces (especially from out of town) in the restaurant trying their food. Claudia’s brothers manage the restaurant while she is away, and are just as friendly and will ensure you have a terrific evening!

For my new passion blog theme, I want to talk about restaurants that everyone should give a try while in the nation’s capital. While not a DC resident, I have previously lived in the heart of the city and currently live two minutes outside of the city’s lines. I also went to high school in DC and have done my fair share of exploring around the city looking for places for good lunch dates, family dinners, breakfast, etc.

Not to assume that anyone here has been to the city, but a fair amount of people I have met on campus always tell me in response to “I am from the DC area” that they have been to DC before. So in turn, I ask them just out of curiosity where did you go and visit during their time there. I follow that up with another curious question of where did they eat while they were there. Most people give answers like at their hotel, at a food truck (which are for the most part all very good in their own right), or at a fast food or chain restaurant. I am not going to be dramatic and say it hurts me because honestly it makes no difference to me. However, I would just like to put out there that the city has so many lively places ranging in price and formality where people could eat at that would only serve to enhance their experience.

As a result, this blog will be dedicated to highlighting some places all over the district where one can grab a delicious bite to eat during their long day of tourist activities. Bon Appetit!