With Restaurant Week over, we need another excuse to celebrate. And why not Clinton’s big 6-0? Since he’s not too keen on turning the “new 40,” we have a duty to live it up for him. DCist proposes a Bill Clinton restaurant crawl on which we’ll visit his regular D.C. haunts. Lucky for us, his taste for greasy, down-home grub means we won’t need to book many reservations through Open Table.
Of course there’s always his Micky D’s guilty pleasure. Yet Clinton’s appetite for local dives surpassed his love for this fast food joint. While living in Washington, Clinton also went for the sloppy mac n’ cheese at Florida Avenue Grill, a soul food institution where he oft directed drivers on whim. The Grill serves up a fatty fare—the kind where absolutely nothing is good for you. The kind Clinton’s doc would clearly tsk-tsk about. Even the veggies are drowned in pork fat, lard, or butter. But don’t let that stop you from going. Florida Avenue Grill is an institution for good reason.
Another comfy Southern spot with a N’awlins emphasis is RT’s Seafood Kitchen in Alexandria. Clinton liked it so much he licked off a plate that is now memorialized on their wall. George’s King of Falafel in Georgetown also displays a Clinton memento—a signed, framed headshot near the register. Behind the screen door of this diner-style greasy spoon, people sit on bar stools to watch cable and Vin Diesel movies. Clinton liked to shoo away secret service to eat with the “regular folk” here.
Up M Street, he’s smiling in a framed shot at Filomena, towering over the two apron-wearing “Pasta Mamas.” Watch them in their quaint mock-kitchen off Wisconsin Ave, folding and shaping dough through a pasta press all day. His first taste of Filomena’s hand-crafted fettuccini was with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Many visits later, he baptized the fried calamari appetizer as his personal choice. With such steep prices though, DCist recommends keeping within a budget by stopping by for the $11 (on Fri and Sat) or $14 (on Sun) weekend brunch. The buffet showcases textbook-thick pizza, a daily crostini, fish and chicken dishes and a fluffy whipped cream to slather on desserts.
