Cheap Eats Market Lunch www.easternmarketdc.net

Eastern Market is an indoor-outdoor marketplace that thrives with arts and food vendors on the weekend. Inside the south hall of the marketplace is Market Lunch, a great sit-down (outdoor) diner where you can get fabulous blueberry buckwheat pancakes on Saturday or egg sandwiches for breakfast, and lunches of crab cakes and soft shell crab sandwiches, all under $10. Market Lunch is popular with the locals, so be prepared to wait about half an hour. The restaurant accepts cash only.

Monocle www.themonocle.com

If your kids like crab cakes, this is the place for them. There's also a good selection of sandwiches and salads. Lunch runs between $9 and $22, dinner from $15 to $30. Major credit cards are accepted.

Oodles Noodles 202-293-3138

There's always a big lunch crowd for this pan-Asian noodle shop featuring all sorts of noodle dishes, as well as curries and teriyaki. Prices run from $8 to $12. Major credit cards are accepted.

Union Station Food Court www.unionstationdc.com

Located on the lower level of Union Station, the food court is an entire floor of fast-food establishments that offer everything from burgers to burritos, salads to souvlaki, curry to cookies. Most meals are around $7.

Uno Chicago Grill www.unos.com

Home of the Chicago deep-dish pizza, Uno also features hot wings and appetizers that can make a meal, as well as burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Kids love this place because they can make their own pizzas with provided ingredients. Kids' menu prices run under $5. Major credit cards are accepted.

Moderate Options

Lebanese Taverna www.lebanesetaverna.com

This is a mainstay of the Woodley Park dining zone since it opened almost thirty years ago. (An American success story, owner Toni Abi-Najm came to this country in 1975 with $700 and today owns four restaurants and three cafés.) The Lebanese Taverna is deservedly a very popular Lebanese restaurant, and it is usually packed on the weekends (reservations are accepted only for lunch, 11:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M., and dinner before 6:30 P.M.). The interior is decorated with prints of Old Lebanon and prayer rugs; Lebanese music plays in the background.

The big hit on the menu is the selection of almost forty demi mezza, small plates of various “appetizers,” made with an amazing variety of things (meats, vegetables, cheeses). Don't worry, this extended Lebanese family didn't forget the kids. Their “little ones” menu has something to please them as well, for $5. There are also homemade breads, pies, and pizza, Lebanese style, cooked in the wood-burning oven and a wonderful selection of main courses, such as kabobs, falafel, fish, and vegetarian dishes. Meals run from $13 to $19. Across from the Woodley Park Metro station. Free parking is available at a nearby garage. Most major credit cards are accepted.

Meskerem 202-462-4100

Some say that this is the best Ethiopian restaurant in the city. Its spicy fare of lamb, chicken, beef, and vegetables is served with the traditional Ethiopian bread (injera) by a staff dressed in Ethiopian clothing. Ethiopian wine and beer is served, and live Ethiopian music is performed 11 P.M. to 3 A.M. on Friday and Saturday nights. Meals run from $9.25 to $12.25, less for vegetarian. Their special Meskerem Messob platter of foods feeds adults for $11.25 each, but kids can nibble along for free. Major credit cards are accepted.