Georgetown
Cheap Eats
Austin Grill
Austin Grill is part of a chain that features a big menu of good, inexpensive Tex-Mex fare, and the emphasis here is on chili and ribs. This is a kid-friendly restaurant with a good kids' menu featuring burgers, tacos, enchiladas, and nachos, all under $5, drink included. It also has vegetarian dishes. Major credit cards are accepted.
Café Deluxe
Ask Washingtonians what their favorite restaurants are, and after they try to impress you with the fact that they've been to the latest hot spot, they will all mention Café Deluxe. It's always packed and full of lively energy. The food is consistent and never expensive. The interior is fairly plain, with white tablecloths and simple white plates — a step up from a diner — but the beef and tuna burgers are excellent, and so is the meat loaf. The desserts are homemade, as are the soups. There is a $3.95 kids' menu. Lunch runs $6.95 to $17.95 (if you really want to get fancy); dinner from $7.95 to $21.95. Amex, Visa, and MasterCard are accepted.
It seems as if D.C. has more Ethiopian restaurants than any other American city, and that might be the case. According to D.C.'s tourist office, Washington D.C. was very open to Ethiopian refugees after the fall of Haile Selassie's regime in the 1980s, and many of these immigrants set up family-run restaurants, which have become quite well known.
Café Divan
Go to Georgetown and visit Turkey, if you want to (try to) expand your kid's dining vocabulary. The Divan serves up authentic and delicious Turkish food at rock-bottom prices. The menu is huge — you can be as safe or experimental as you want to be. The kebab sandwiches are a good introduction to Turkish cooking for the kids. They'll like the baklava or kazan dibi dessert, a sweet pudding. Entrées run $5.95to $16.
Ching Ching Cha
Okay, you'll make fun of the name, but maybe you'll appreciate the authentic tea room tranquility. Guess not, but you will love the food and ambience after a hectic vacation day. Linger, if you can, over an exotic tea; there are close to fifty to choose from. Load the kids with dumplings while you sample more exotic fare elegantly served. Everything here is $11 or less.
Clyde's of Georgetown
Founded in 1963 as a faux-Victorian pub for Georgetown University students, this has become a popular chain of local restaurants (including the venerated Old Ebbitt Grill and several other Clyde's locations) where you can always get good American saloon food. The standard selection includes a juicy burger, buffalo wings, crab cake sandwich, hearty soups, and a surprisingly excellent cheese platter that pairs blackberries with your four cheese selections. Most people order from the appetizer menu, which is varied and creative. Of course, there's a wide selection of beers on tap and a good wine list.
Weekend brunches have become a tradition (especially because this restaurant is located in the Shops at Georgetown Park). Meals run from $4.50 to $22, and lunch is less expensive. Validated parking is available in the nearby mall. Major credit are cards accepted.
Shops at Georgetown Park Food Court
This is restaurant row. There are at least a dozen or so fast-food establishments located here, offering pizza, Philly cheese steaks, pretzels, ice cream, gyros, and other light fare, all reasonably priced. There is also a string of restaurants — Indian, French, Chinese, vegetarian, Afghani, you name it. Stroll down the street and menu shop.
