Help Plan my DC Honeymoon... Poll Style

lil_miss_latinist

Hi Ladies!

My FI and I are starting to plan our DC Honeymoon for next July. We know it's early, so we're not making set plans yet-- however, both of us will be finishing and presenting our theses in the spring, so it's going to be best to get a general idea of what we want to do now before school consumes us again. I looked through the past 5 or 6 pages, and didn't see much in the way of this topic, so please forgive me if I'm asking the same old same old!

My fiance and I are both consummate geeks: a History buff and a future Latin teacher, respectively. We're not into your typical honeymoon activities (beaches, spas, clubs); we're really excited about the Library of Congress and the National Archives, since we are both applying for research grants there. So, the more unique your suggestions, the better!

In an effort to make this more specific/hopefully easier to answer than just, "What should we do?", here are my questions:

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"

Sorry for the novel-- I'm long winded by nature. Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to answers! (I hope I don't seem hopelessly dorky!)

sunshine_day_dreams

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
Depends on what you're looking for here - for a nice dinner, we like Zengo in China Town or City Zen in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  We also love a good night out at Fado's pub in China Town.

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
There is a good tapas place called Jaleo that has locations in both Crystal City, VA and Bethesda, MD.  They also have really good sangria.

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
The Spy Museum - not worth paying for when there are so many free museums.  That's really the only one I can think of off the top of my head...

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"
Hmmm...maybe Great Falls park?  There's a VA and MD side - each have hiking and things along the water.

LindsMullinix

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
Coco Sala on F street comes to mind, the others I'm thinking of are all chains (Mortons, Ruths Chris, McCormicks and Schmicks)

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
Taste of Saigon in Tysons Corner, VA or Rockville, MD.  Also Coastal Flatts in Tysons Corner is awesome. 

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
Well as a local I get kind of sick of all the usual attractions but I think the Zoo is a lot of fun (and free) and the free museums are nice. 

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"
Well I'm pretty sure its becoming more and more of an attraction as time goes on but National Harbor is a really beautiful area to spend the day walking around, fun shops, and lots of restaurants to choose from.

dawnmhayden

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
For a fancy night out-1789 in Georgetown.
For a fun night out-Rosa Mexicano (multiple locations)
For a casual but "DC" experience-Old Ebbitt Grill

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
Rays the steaks in Arlington-very casual but great steak...many politicians eat here too!
Downtown Bethesda in Maryland has TONS of options
Maggianos in Chevy Chase is yummy too!

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
I actually would recommend the Spy Museum-I like it there!
Definitely chose only a few of the Smithsonian Museums-they are all free! 
I can't really say that anything is "overrated"

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"
Ditto Grea Falls and National Harbor! 
Also Alexandria is a cute town to visit-lots of character, restaurants, shops, and Mt. Vernon is not too far away...

lil_miss_latinist

Thanks so much ladies! I've only been to DC once, as a family vacation years ago, and my FI has never been, so it's great to have some input on where to go!

dehner23

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
One of my favorites is Martin's Tavern in Georgetown. I'd recommend that for a real Washington, DC experience along with Old Ebbitt Grill. Lot's of history -- JFK proposed there, spy rings met there during Cold War,etc. Good food at a reasonable price too!

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
Murphy's in Old Town Alexandria. Go on a weekend  night, enjoy some Guinness, irish pub fare, and some great entertainment. One of my favorite things to do in this area!

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
That's a tough one. Since you'll be here during the height of tourist season, you may want to pick and choose the Smithsonians you visit. American History, Air and Space, and Natural History are a must. Native American Museum and the Holocaust Museum (too sad!) and feel no need to go back.

Another must is Mt. Vernon! It's about a twenty minute drive, but it's worth it.

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:" I agree with the others that Great Falls is great (Maryland side is better for hiking) but you may also want to rent a car and go out to some wineries for a day. The Blue Ridge Mountains are picturesque and the wine is tolerable. :-)
 
Have fun! It's a great city!

Lisa50

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
Ristorante Tosca is a relatively small, high-end Italian place downtown, in the Penn Quarter district.  Everything on the menu is to die for, including home-made sorbets.  Yummy!  Jordan's 8 is a neighborhood favorite on Capitol Hill with a hopping bar, too.  The owner (Jordan) is almost always on site and makes sure guests are treated well. 

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:
Ye Chon in Annandale, VA is great.  It is open 24/7 and definitely the best Korean restaurant in the area.  And that's saying a lot, given that Fairfax County is saturated with Korean restaurants.  Have the Korean BBQ prepared at your table.  You will not be disappointed.

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
1.  Hard Rock Cafe.  Don't waste your time or money!  It's just like every other Hard Rock in the world.  Yet there's always a line during high tourist season.  Go figure.
2. The "great arch" in Chinatown.  The heart and soul of Chinatown has been trampled by chain restaurants, stores and a multiplex, so the arch has ended up looking really sad and out of place.

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"
Two "must sees" are the Holocaust Museum, obviously for the content but also for the architecture.  Plan ahead.  The second is the Evening Parade (Fridays @ sunset) at the Marine Corps Barracks.  Check it out: http://www.mbw.usmc.mil/parade_eveningdefault.asp

GJones27

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.

Kafe Leopold's in Georgetown. You have to get a table outside, and they don't take reservations. For a romantic late evening, I like CoCo Sala... a chocolate restaurant! It's expensive though.

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland:

Eh, I don't make it out there.  In southern MD, I would recommend someplace in Bethesda.

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:

Aerospace museum, WWII Memorial, American History Museum

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"

The National Cathedral!!!  I love it there.  Sadly, I live five minutes away by car, but I have only visited twice in my seven years here.  It's beautiful, though.

harbor_girl

Name your 2 favorite restaurants within the city.
I can't name just two  Zatinya (great Greek/Turkish), 1789 (expensive but worth it), Jaleo, and Masala Art (lesser known but amazing authentic Indian food in Tenleytown, and relatively inexpensive -- FI and I go at least once a month).

Name 1 great restaurant in Northern Virginia:

Rustico (Alexandria)

Tell me what are the 3 most overrated "attractions" in DC:
The Spy Museum

National Cathedral

The National Zoo (I like the pandas and all, but our zoo is just not that great).

Tell me about somewhere that's fun/intersting to go that isn't a typical DC "attraction:"

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Catholic University's campus.  It's way cooler than the National Cathedral (imo), and it's also the 8th largest religious structure in the world and absolutely gorgeous.