You’ve bought your books for the fall semester, but with your wallet lighter and your budget tighter, it’s a bit difficult to eat out. Which is a shame, because as delightful as TDR food is, Washington has an amazing array of local restaurants to please any foodie. The Scene has compiled a list of local restaurants (because God knows you can only eat so much fast food) that fit on a typical college student’s budget.
Food Trucks
Food trucks are a little-seen, but massively important part of the D.C. food culture. Not to mention they’re incredibly cheap and convenient. The Eat Wonky food truck is the only one to consistently come to the AU campus (mainly because of its wonky name), but there’s a great variety of food trucks that you can find anywhere and everywhere in the city. If you’re craving some international cuisine, check out the Sauca food truck. If you want something sweet, there’s always Curbside Cupcakes. Or you can get some excellent Korean food with Takorean. The easiest way to track all these trucks is through the foodtruckfiesta.com website, which includes a map of where all the trucks are parked that day. You can also follow their individual Twitters. Even better, there is a monthly food truck festival called Truckeroo (the next of which takes place Sept. 30), where you can listen to live bands play while dining from a variety of food trucks from dawn to dusk.
Chop’t
Chop’t is probably one of the most innovative salad restaurants in D.C. You meat-lovers may sneer, but Chop’t is great for vegetarians and carnivores alike. Chop’t offers traditional salads, custom salads and even salad wraps. And the salads are huge. You’ll never disregard a salad as a full meal again once you pay a visit to Chop’t. The employees intensely chop up the salads in front of you, so it’s a joy just to watch them make them. Prices can range from about $7-$10, but the salads can fill you up quickly, so don’t worry about wasting your money. There are at least three Chop’t restaurants located in D.C. — one in Dupont Circle, one in Chinatown and one on K Street.
Bobby’s Burger Palace
Although this place just opened a few weeks ago, it has gained a fair amount of attention for its famous owner, Bobby Flay, and its delicious burgers. Located at 2121 K St. NW, the lines still go around the corner at lunchtime, but it’s well worth the wait. The milkshakes are delicious, and the burgers are inventive. If you want to be courageous, venture beyond the classic burger and get something daring, like the pepper-and-onion combo, Philadelphia Burger. The restaurant also makes a point to “crunchify” your burgers, meaning they put potato chips inside it. It’s definitely different and a refreshing take on a classic American meal.
Ping Pong Dim Sum
It’s hard to find good Asian restaurants in the D.C. area, as most of them are located in northern Virginia. But Chinatown’s Ping Pong does just fine at replacing authentic Chinese food. As many American-made restaurants are, Ping Pong is decidedly Americanized, but it’s a better alternative than the greasy fast-food restaurant Panda Express. For those who don’t know, dim sum is not a single dish, but a collection of different dumplings and dishes that you choose while you eat. Admittedly, Ping Pong doesn’t have the best dim sum, but it’s cheap and much closer than driving to Annandale.
Amsterdam Falafelshop
Located in Adams Morgan, the Amsterdam Falafelshop is not exactly subtle in its signature dish: falafels. The prices can range from $4-$7, and don’t call for any table manners, as you just eat the falafels with a paper sleeve and some napkins. Although it’s often crowded, the toppings are great and the sauces are delicious. If you’ve never had falafel before, the Amsterdam Falafelshop is a great place to start.
Eastern Market
Technically this is a farmer’s market, but that doesn’t mean Eastern Market doesn’t have its fair share of delectable foods as well. Crepes At the Market, for one, is an excellent and cheap place to buy some of the best crepes in D.C. Eastern Market is located on Capitol Hill and is open every day except Mondays. For those who love farmer’s markets, here is an excellent place to taste local flavors and explore different arts and crafts vendors as well. And don’t forget about free samples!
