Welcome to a Quick Word About DC Culture

Washington DC (really it’s just DC, only tourists call it Washington) gives the general appearance of stuffy suits, Greco-Roman buildings, and pompous politicians. 

But that’s only one part of DC. Despite what the media might have you think, DC isn’t just alphabet soup government buildings, lobbyists, and free museums (that’s right I said free). We do have culture. Go-go was created in DC in the 1970s, there’s tons of amazing street art once you walk five blocks north of the mall, and our food trucks (the ones that serve the federal workers and business people not the ones on the mall) are fantastic.

November isn’t a huge time for tourists. In fact, it’s the start of our slow season that goes until about mid-March. Though there’s still a lot to do during the holidays, we’re no LA or New York. Most of the people out and about are locals to the city and surrounding DMV area (DMV = DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

This weekend there was a large Día de los Muertos event on 3rd Street off the Mall and a Christmas Market at the Czech Embassy. More Christmas and other Holiday related events will start to go up in the coming weeks. My favorite is always the train display at the National Botanical Gardens. The main building is closed right now, but the outdoor gardens are free for everyone to walk through and they have a cool display set up with different farms around the world.

Speaking of Christmas, we have Christmas markets in different parts of the city. The big one that I’ve seen is located near the Portrait Gallery near our (admittedly tiny) Chinatown. Other markets can be found in Van Ness, Dupont, and the National Zoo.

I would never have known about the DC food trucks if I hadn’t worked in DC for a summer. My office was located near L’Enfant Plaza (about 3 or 4 blocks south of the Mall) and every day around 10:30am the  food trucks would be lined up waiting for everyone to file out for lunch. I had an app and everything that let me track which food truck would be where.

Speaking of DC food, soul food (including several vegan restaurants primarily located in the Shaw neighborhood) is popular in the city and, if you like seafood, the DC Wharf is a great place to try Chesapeake blue crabs. However, if you want to see where the politicians eat when they don’t stick to their cafeterias, check out the restaurants to the South East. Bullfeathers in particular is a known spot to see Lobbyists outside of K street.

Historically, our LGBTQ+ community was centered in Dupont circle. The High Heel Drag Queen Race continues to be held the Tuesday before Halloween. Unfortunately, gentrification has change a lot of Dupont - as well as many other parts of the city (*cough* South East *cough*) and a lot of the legacy LGBTQ+ community is having to move elsewhere.

Yeah, that’s one sad thing about DC: gentrification and corporatization. 

I mentioned earlier out tiny Chinatown. It used to be a lot bigger than one and a half streets with the rest taken up by the Capitol One Center and chains with Chinese letters on the buildings. However, the restaurants there are really good and they do host a lunar new year celebration. The arch is also very pretty to see - especially at night. Plus there’s a lot more street art in the Chinatown area that’s fun to spot.

Speaking of night time fun, DC has tons of nightclubs. As I said earlier, Dupont has historically been a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community and that includes their nightclubs. There’s also a fair few in the downtown area (though you might have to fight for space between the George Washington (GW) students in Foggy Bottom).

There’s also Georgetown if you want fancy shopping, food, and even more pretentious college students. Georgetown is pretty and does have a great selection of places to eat (Georgetown Cupcakes anyone?). But it is a pain to find parking and there’s limited public transit options.

You can also check out Adams Morgan for their colorful art community. In the 1960s, Adams Morgan was the home of the (then) “radical left” and colorful Victorian homes. They have a cultural trail that you can walk through the neighborhood. It was where my child self most wanted to live.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Olde Town Alexandria. Though not technically part of DC, prior to the civil war they did fit nicely into the originally designed square for the city. The history of why they broke apart is not something I will be explaining now (but it had a lot to do with slavery), but it’s hard to leave them out of DC culture. Olde Town Alexandria also has a great food scene, but the coolest thing is the old Torpedo Factory that was turned into an artist enclave. The only downside is that the area tends to flood with even just a suggestion of heavy rain. Pentagon City has been built up a lot since I was a kid (plus Amazon is moving in *boo hiss*), but they’ve managed to keep their parks in great condition. Crystal City has somehow managed to keep its street art and food scene in tact. The best part of Crystal City is 23rd Street off Eads Street. That’s where all the restaurants and bars are.

Bethesda would be the Maryland equivalent. They also have great restaurants. Honestly, I sometimes am unsure where DC ends and Bethesda begins because there is so much overlap.

So next time you plan a trip to DC, try going in our off season. There’s still plenty to do and free monuments and museums to see. We’re not all politicians or political activists. DC has culture - it’s just off the beaten path.

I’m also sure that people from DC might read this post and tell me I forgot about including x, y, and/or z. They’re most likely right. This post is a “quick word” about DC culture and there’s a lot there that I didn’t cover. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Until next week.