Some of these recommendtions work best for Shmoocon in March vs Shmoocon in the cold of January.

Orienting Yourself
Below is a map of the neighborhoods. The gold star is the Hilton hotel. When you hear someone reference a neighborhood, hopefully this helps. The most common ones you’ll probably hear are Adams Morgan (Admo), Dupont Circle (Dupont), U St, The Mall, and Capitol Hill.

Getting Around
Metro

• Dupont station is going to be closest and that’ll get you to the red line.
• You probably won’t need to take the Metro unless you’re heading to Amtrak or heading out to Virginia or DCA (Airport).

Buses

• Metrobus. This is the main bus system for DC. It’s heavily commuter focused. https://www.wmata.com/schedules/maps/.
• Circulator
  • https://www.dccirculator.com/ride/rider-tools/interactive-map/
  • Your best bet to get to georgetown without walking. It comes frequently and it’s only $1.

Hopping Areas

• Admo
• Dupont
• 14th St NW (between Logan Circle and U St)
  • Barcelona
    • Wine bar
  • Player’s Club
    • Arcade bar
  • Chicken & Whiskey
  • Colada Shop
    • Cuban & Cocktails
• U St
  • Head towards the loud music near 801 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
  • You can’t really mess up just bar hoping hear
  • Lots of rooftop areas
• Georgetown
  • I don’t go out hear a lot, but there’s some decent bars. You’re going to get a different group here - mix of college students and older DC residents
• The Navy Yard
  • It’s a bit of a hike, but worth it imo. Good restaurants, bars, and you’re right on the water. Good for a nice Spring day.

Drinking
Nearby

• McClellans Reterat
• Board Room
  • Board games!
• Dan’s Cafe
  • Notorious for their pour your own drinks
• Jack Rose
  • Whiskey

Cocktails

• Barmini - expensive, reservation required, but so good
• Thai Chef Street Food - surprisingly good cocktails
• Residents dC - https://www.residentsdc.com/menus/#cocktail-menu thanks @jamieantisocial
• Anyone have other recommendations for ones near the hotel?

Whiskey

• Jack Rose

Speakeasies

• Chicken & Whiskey (in the back behind the metal door)
• Left Door (Need a reservation I believe)
• The Gibson (Need a reservation I believe)

Partying

• U st (search around TAKODA)

Eating
Nearby

• Lucky Buns (Long wait)
• Thai Chef Street Food
  • My favorite Thai in the city
  • Great cocktails

Pizza

• Andys

Thai

• Thai Chef Street Food (You maybe can tell I like this place)

Steak

• Sourcing recommendations

Ethiopian

• DC is famous for their ethiopian, but I actually haven’t had it recently, so I’m sourcing recommendations

Late bites (nearby)

• Dc pizza & kabob
• Duccinis
• El Tamarindo
• McDonalds (Admo)
• Andys (Admo)

Snacks/Sweets

• Foxtrot (like an upscale 7-11)
• Insomnia cookies - late night cookies
• Jenis - my favorite ice cream place
• Un je ne sais Quoi… - really good french bakery

Breakfast

• Bethesda bagel
• Ted’s Bulletin - alcoholic milkshakes and the homemade poptarts are the stars

Just Plain Good

• Anju
• Iron Gate
• Jinya (ramen)

Chinese

• Great Wall Szechuan. It’s the best. I won’t be debating this :)

Other

• Dupont farmers market
  • Call your mother bagels - best bagels in DC
  • Fresh fruit

Outdoors

• Meridian Hill Park. This is a really nice park nearby. When the weather is nice, there’s a lot of people hanging out, dogs, music, etc.
• National Mall. Of course. Do your best to skip the food trucks. They’re generally not worth it.
  • Restroom map: https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/grid_builder/nationalmall4th/crop1_1/653C856A-C02B-92D6-BD93E5C8A469CDBC.jpg
• Rock Creek Park. This park can take you pretty far. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/us/washington-dc/washington?b_tl_lat=38.925643460593164&b_tl_lng=-77.0563698317884&b_br_lat=38.91909424386935&b_br_lng=-77.04043356221366