What's the better trip? Philly or Washington DC? School me

[dora_da_destroyer]

Basic ass shyt?

If I’m in New Orleans I want some gumbo. I don’t want no damn Asian food. If I’m in Houston I want some brisket. I don’t want no damn Mediterranean food. If I’m in Philly I want a cheesesteak. If I’m in Baltimore I want a crab cake. I want the food the places are most known for but maybe that’s just me

Philly cheesesteaks are basic ass food, that’s akin to a cheeseburger. You get one to say you did it, but i can name hella places in Philly to get great food, not “my city is known for” tourist shyt. I don’t go to cities to try basic shyt, I go to very good restaurants, regardless of cuisine.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Philly cheesesteaks are basic ass food, that’s akin to a cheeseburger. You get one to say you did it, but i can name hella places in Philly to get great food, not “my city is known for” tourist shyt. I don’t go to cities to try basic shyt, I go to very good restaurants, regardless of cuisine.

Cheesesteaks aren’t basic if you coming from Canada

 

[JerseyFinest!]

If this was 10-15 yrs ago…easily Philly.

As we speak..DC is the better option.

It’s sad what Philly has become

 

[TMBlue]

Philly cheesesteaks are basic ass food, that’s akin to a cheeseburger. You get one to say you did it, but i can name hella places in Philly to get great food, not “my city is known for” tourist shyt. I don’t go to cities to try basic shyt, I go to very good restaurants, regardless of cuisine.

Makes sense.
Personally I like to try what the city is known for at least once, and go to the spot that the locals go. I wouldn't go the Pats or Geno's in Philly.
I wouldn't recommend anyone to go to Phillips for a crab cake in Baltimore.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Cheesesteaks aren’t basic if you coming from Canada

They are. Stop it, they are available in every city. Having an “authentic” one in Philly is not amazing, it quite literally is to say you did it, I actually think real Philly cheesesteaks are trash. You’re not missing anything if you go to Philly and don’t have one.

Edit: dude lives in Toronto, not the North Dakota of Canada. You act like this shyt isn’t available in a city less than 500 miles away, yet we have them here in California 1500 miles away

 

[WaveMolecules]

DC by far and I actually really enjoy Philly when I go

 

[BmoreGorilla]

They are. Stop it, they are available in every city. Having an “authentic” one in Philly is not amazing, it quite literally is to say you did it, I actually think real Philly cheesesteaks are trash. You’re not missing anything if you go to Philly and don’t have one.

Edit: dude lives in Toronto, not the North Dakota of Canada. You act like this shyt isn’t available in a city less than 500 miles away, yet we have them here in California 1500 miles away

Why would the man travel 500 miles just for a cheesesteak tho?

 

[phcitywarrior]

DC easily. Just far more to do.

Philly has a good food scene in Center City, Bmore also has a good food scene, too.

Best bet is to stay in DC and do a day trip in Bmore and Philly. DC to Baltimore is a 45 min drive. DC to Philly is about 2hrs on the train.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Why would the man travel 500 miles just for a cheesesteak tho?

I’m not telling him to. You’re the one sitting here acting like if he goes to Philly he has to have one as if it’s not available in Canada. I pointed out that that shyt is available in Toronto, it’s only 500 miles away, why wouldn’t Toronto have cheesesteaks?

You need to re/read our exchange. You keep hyping up needing to try what a city is known for vs simple hitting the great restaurants

 

[phcitywarrior]

Why?

There’s hella historical stuff and museums in DC that a couple would love to experience together - if you live in DC, you most likely going on a date at some point to those places. And all the waterfronts are great for romantic evenings. Lastly, DC has so many nice bars, get dressed up smelling good and go for drinks with your spouse.

It’s weird how some of y’all think.

Brehs look at it as bringing sand the to beach. I could understand it if it was a shorty you just started talking to and aren’t exclusive with, but with wifey? Different story.

 

[WIA20XX]

I'd pick DC honestly.

But if you did Philly, a day or 2 in philly, and then drive out to the Jersey shore for a day on the beach.

Family Stuff in DC

• National Children's Museum - free
• Air and Space Museum - jets and airplanes - free
  • Also has an IMAX that sometimes shows Hollywood movies
    • the satellite branch wayout in VA by the Dulles (worst) airport - shows Hollywood Movies all the time
• Natural History Museum - dinosaurs - free
• Major League Soccer (don't know if it's still in season, but way more fun and way more kids than I thought would be there)
• Major League Baseball (depends on your kids)
• Smithsonian Zoo (free)
• International Spy Museum (not cheap at all) - very cool. I haven't been since they moved it, but I'd definitely go again.
• Library of Congress and the Postal Museum - free - (if your kids are nerdy)
• There are "water park" at Navy Yard Metro and in Columbia Heights - free - concrete + pipes in the ground that shoot water up the air.

If your kids are a bit older

• National Museum of African American History (aka the Blacksonian) - you can take them regardless, but some of them exhibits are HEAVY.
• Holocaust Museum
• Comic Book Store on U-Street - Big Planet Comics | The DC-area's premier source for comics and graphic novels since 1986
• Skateboard shop on U-street - Crushed Skate Shop
• Book stores by Dupont Circle - Kramers | Bookstore, Bar, & Restaurant in Dupont Circle, Stores - Dupont Circle Bookstore
• Campus Tour at Howard - Visit | Admission
  • Georgetown - Virtual and On-Campus Visits - Office of Undergraduate Admissions
• Street Wear - Commonwealth For The Greater Good

Food - DC is not a cheap place. Even the cheap stuff isn't cheap.

Stuff DC is known for aka Tourist Traps

• Mumbo Sauce Wings
  • Type of thing you get from the Chinese spot - the sauce is some combination of ketchup, hot sauce, and prolly duck sauce...and if you order it from the hood spots, it seems like you got more sauce than wings, imo. Howard China, Yums on 14th, and Twin Dragon are the big ones.
• Ben's Chili Bowl - Home of the Half Smoke.
  • it's not a hot dog, but a local sausage with beef and pork called a half smoke.
  • Ben's is not popular because the chili dog is stupendous, but it was a Civil Rights meeting spot. History>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Food.
  • There are better places to get a Half Smoke - like "Meats and Foods" - it's just not that special.
  • Coming from someone that grew up on Texas Red - the chili here is as good as Hormel's.
• Bus Boys and Poets - Our Story | Busboys and Poets
  • it's a book store + cafe
  • I'd say the book store is better than the food, but locally owned chain.
• Ethiopian
  • Some spots you can get a coffee ceremony (Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee) - I think they do that at Dukem
  • Typical Ethiopian Food = some type of protein/vegetable cooked for a long time with spices + Injera Bread - it's like a sour pancake type bread
    • I love the stuff, but it's not everyone's cup of tea
  • Most of the easy to get to ones are around 9th or U street. Silver Spring has a bunch as well (and so does Va)
• Horace and dikkey's - Fried seafood

Other than that, DC has most of the national chains, and lots of well reviewed restaurants.

• Chains - Raising Cane's, Shakeshack, Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, Taco Bell
  • I don't think there is a Wendy's in the city anymore, could be wrong.
  • Levain's (NYC) - known for their massive cookies
  • Laduree (Paris) - known for their very expensive Macarons
• Soul Food, Cajun/Creole, Southern - all of these are hit and miss to me. But folks swear by Ooh's and Aahs, as well as Florida Avenue Grill
• Middle Eastern - DC got that in spades
• European - DC has a lot of French places, which I have always thought was weird. Most of the other Euro countries are represented.
  • Le Diplomate
• Central Asian - Georgian and Uyghur food is here.
• East Asian/South East Asian/Indian - got a whole bunch of them. Good ones, imo, aren't cheap.
• BBQ - 2 big styles are represented here, neither of which are cheap
  • Pork Focused - Federalist Pig
  • Brisket Focused - 2 Fifty - easily the best in town..if you like Central Texas style - but they make you pay for it, for real
• Expense Account/Fine Dining - a whole bunch, not really kid friendly.
• Ice Cream - There's a good amount of Ice Cream in the city, but don't buy any on the National Mall (don't buy anything from those vendors, esp if you're not using cash - they will charge 60 dollars for something knowing that you'll never see them again)

Black DC - you prolly should ask someone that grew up here, but my take on it.

• Black folks are everywhere in the city, it used to be majority Black and an entirely different vibe from what I've been told. From the richest of the rich, to the poorest of the poor.
  • SE by the Capitol/Congress - Eastern Market is there, but it's basically just a building with a few butchers, 2 bakeries?, and some produce sellers. Outside is a farmer's market all day. I have no idea how long area has been rich white, but typical rowhouse there was 2M.
  • SE across the river - very black, not much to see here for a Tourist.
  • NE - Very Black, again not much to see here for a Tourist.
  • SW - It's split between the folks who been there, and the gentrifiers that moved into those nice new apt buildings during the 1st Trump presidency. The City Fish Market/aka the Wharf is a nice little stroll. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it though.
  • NW - Again, split between gentrifiers and natives, but the rich gentrifiers have really pushed Black folks to the margins, imo.
• Aside from the Black-Sonian, there are tours about Black Tours in the city as well
• Partying - U-Street
• Gogo Music - You gotta go with a Native to really enjoy it.

Where you stay matters, don't stay in far MD or VA.
Especially don't stay at National Harbor. (it's not connected to the city by the Metro)
Don't even think about driving.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Brehs look at it as bringing sand the to beach. I could understand it if it was a shorty you just started talking to and aren’t exclusive with, but with wifey? Different story.

It’s retarded when dude literally says he’s taking his wife. Like why would your thought even be about the dating/social scene of a city. Every big city outside the rust belt is appealing to couples as well as singles.

 

[CashmereThoughts]

Why?

There’s hella historical stuff and museums in DC that a couple would love to experience together - if you live in DC, you most likely going on a date at some point to those places. And all the waterfronts are great for romantic evenings. Lastly, DC has so many nice bars, get dressed up smelling good and go for drinks with your spouse.

It’s weird how some of y’all think.

He asked what’s there besides history and museums. If he woulda said I’m want to go somewhere with great history and museums I would said def go to DC

 

[phcitywarrior]

I'd pick DC honestly.

• Soul Food, Cajun/Creole, Southern - all of these are hit and miss to me. But folks swear by Ooh's and Aahs, as well as Florida Avenue Grill

Yea Oohs and Aahs wasn’t really it for me. I can see the appeal but it’s just too rich for my palette. The mac and cheese is more like cheese and mac.

Carolina Kitchen by Rhode Island Ave metro is a good shout for soul food. Also got a location in Hyattsville by PG Plaza

 

[Mike Nasty]

DC easily. If you like this sort of thing you can go to Gravelly Point and watch the planes land at National. Other than Anchorage it's the closest you get to a flying plane. You can also park there walk along the river or crossover to Haynes Point.

If you have a car you drive out to Great Falls, or even Harpers Ferry.