Do It For The Points!: Pete's Diner Washington, D.C.

This is cheating a bit since I live in Washington, D.C. but I realize that it's a very popular tourist destination and when people come to visit they sometimes want to live like a local and avoid all of the "tourist" options for dining and entertainment so I figured it was a great time to start a "Live Like a Local DC" section of the blog.

In these posts I will try to post great options for every meal, including brunch because in DC brunch is a meal...no an experience in and of its self. Then I'll move on to my favorite sites in DC that go beyond the National Mall and the typical tourist spots.

So....to kick this off I have to start with one of my absolute favorite places in DC to get breakfast. The weird thing about DC as a city is there are very few true breakfast places. As I mentioned, brunch places are very abundant, but a true breakfast place is hard to find.

My favorite breakfast place is just a 2 minute walk from the Capitol Building, Pete's Diner. Pete's is everything you are looking for in a good diner style place. When you walk in this place is tiny...there are about five booths, nine or so barstools and a longggggg table with benches on either side that you can sit at. All seating is first-come first-serve so you can just take a seat anywhere. If you come in on a Saturday morning around 8:30 you will find me and my friend Chris camped out in the second to last booth. It's been our Saturday tradition since our senior year of college and we've reached the point where they know our order and we don't even have to formally order anymore.

That's the beauty of Pete's, the staff has an amazing memory and knows all of their regulars. Their regulars are everyone from Hill Staffers to Capitol Policemen to Members of Congress. Speaker John Boehner used to be a regular every morning and still pops in every once and a while when Congress is in session. Just today there were at least eight new Members of Congress that will start work in january with the 113th Congress.

Pete's is really no-frills the menu is plastic but there are specials all over the wall which is where your eye should go. The specials on the wall have most of my favorite items like the the Pete's Number 2-B which is two eggs, home fries, bacon and toast...why it's 2-B I have no idea. The decor on the walls consists of a bunch of random paintings, letters from Members of Congress and police badges from all over the country.

When you order you better not blink because your food will be there in a flash and the coffee cup will never see the bottom. The food is nothing fancy, but it's exactly what you are looking for before a long day walking across the city.