Washington, D.C
Nine highlights of Washington DC most visitors miss
There is a smorgasboard of eating spots along District Wharf.
Two waterfront precincts – District Wharf (commonly known as The Wharf) and Navy Yard – have sprung up in the past six years, both with bars, restaurants and modern apartments. Stroll along District Wharf and make your choice from a smorgasbord of eating spots. My favourites? The casual Cuban-themed cafe, Colada Shop and Del Mar, an upmarket Spanish and seafood restaurant. Then check the packed schedule of The Anthem, where the likes of Foo Fighters and Bob Dylan have hit the stage. Further east, and occupying a recently refurbished shipbuilding and munitions port, is the slightly clinical grid of streets known as Navy Yard. It’s worth heading here for Albi, a Michelin-starred, Mediterranean-themed restaurant. Or down a few beers at Bluejacket Brewery after a baseball game at the Nationals Park stadium nearby.
Dupont Circle
The neighbourhood is crammed with colourful row houses.Credit: iStock
Dupont Circle is both a busy roundabout pinned by an attractive beaux-arts fountain, and a neighbourhood crammed with historic row houses. Of a Sunday, push your way past the dogs and strollers at Dupont Circle’s Farmers Market and join the queues for delicious, if pricey, fresh produce and a friendly chat with a stranger. Casual food spots dot the Circle’s boulevards. Climb a half-flight of wrought iron stairs to access Chiko that serves a blend of Chinese and Korean cuisine, and tuck into an “orange-ish chicken”, an elevated rendition of a sweet-sour takeaway favourite. For excellent third-wave coffee, join the digital nomads in Emissary, in the basement of a lovely Queen Anne-style mansion.
14th Street
‘Sneak’ into the bar of Chicken + Whiskey through a fridge door.
Gentrification occurred in 14th Street faster than the president’s motorcade that sometimes races through DC without warning. In two short decades, the strip between Logan Circle and just beyond U Street morphed from a seedy hotbed of car dealerships and “adult services” to DC’s liveliest social magnet. These days, a diverse crowd gathers in its overhauled spaces: LGBTQIA+ flags fly proudly in windows and smart, modern restaurants and sophisticated drinking dens are common. Faux speakeasy bars with quirky entrances are a trend: “sneak” into the bar of Chicken + Whiskey through a refrigerator door at the rear of the chicken joint. A cross-section of DC’s population gathers at Busboys and Poets for brunch, lunch or dinner. As a bonus, poets might be performing in its adjoining cultural space.
Adams Morgan
Adams Morgan is a nocturnal destination with a youthful vibe.Credit: iStock
Warts and all are on display along this densely-packed section of 18th Street in Adams Morgan where tattoo parlours abut grungy take-out joints and empanada hole-in-the walls stand adjacent to upmarket bars. This largely nocturnal destination attracts a youthful bunch, who down cheap pints in basement dives, and compare various herb-infused concoctions in chic rooftop bars. Walk the strip and make your choice. If you’re after cocktails with creative Middle Eastern flavours, plus reggae music, popular haunt The Green Zone has you covered.
U Street And Shaw
Ben’s Chili Bowl is a landmark on U Street.
The centre of Black cultural and intellectual life since the 1860s, U Street became known as Black Broadway, such was its entertainment scene; the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington cut their jazz teeth here. It took decades to rebound after its destruction during the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Music lovers should check out what’s on at the 9:30 Club, a long-standing music venue.
For cuisine, Ben’s Chili Bowl is a famous landmark, but don’t expect gourmet fare; former president Obama was known to enjoy its chili half smoke (similar to, though not, a hot dog). Nearby, the hip, yet edgy neighbourhood of Shaw is the cool kids’ domain. A good place to start is Blagden Alley, popular among Instagrammers for its colourful street art. Start at La Colombe (great coffee), have a breather at Lost & Found (a fun bar) or plan for dinner at Tiger Fork (fabulous Asian).
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NoMa and Union Market district
The revamped NoMa district (named in the 1990s for “north of Massachusetts”) is a favourite for young professionals. Within NoMa is the popular Union Market, a restored, mid-century food hall where Australian Fiona Lewis runs The District Fishwife and prepares some of the freshest fish tacos around. The surrounding blocks that comprise former converted warehouses are worth poking around: pick up some stylish South American made handicrafts from La Cosecha; reserve dinner at St Anselm, a faux-old-school American tavern; and see the wee hours in at Last Call, an action-packed “cocktail dive bar” (meaning, it serves fancy drinks at good prices in a no-frills, converted cafeteria).
Georgetown
A street mural in leafy Georgetown.
Incorporated into the city of Washington in 1871, Georgetown, DC’s leafiest and chicest district, draws both a youthful crowd (it’s home to an eponymous university) and elderly residents. Start with M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, two shopping strips that drip with flower baskets. Then meander through the pretty, green streets to Tudor Place, the mansion of George Washington’s grand-daughter, Martha. Other famous residents include former First Lady Jackie Kennedy (JFK proposed to her at Martin’s Tavern). At Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, DC’s historic canal, you can sit over a coffee and cupcake from the backstreet gem, Baked & Wired. For local souvenirs? Made in DC sells stylish pieces true to its name.
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Happy hours in DC
George Washington distilled whisky. His successor, John Adams, swilled hard cider for breakfast. And sneaky distilling went on here during prohibition. After the Prohibition Act ended in 1933, DC’s own jazz artist Duke Ellington wrote the hit Cocktails for Two. The cocktail and drinking tradition continues, especially during advertised happy hours when everything from speakeasies to dive bars, hotel rooftops to craft breweries, offer decent reduced-price deals.
See washington.org; si.edu
Beyond the Monuments in Washington, DC: An insider’s guide to what to eat, drink and explore by Kate Armstrong is published by Hardie Grant, $34.99.
WASHINGTON (7News) — An ice cream truck caught fire in Southeast D.C. on Thursday, the D.C. Fire and EMS Department said.
The commercial vehicle was reported fully engulfed when crews arrived in the 1700 block of Tobias Drive SE.
SEE ALSO | Man, woman injured in Southeast DC double shooting
Firefighters quickly put out the flames and prevented the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
No injuries were reported.
WASHINGTON (7News) — The Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, on Wednesday removed a well-known priest as an exorcist of the archdiocese after he made public comments suggesting that UFO sightings were the work of demons.
McElroy said the archdiocese also was cutting ties with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, a Washington-based nonprofit headed by the priest, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti.
The archbishop said Rossetti’s statements “linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.”
“There’s a danger here,” Rossetti said in a May 29 video posted on his Facebook page addressing UFO sightings and the existence of aliens. “As an exorcist I wanted to raise that danger. And that is that demons like to hide. … They don’t want us to know what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realize it.”
“They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.”
“It’s my personal belief that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Rossetti added.
Rossetti also said that people can be good Catholics and believe there’s life on other planets, though he does not personally believe life exists elsewhere.
In a statement posted on the St. Michael Center website, Rossetti said he was saddened by the action of the archdiocese.
“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic,’” he said. “I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the Center to be thus obedient.”
Rossetti, who has over 148,000 followers on Instagram, is a prominent psychologist as well as an exorcist. His center has specialized in offering spiritual healing for priests troubled by various difficulties.
In 2023, he told The Associated Press there was increasing and renewed appetite for information about demonic possession and exorcism.
Washington, D.C
Nurses at Washington D.C.’s largest hospital call on leadership to reverse planned cuts to maternal health
RNs at MedStar Washington Hospital Center say closure of postpartum unit will disproportionately harm marginalized and underserved communities
Union nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) in Washington, D.C. are demanding that management stop the planned closure of an entire postpartum unit, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). The hospital notified the union on May 26, 2026 of its intention to eliminate 11 maternal health beds and displace eight nurses by July 26, 2026, leaving MWHC with one postpartum unit.
In a follow-up town hall with staff nurses, Chief Nursing Officer Ariam Yitbarek confirmed the closure. Other leaders have additionally informed staff that the hospital will strictly limit scheduled C-sections and inductions for patients from numerous D.C. maternal health organizations. The list of organizations includes many that primarily serve low-income patients, immigrants, and patients of color, all communities with significantly higher risks of maternal mortality. Additionally, staff were informed that Kaiser Permanente, which notably insures a large number of DC city employees and even many of MWHC’s own workers, will see a strict limit on scheduling inductions and C-sections for their patients as well.
“Closing postpartum unit 5F will gravely impact those most affected by health disparities,” said Stephanie Sims-Coates, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit. “Our low-income families and families of color will be most affected by this closure. Families trust the medical staff at MWHC and plan to come to us for their care. In a city where Black women make up 90 percent of pregnancy-related deaths despite being only half the population, the hospital’s decision to close this unit is a significant mistake.”
Community leaders and healthcare workers are joining the call for MedStar to put patients before profits and keep the unit open. This past weekend, nurses met with D.C. mayoral candidate and Ward 4 councilwoman Janeese Lewis George about the planned closure and the impact it would have on DC’s most vulnerable residents.
“Maternal mortality is a crisis for Washington, DC, and our healthcare system needs to address the crisis immediately, rather than exacerbate the challenges that birthing parents face,” said Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George. “Now is the time to invest in health care, rather than make cuts. I want to work with the hospital to identify solutions that work for patients and the provider.”
“In my time at Washington Hospital Center, I’ve seen the hospital tout its Safe Moms, Safe Babies program and host a community baby shower specifically designed to call attention to the maternal mortality crisis,” said Marcqueata “Tiya” Butler, RN in the Mother/Baby unit. “Their current plan to shut down 11 postpartum beds betrays the hospital’s stated commitments. They are aware of persistent inequities in access to care. We are calling on the hospital to consider the impacts on the community, safeguard the mothers and infants of DC and commit to addressing the maternal mortality rate.”
In 2024, MedStar Health, a registered non-profit, reported $9 billion in operating revenue.
NNOC/NNU represents more than 2,200 registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center.
National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.
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