DC for Locals: 12 Neighborhood Gems Tourists Miss

Go deeper The monuments are the monuments. But the city people actually live in is the restaurants on H Street, the 1:00 a.m. Ben's Chili Bowl half-smoke, the secret garden at Dumbarton Oaks, the Sunday flea at Eastern Market.

Bars, rooms, and rituals Every neighborhood has a bar that stands in for a living room. Ours: Kramers afterward, Madam's Organ on a bluegrass night, Columbia Room for anniversaries.