Orange Line Metro-Need Help

[Anonymous]

Tomorrow I'm taking my toddler on a metro ride for our morning entertainment. We will be getting on at West Falls Church. I'm looking for a stop to get off and have some lunch with DC and then ride back home. Anyone have any suggestions for good lunch spots with my tot along the Orange Line? Last trip we stopped at Clarendon, but only found one place that was close to the metro that was any good; however I don't know the area, so maybe there was more I was missing. This time I'd like to possibly travel a little farther down the line for a longer ride. Any suggestions possibly at metro center?

[Anonymous]

The Ballston metro stop drops you off inside of Ballston Mall. As with any shopping mall, there are stores and eateries. I haven't been there in awhile so you might want to google Ballston mall and see if any of the restaurants are appealing to you (and your DC).

[Anonymous]

You could get off at Metro Center and easily walk to Chinatown/Gallery Place, and there are a ton of places over there. Or you could ride to Eastern Market and have lunch at the Market Lunch or any of a number of Capitol Hill options (Tunnicliff's on 7th St. across from the old Eastern Market, one of the ethnic places on 8th St./Barracks Row, a burger at Good Stuff on Pennsylvania Ave (though that is three or four blocks away, the other ideas are within about a block of the metro).

[Anonymous]

ditto the metro center stop and walk toward Verizon Center and Chinatown (7th and H). you could go to clyde's or potbelly sandwich works, both are near that stop. Also, Fado's is good for lunch (it is an irish bar though but they have basic food).

[Anonymous]

or 5 Guys if none of them is allergic to peanuts (they cook in peanut oil and there are peanut shells everywhere.)

[Anonymous]

We've taken our young kids on the metro from Dunn Loring to Clarendon and eaten at Hard Times Cafe. They had a great time.

[Anonymous]

Ballston or Clarendon are your best bets.

Ballston metro has an IHOP, Rio Grande and a mediterranean place within 2 blocks, and the mall has Noodles & Co, Panera, Chevy's, Rock Bottom Brewery (which is kid-friendly) and a food court.

Clarendon metro has a ton of choices, most kid-friendly though most don't have official kid's menus. Boulevard Woodgrill, Faccia Luna, La Tasca, Cheesecake Factory, Harry's Tap Room, Chipotle, a Salvadoran/Mexican place whose name escapes me, Whitlows, Spider Kelly's (nonsmoking) and Liberty Tavern (non-smoking) are all within easy walking distance. Whitlows (at Wilson & Fillmore) is very kid-friendly and would probably be my choice.

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

You could also get off at Courthouse. Off the top of my head, restaurants within walking distance are Irelands 4 Courts, California Tortilla, Sawatdee (Thai), Guajillo (Mexican), a noodle house, Cosi, and Wendys.

[Anonymous]

Take it all the way into DC and get off at Eastern Market. That's a really cool indoor market with tons of places to eat lunch.

[Anonymous]

If you go to Metro Center, be sure to walk to the Reynolds Center (American Art and Portrait Gallery) near Gallery Place. The enclosed courtyard is great for some indoor running around, and the top floor (4th Floor) has some fanciful modern installations that will catch a toddler's eye.

[Anonymous]

Ballston also has two ice skating rinks on the top floor of the mall's parking lot. It can be entertaining after eating lunch to watch hockey practice or people practicing figure skating.

[Anonymous]

another place that's good for toddlers near metro center is the National Building Museum, surprisingly enough. They have a children's playroom with soft blocks, construction paper, etc. it's nbm.org, I believe. It's at 6th and F, and you could easily walk a block or two to lunch.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP, but I wanted to let all of you know that these are some awesome suggestions! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ballston also has two ice skating rinks on the top floor of the mall's parking lot. It can be entertaining after eating lunch to watch hockey practice or people practicing figure skating.

We have been taking our now 3.5 year old son to the ice rink at Ballston since he was about 1.5. He loves it and it is a great place to burn energy since between the ice rinks is a big open area where they can just run. There is also an elevator that goes straight down to the Food Court where they have tons of choices.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for your suggestions! We ended up getting off at Gallery Place and eating at Gordon Bierch (sp). Unfortunatly it was so rainy and cold, I would have liked to walk around more. As we were leaving there was a wood fired pizza place that looked appealing. Too bad we missed it.

Next time we'll check out the Rynolds Center, Eastern Market idea, and Ballston.

I'll be posting in a few months looking for good parks near metro stops. My son LOVES riding the metro, the best $4 spent!!! He'll be talking about our outing today for weeks to come. Thanks!