The Caucus Room

Not worth it, even at the Restaurant Week price of $35 for three courses. Food was just average, waitress didn't offer to replace anything I was unhappy with. Valet drivers were rude. Not worth the gas it took to drive there. Very disappointing.

This is the place to see and be seen if you want to hob nob with capital hill's movers and shakers. The food is good, but the gossip is better. It is amazing who you'll see walk through the door. This is where deals are made and future's ensured. What you eat doesn't compare to whom you eat it with.

You can't beat the state of affairs at the Caucus Room for affairs of state. Politicos, policy wonks and assorted 'West Wing' types assemble in the Caucus Room's cushy environs -- cherry wood paneling, polished brass, plush carpet -- to talk shop and eat well. And eating well is easy here, with lunch items like blackened grouper sandwich and grilled portobello on focaccia with peppers and pesto. Dinner favorites include a brioche-crusted sea bass with braised leeks and fennel, and the Caucus Room Surf & Turf -- petite filets paired with jumbo shrimp scampi. Red meat is always a good way to go; all of the Caucus Room's aged steaks and chops are hand-selected and hand-cut for peak flavor and tenderness.

Dining with the bigwigs doesn't come cheap: That porterhouse on the menu sets you back $36 for the steak alone. (Sides are $6 extra.) But if your credit card can take the punishment, you'll get extra helpings of Washington aura here. The black-and-white photographs of DC personalities set the scene, and, with its location just a stone's throw from the White House and Capitol Hill, the Caucus Room feels like a fine-dining outpost for the VIPs who run the country in their spare time. -- Jon Bowen