Pho 14 Columbia Heights in Washington DC is the Park Road Vietnamese counter near the Columbia Heights Metro, with pho served from a 14-hour broth and a five-item menu lean focus.
Tip: The pho dac biet (special) with rare beef and brisket is the editorial bowl; bowl size large feeds two for $14.
Address: 1436 Park Rd NW, Washington, DC 20010, Washington DC
Tortilla Cafe in Washington DC is the Capitol Hill 7th Street Salvadoran-Mexican counter across from Eastern Market, with pupusas, tacos and Salvadoran tamales served from a tight kitchen.
Try: Pupusas and tacos al pastor
Tip: Outdoor sidewalk seats are the move at lunch; the pupusas come three to a plate with curtido for $11.
Pizza Mart Adams Morgan in Washington DC is the 18th Street late-night pizza counter, one of two rooms claiming to have invented the jumbo slice in the late 1990s for the bar crowd.
Try: 18-inch jumbo slice
Tip: Cash is fastest after midnight; one folded jumbo slice walks two people home from the Adams Morgan strip.
Duccini's Pizza Adams Morgan in Washington DC is the 18th Street jumbo-slice counter facing Pizza Mart, the other Adams Morgan claim to the jumbo-slice late-night format invention.
Try: Jumbo slice and stromboli
Tip: The mushroom-and-pepperoni jumbo slice is the favourite; the stromboli is the under-ordered second pick.
Jumbo Slice Pizza in Washington DC is the third 18th Street late-night pizza counter on the Adams Morgan strip, holding the same 04:00 weekend close as the Pizza Mart and Duccini's neighbours.
Try: 18-inch jumbo slice
Tip: The cheese-slice with hot honey is the closing-time editorial pick; sit on the sidewalk bench facing the strip.
Weenie Beenie is the Arlington half-smoke counter at 2680 South Shirlington Road, a 1950s walk-up window that claims a Northern Virginia hold on the half-smoke that predates Ben's Chili Bowl.
Try: Half-smoke chili dog (Arlington)
Tip: The Weenie Beenie half-smoke is leaner than Ben's; the chili-and-cheese order is the editorial point of comparison.
Maine Avenue Fish Market in Washington DC is the Southwest Waterfront open-air seafood market on Maine Avenue, the oldest continuously-operating open-air fish market in the United States.
Try: Boiled blue crabs and shrimp by the pound
Tip: Pre-cooked seafood is sold by the pound; carry the brown bag to a Wharf bench for a $30 lunch for two.
