Political Washington may be electric these days as a new administration takes power, but there’s plenty hip and happenin’ off Capitol Hill, too.
One big reason D.C.’s pulse has quickened is Penn Quarter, the city’s now “wow” entertainment central. Though the neighborhood lies between The White House and the U.S. Capitol, its hours and culture are far removed from the partisan landscape.
Groups who locate in the Penn have a plethora of after-business options to keep them occupied for several days—and nights.
Once a sleepy, derelict part of town, a decade or so of revitalization has transformed the Penn into a 24-hour community of new condo residences, trendy restaurants, attractions and shops. Some call it D.C.’s “mini Broadway” because several theaters call it home, including the new $85 million Shakespeare Theater Company at the Harman Center Hall, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre, “Washington’s most daring theater company” with its roster of new plays.
Sports and headliner musical concerts are on the calendar at Verizon Center. For shopping, there’s everything in the district, from ice cream shops to outlets for French lingerie and books.“Penn Quarter is hot,” says Victoria Isley, senior vice president, marketing and communications for Destination DC (formerly the Washington, D.C., Convention & Tourism Corp.). “Planners can place their meetings and attendees right in this heart of D.C., with its dozens of restaurants, theaters, hotels and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center all within easy walking distance, so they don’t have to incur expensive shuttle systems to get to some remote convention center or meeting facility.”
The wildly successful International Spy Museum occupies historic architecture in the Penn, and across the street inside another historic edifice are the stunning National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. Nearby, The Crime & Punishment Museum is about criminals ranging from medieval knights and greed-driven pirates to today’s white collar criminals—and the ill-gotten fruits of their labors. These and many other Penn venues offer groups exciting private event platforms.
Jill McGregor, CEO and founder of Capitol Services, Inc., a DMC event planning company in D.C. and Baltimore, says the Penn’s exciting restaurant scene is perfect for group dinearounds, and is one centerpiece in D.C.’s culinary uptick all over town.
“DC has changed so significantly in the past few years,” McGregor says. “What we have here now is a min-Manhattan with trendy wonderful restaurants on every corner, and a livable downtown. The Penn offers us some of the best choices.”
The neighborhood’s tables serve up everything from traditional Asian dishes in D.C.’s historic Chinatown to Co Co Sala, a brand-new eatery where just about everything on the menu contains chocolate. You want Cajun? Acadiana is a place to find traditional Southern cuisine with a Louisiana influence, while IndeBleu offers a fusion of Indian and American cuisine. Zengo dishes are a cross between Mexican and Japanese culinary traditions, where you can order up a palate tingling chipotle miso soup. Inside Caucus Room, diners often see a celebrity or Capitol Hill politico taking sustenance as they hammer out a deal. OYA offers French and Asian fusion, with sushi and tenderloin of beef among the specialties.
McGregor is also a big fan of D.C.’s improved transportation for groups, which gets people to the restaurants and all the rest. There’s all-over-downtown access via underground Metro trains, and low-cost above-ground transport via Metrobus and DC Circulator bus, which connects D.C.’s convention center and cultural, entertainment and business districts, including Penn Quarter.
When it comes to after-hours entertainment, it seems this previously staid capital of power and influence is always in session.
