Capitol Hill Comfort Food for a Cold Day
So, yeah, it’s cold. The Arctic vortex has yet to return to the North Pole, leaving us with shivery conditions. In these cases, perhaps the best course of action is retreat and eat.
Here’s a short list of comfort foods on Capitol Hill to help you through the cold.
- Chili cheese fries — The Tune Inn, 331 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
This is the kind of chili dreams are made of: thick, with kidney beans and beef and layered on top of potatoes that have been thoroughly fried and then blasted in an oven. The cold doesn’t stand a chance against this dish.

- Onion soup “au gratin” — Bearnaise, 315 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

- Beef cheek bourguignon — Montmartre DC, 327 Seventh St. SE
- Red beans and rice — Johnny’s Half Shell, 400 North Capitol St. NW
In Louisiana, red beans and rice are a staple on Mondays and for comfort food purposes everywhere. At Johnny’s, where owner Ann Cashion worships at the New Orleans food altar, they serve a mean rendition with spicy sausage that’s worth its weight in good feelings. Plus, you can hum along to the Booker T and the MGs song while you eat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9dquWDfepA
- Quark and black pepper pierogi — Boundary Road, 414 H St. NE
Chef Brad Walker knows how Slavic souls (including this writer) stay warm in Balkan and Balkan-like winters: starch and dairy products. The tangy sourness of quark makes the buttery goodness of the pierogi shell a welcome addition to the belly on days such as these.
Eat responsibly.