I DINED LIKE A PRESIDENT IN WASHINGTON DC
Hello there.
Those of you who know me know that I spend a fair amount of time in our nation’s capitol visiting my children and grandchildren who reside there. Good food and fine dining is abundantly available in Washington, DC and we always enjoy wonderful meals in very good restaurants during our visits. In fact, I have taken you with me to my favorite Italian restaurant in Georgetown when I did this blog post about Cafe Milano.
Well today I thought I’d take you with me when I dined like a President in Washington DC. Actually, to be fair, I dined like a President in a suburb of Washington, DC, in a town called Falls Church in Northern Virginia, where there is an establishment called the Peking Gourmet Inn. From the outside it looks like any other nondescript Chinese restaurant, located in a nondescript strip mall.
But, it is here that President George H. W. Bush Sr. dined more than 50 times during his tenure as Vice President and President. Granted, he worked in DC for many years, but for one person to dine at the same restaurant over 50 times it seems to me that restaurant must be doing something right. In fact, George and Barbara Bush even celebrated Valentine’s Day at The Peking Gourmet Inn in 2011.
And, his son George W. Bush also dined at the Peking Gourmet Inn during his presidency. Because of the notoriety this restaurant enjoys, everybody wants to dine here, and sooner or later everybody in the DC Metro area does. So on my recent visit to DC we decided we wanted to dine like a President too, and paid the Peking Gourmet Inn a visit.
Upon entering the restaurant you are immediately transported from the dingy stripmall…
into a family-friendly interior that looks like it’s straight out of a Jackie Chan movie.
The walls are lined with framed photos of the various celebrities, politicians and dignitaries that frequent this popular restaurant.
A display case at the entry holds these Coins of Excellence, which were presented to the establishment from various patrons representing numerous branches of military and government. I believe this tradition started in the military where a coin of excellence could be given by a senior officer as an on-the-spot award that recognized merit or achievement. The Peking Gourmet Inn sure has their share of them.
These photos came from their website, as the night we dined here the place was filled to capacity with large groups who dine at these large tables, each equipped with a lazy susan allowing the food, which is served family style, to be easily reached by everyone at the table.
We started with two of their signature flaming volcano cocktails…
which come equipped with very long straws, allowing the drinks to be enjoyed long distance. They seem to have thought of everything here! While they were a little gimmicky, it was fun and different.
The first thing that arrived at our table was the Peking duck which is carved tableside in a meticulous process. I understand this restaurant, which has been in business for 37 years now, sells over 70,000 of these Peking style ducks a year!
The carving process starts first with the removal of the skin.
The fat is then scraped off and discarded, leaving only the crispy skin for consumption.
The meat is then expertly butchered with an extremely sharp knife, that produces razor thin slices of juicy flesh.
The duck is served with a peppery hoisin sauce and 12 thin pancakes (not shown), plus julienned spring onions which are grown along with the other vegetables used by the restaurant at their 136 acre farm in Purcellville, Virginia.
We were then served an array of pot stickers, egg rolls and wontons that came with various dipping sauces.
As I understand it, when the Bush family dines here, usually as a group with their extended family, they don’t even need to order, as their standing order is well known by the restaurant who dubbed it “The Bush Menu”. It is a 5 course affair that consists of the Peking Duck of course, the Four Season String Beans, Szechuan Beef, Juo-Yen Shrimp and Lamb Chops Peking Style. We ordered the Four Season String Beans, which had been stir-fried with chopped onions, red chili peppers and garlic.
We let my son order for us since he had eaten here several times before. In truth, the food looked better than it tasted, and for the most part was lacking flavor.
Nathan ordered another dish they are famous for, garlic sprouts, shown here served with shrimp. They are grown hydroponically in a barn at their Purcellville farm and apparently never touch soil or see sunlight.
We also had the obligatory noodle dish and fried rice.
Too full to order dessert, we watched the tableside preparation of fried pineapple being served at a neighboring table.
We were content to share fortune cookies with my grandson, who was the best part of our lackluster meal.
In closing I’d say I’m happy I visited this restaurant, which was a fun way to spend the evening with my family. I’m glad I can now say that I dined like a President in Washington, DC. Would I recommend the Peking Gourmet Inn to you? Yes, for the experience, if not for the food.
The Peking Gourmet Inn is located at Bailey’s Crossroads. Reservations are essential. Here is the address:
6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041
(703) 671-8088
So there you have it: I DINED LIKE A PRESIDENT IN WASHINGTON DC
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