Is DC Stealing NYC's Cool?

March 2, 2009 at 3:26 PM | by BS | 0 Comments

Washington, DC has spent the better part of its existence in the shadow of its larger neighbor to the north, and there's no better way to get a Washingtonian riled up then to go on about how much less cool their town is than New York.

So what's up with the Manhattan media elite fretting about DC overtaking NYC? First none other than New York Magazine wondered whether the balance of power and culture has shifted southward, undoubtedly thanks to the presidential cool of Barack Obama.

Now Mollie Chen from Conde Nast Traveler is going gaga for DC's suddenly cool food scene:

The inauguration may be over but Washington, D.C., is still on a high--and change is not limited to politics. Last week, we had dinner with many of the city's tourism officials, all of whom were giddy about their new White House residents as well as their own plans for the next few years. "I can't tell you how excited we are to be cool," one of the heads of Cultural Tourism DC said.

We've always thought DC's restaurant scene was underrated, and it sure looked fun there on election night (picture above), but to be honest, the two examples of buzz-y upcoming spots CN Traveler lists don�t exactly have us ready to board the BoltBus.

First up there's Inox, a massive high-end eatery in the "chic business district of Tysons Corner, Virginia." The menu sounds insane in a good way (Kalamata olive oil sherbert!), but you might need to rent a car to get there. Tysons Corner is a half-hour from DC. And it's more suburban mall district than "chic business."

On to the bar front. It's been said many times that DC is just like New York, only three years behind the trends...and cue DC getting in on overpriced, overdone faux-speakeasies. Every District resident who has been waiting for a dark, no-signage, secret-except-for-the-PR-push place to buy $16 cocktails now has The Gibson, on U and 14th Streets. Again, forgive us if we're not booking a ticket straight away.

Are faux-speakeasies and chic suburbs really the best new stuff DC has to offer? We don' t believe it. What other hot new spots are you Washingtonians celebrating your sudden coolness in? Let us know in the comments.

· Washington, DC travel coverage [Jaunted]
· New York travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [wumpiewoo]

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