Daikaya – Washington, DC

What's NEXT: When in need for a solid bowl of ramen, look no further than Daikaya. 

Located in the Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood, Daikaya was built from the ground up, literally. The old building was completely knocked down in 2012 and took a year to build. The shop opened its doors on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. It brings a modern decor with wood tables, providing customers an authentic ramen shop type feel.

Daikaya is a no-nonsense ramen shop where seating is limited and service is relatively quick. Customers are usually in and out in 30 minutes. I usually opt for the Shio or Mugi-Miso Ramen. Both have very clean flavors and bring out the tremendously rich broth. Since this is a Japanese based ramen shop, they also offer a Shoyu (soy sauce) ramen which I've found to be way too salty. There’s also a vegetarian option as well.

Typical with ramen shops, there’s an add-on for everything: nitamago (soft-boiled egg), chashu (roasted pork), butabara kakuni (roasted pork belly), bamboo, extra noodles etc.  At the end of it, you could easily be spending $20 for a bowl of ramen. I usually just stick with the addition of the chashu which I found to be very flavorful. This keeps my bowl of ramen budget friendly at around $15.

All in all, this is a great place to go if you’re craving ramen or prior to an event at the Verizon Center.

FYI - They also have a Japanese Izakaya upstairs which is relatively new. I definitely need to check that out as well!

4/5 Stars

Mugi-Miso Ramen with Pork Belly

Ramen Menu

Store Front

Buffalo Billiards - Washington, DC

What's NEXT: Buffalo Billiards is a large and spacious bar to enjoy a football Sunday or catch some sporting events with the guys. Located close to the Dupont Circle Metro, it's a downstairs bar with pool plenty of seating. It's also home to the Michigan Alumni Association, so I saw hundreds dressed in Maize Blue during the NCAA National Championship.

It's a huge bar so you won't have to rub elbows with the drunk guy who can't see to walk straight. There are a ridiculous amount of TVs everywhere so you won't have any problem finding a spot with a decent viewing area. They've even came up with certain sitting areas which can distract others and designate a DO NOT SIT area. It's quite brilliant.

If the big game is on, chances are they'll even have audio for games which is great too.

I've had their typical burgers, fries, wings and onion rings. It's typical food you would expect from any sports bar. Drink specials are plenty too, so its definitely worth checking out.

3/5 Stars

One of the Many Bar Areas

Buffalo Wings

TVs on Every Wall