March 9, 2012 (Updated February 6, 2023)

Apartment Hunting DC Style

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

27 comments

Good morning and happy Friday!

Today is day 2 of apartment hunting — the Virginia edition. Yesterday’s adventure was D.C.! Matt and I got in a quick workout in the morning — we did a bunch of Spartacus/HIIT moves (basically lunges/squats/jumps/etc. with weights involved) and also did some sprints down my parent’s driveway — I’m sure the neighbors thought we were insane.

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After lunch, we got down to business. We are interesting in the upper NW/red line area of DC, so we parked in Cleveland Park and made our way south, checking out apartments in the area as we went.

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We saw a couple we liked, but we’re going to see how today’s hunt in VA goes before we commit to anything.

After our search, we made our way down to Georgetown to meet Heather and her boyfriend (known on her blog as the mysterious “D”) for dinner. We had some extra time to kill so we made a pit stop at Pinkberry. 😉

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We had dinner at a pizza place called Il Canale — I’d never been there before so it was fun to try something new! As you probably gathered from the name, it’s tucked away on the canal in Georgetown. 🙂

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We were seated on the roof deck since it was so nice out. Warmest March ever.

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For dinner, we enjoyed some red wine, and Matt and I shared a Caesar salad to start:

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Plus a small pizza with artichokes, basil, and ham:

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The pizza was amazing — probably my new favorite pizza place in the area! Very authentic Italian — not too much cheese with a nice thin crust and crispy edges. Divine.

And great to catch up with Heather and her man, too. 🙂 The four of us had a great time together — it will be nice to hang out more again when we’re back!

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Dear red wine: Thanks for making my face bright red. It’s a good look for me.

Time to get down to business — apartments await and then Matt and I are driving back down to Chapel Hill tonight! It’s been such a whirlwind week and I’m crazy behind on emails/blog stuff and school work, but I’m so grateful we were able to use this week to get so much wedding planning and moving related stuff done.

Ta ta for now, friends! And if you live in Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Dupont, Clarendon, Courthouse, or Rosslyn and love your apartment — please email me the name. 🙂 (My email is anne{at}fannetasticfood.com)

- anne

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27 comments
  • Umm, I did not put the "Canale" on the Canal thing together AT ALL. I figured it was some Italian word that meant "delicious pizza!". ;) Kidding...sort of... Such a fun date! That restaurant is now on the top of my Georgetown favorites list. Next time, we venture to the Hill!
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  • That pizza looks soooo good, yummy. Good luck on the hunt.
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  • Any kind of alcohol has the same effect on me. I get it from my dad - his ears just get red and look really funny. :)
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  • I know I am biased...but as someone that lives in Virginia but has a weekend job in NW...I need to put my vote in for Virginia living for the simple fact that the red line is the WORST metro line in DC.
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    • I'm biased on the DC end. My husband and I live in downtown (near Metro Center/Penn Quarter) and he takes the red line to and from Bethesda every day. He was commenting on how in 5 years of this commute, he has been late to/from work due to train trouble maybe once or twice. Every Metro line has its issues (especially on weekends!) and I think the red line gets a bad rap. You might want to consider checking Craigslist or similar sites for condos that people are renting out. Condo buildings tend to be well taken care of because the owners invest in the building and its maintenance.
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  • If being near a Metro isn't absolutely imperative, you could try living around Shirlington Village in Arlington. They have buses directly to and from the Pentagon. We used to live there and it's a really good spot. Great restaurants and an awesome gym.
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  • Good luck on the apartment shopping! :) that Caesar salad and pizza looks amazing...I think I know what I'm having for dinner now! :)
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  • If you get a chance go to Paolos in DC. It's the BEST restaurant in Georgetown (at least I'm obsessed ;)). How exciting to be living the city life. Living outside of DC proper is just as fun! Hope it's fun and not too stressful!
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  • Good luck with the apartment hunting! Glad you got a chance to catch up with Heather. I haven't seen her in years but I should probably reach out to see if she'll be running the Cherry Blossom in a few weeks. I would love to see that girl again. Hope all is well!
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  • Good luck apt hunting!!! :)
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  • Il Canale is one of my favorite pizza places in the area! I live in Alexandria but love to trek into Georgetown for that pizza and cupcakes :) Also I love hearing about your favorite runs in DC as I am new to the area. I am going to check out the C&O Canal trail next week for a long run!
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  • Liking all your newest wedding adventures! Really fun. Along the way it sure is nice to check out various restaurants. It will be interesting where your new apartment will be! We love Boston/Georgetown! Also West Virginia. Not traveling as much these days. Our last visit was in 2011 ..... most likely a next trip will be 2013. I will take that pizza ..... minus the pork. Mostly veggie here. Yeah Anne, I noticed how cherry-red you are in the photo. At first I thought maybe from a workout. Now that you mentioned it ..... sure, the wine. Were you overly warm/heated? Several of our friends (practically my entire fam too) are severely allergic to the nitrates in (most all) wines. My sister and I cannot drink any booze. The stuff will just not go down. Ha. I do eat lots of grapes though. Ha. Hope this is only a one-time thing for ya. I realize folks really enjoy a glass or two of wine with their meals. Happy weekend Anne!
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    • I always get red from wine (and heat... and cold... and everything) because I have rosacea. No big deal!
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  • I discovered your blog just recently while looking for RD friendly recipes for kids- I’m a nutrition educator at DC Central Kitchen. I’m new to the area (and old, as I grew up in nova) and also looking for a place. There are a lot more great neighborhoods that you should look in- Brookland is beautiful, and Mt Pleasant. Shaw and Petworth also have some beautiful rowhouses. Good luck to us both, I guess!
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    • Yes, good luck to you as well!
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  • Will you share any of the courthouse and rosslyn apartment recommendations if anyone sends you any? Thank you so much!
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  • That neighborhood looks suspiciously like Foxhall, which is my tiny corner of DC! That would be too awesome to be true. So I will stop hoping.
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    • Alas, it is Cleveland Park. But if you hear of anything open near you... let us know ;)
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  • As a Georgetown student, I just visited Il Canale for the first time! Looooooooved the free pizza at the door. I got the salmon pasta, while my 3 dinnermates got the gnocchi. All were great :)
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  • Gah, I love Cleveland Park. My brother lived there for all three years of law school, and I kind of fell in love with it!
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  • Anne, I know you are looking other areas but Alexandria , VA is great, I am sure you know! We lived at Sullivan Place Apartments when we lived there and LOVED it! Great place, just in case you happen to look in Alexandria!
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  • I love Cleveland Park! I lived just north of it at the Consulate on Van Ness Street. It's a nice area with the metro, grocery store, bank, CVS, gym, etc. all clustered together. The apt building was great...just pricey! But that's DC for you. Good luck with the search!!
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  • I live in the Consulate, too! Cleveland Park is a little more happening than Van Ness, but I love the whole stretch from here to Woodley- obviously I am biased, but I think it's way better than VA :) There are some lovely apartments tucked away on 29th St (near Cathedral)- can't remember the name of the complex, but worth looking into if you're still looking for places. Close to the Woodley metro, too.
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  • Hi Anne! Would you guys consider Pentagon City/Pentagon Row? I lived there for 3 years and really loved I could walk to so much! Metro was almost across the street. I live in Shirlington now which I also like but no metro. Best of luck on your search!
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    • Probably not - I'll be mostly working in upper NW and with all of our friends on the Orange or Red lines... doesn't really make sense. Thank you though! I love Shirlington, too - wish there were a metro!
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