Open City

After the Eric Carle exhibit it was time for dinner!

I found Open City through a quick Google map search.  It seemed to have some pretty positive reviews, so I thought we'd give it a try.

We walked in, and after waiting just a few seconds, were greeted by a smiling hostess.  I asked for a table on the outside patio area, as it seemed a little noisy inside, and the weather outside was just about as perfect as one could ask for the last night of August in the city.

The menu at Open City features salads and sandwiches as well as some fuller entrees. They also serve breakfast all day, although we stuck with more traditional (well...sorta) dinner offerings.

The Boy was once again pleased with the set of four crayons provided to him and happily worked on his color by number place mat. As he colored, we browsed the menu and made our selections.

To start out we enjoyed the hummus plate, which in addition to hummus and pita bread featured grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and pitted olives. I thought the extra veggies were a nice touch and provided a fresh crispiness to the whole appetizer. The hummus was very good, but the pita bread, although drizzled with olive oil and topped with some sort of herbs was dry and a bit tough to chew through.

  

For the kids we ordered a grilled PB&J sandwich to split, which featured sliced bananas! (hence the departure from "traditional" offerings) Both kids enjoyed the sandwich, although The Boy wasn't too keen on the idea of his mother making these at home for him some day. The (what looked to be freshly fried) potato chips were also well received. One thing we really appreciate was that our server split the sandwich onto two plates as we requested, provided plenty of chips on each plate, and didn't charge us any silly "extra plate" fee for splitting the dish. While this particular sandwich was on the regular menu, they did have a kids menu with dishes ranging from $3 to $7.

  

Jessica enjoyed her Rueben sandwich, which not only tasted good, but was "pretty." I must admit, as one who likes nothing about Rueben sandwiches, the swirled bread, tender meat and crisp sauerkraut almost looked good enough for even me to eat!

 

I ordered the cheeseburger and had my pick of cheeses, settling on a slice of provolone. I always like to have my burgers well done, which sometimes means they are a bit on the dry side. I'm happy to report that not only was my burger perfectly cooked as ordered, it was juicy too!  Everything about this burger, from the bun to the pickles hit the spot.

This was a nice place to be outside and grab a bite to eat after a day at work. The service was friendly and quick, but we never felt rushed. Our appetizer came out a few minutes after we ordered, and just after we were done, our meal arrived.

 

Total (including tax and tip): $37.
Verdict: Good place for a nice sandwich!
Location: 2331 Calvert St. NW

Metro Station: Woodley Park

Come out of the Metro station, veer right and follow the sidewalk down to the corner, where you'll find City Cafe on your left.

Note from Jessica: As we were leaving we saw some other diners getting the cappuccinos they had ordered.  They looked wonderful ... foam art and all.  We'll be back!