A North Jersey perspective

NorthJersey.com profiled 36 hours in Washington, D.C., with a heavy emphasis on Penn Quarter.  The only two museums listed are the Newseum and the International Spy Museum, both in our neighborhood.  You can check out the full article here, but perhaps the most interesting is the perspective on Chinatown:

Chinatown: The first thing I spotted while walking into Washington's small Chinatown was the Bed Bath & Beyond. Then the Urban Outfitters. Then the Loft. Then City Sports. If someone walking up Seventh Street thought they were in an open-air mall rather than an ethnic enclave, well, I wouldn't argue with them. This was about as far from Mott Street as one could go. I almost turned around when I saw the Legal Seafood chain restaurant with Chinese writing in its logo.

But we pressed on in search for authenticity. My wife is Cantonese and has deep roots in New York's Chinatown. We turned on H Street and reached this mammoth Chinese gate. More important, we found some mom-and-pop restaurants. We descended into a basement restaurant called New Big Wong where we enjoyed some of the best beef chow fun we've ever had topped off by some delicious fried vegetable dumplings. Redemption for Chinatown.