by Caitlin Smith

Leaves, jackets, boots and scarves. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to fall.

I know many of you must be pining for the return of summer and hoping the D.C. weather continues to play tricks on you with more seventy degree days (quite possible during the fall here in the District). Being a southern California girl, I feel your pain as I usually consider fifty-degree weather to be positively frigid!

I invite you all to fall back into summer with me by exploring a few of my favorite summer eateries. If you take these suggestions, I guarantee you will feel the warmth of summer overcome you again.

Despite living 20 minutes from Malibu, seafood is not as crucial for my survival as it is with many of my friends from the Northeast. All I have to do is mention crab cakes, fish n’ chips, or lobster and my friends from the East begin to do back flips with excitement. I must say I do owe my love of the crab cake to them.

If you want to recreate your summer clambakes or trips to the Cape, then you need to head down to the wharf (also known as the Maine Avenue Fish Market). Do not be scared, you have nothing to fear from the southwest area of D.C. and I encourage you to break out of your comfort zone and explore beyond the northwest neighborhoods of the city.

The wharf is a collection of fish markets where you can not only order food, but also purchase fresh fish. I highly recommend Jimmy’s because the portions are huge and the price is reasonable. My fellow foodie and I split the crab cake platter, which comes with two sides and two crab cakes, as well as a medium sized New England clam chowder all for $15, an extraordinarily reasonable price for seafood. The price may be low but the food is fresh and prepared only upon ordering, two good indicators of a good meal.

Be warned, there is no traditional seating (it is just a fish market), so be prepared to stand against the very few high top tables. Get off at L’Enfant Plaza or Navy Yard and you will be at the wharf within minutes.

If seafood is not your thing or the thought of veering off the red line scares you, then head on over to Georgetown for my final two summer favorites. I may be from California but my roots are in Missouri and in Missouri we enjoy a good barbeque.

The best barbeque in D.C. is hands down Old Glory located on the corner of M Street and Wisconsin. Unlike most restaurants in G-town, Old Glory is casual and unsophisticated (very necessary for a barbeque joint). Enjoy the cornbread muffins and honey butter at your table but be sure to share because it is easy to eat them all yourself! If you do not know much about barbeque, then stick with the pulled pork sandwich; however, if you are feeling a little southern, then go with the Cajun fried catfish wrap. Filled with cheddar cheese, lettuce, spicy tartar sauce and catfish then wrapped in an orange tortilla, the catfish wrap is my favorite thing on the menu. The cheese is always perfectly melted and the catfish delightfully crunchy.

The unique thing about Old Glory is that they have barbeque sauce from every region of the country, which they make in house. Play around and have fun with the options but I do recommend the Kansas City sauce, not that my entire family is from Kansas City or anything—please disregard the bias.

Once you are finished at Old Glory, turn the corner and walk up Wisconsin Avenue to Thomas Sweets for some ice cream. Yes, it is fall and yes, it is cold outside but you do not have to eat outside, so go right on in. The flavor board is enormous and written on a chalkboard because they are continually adding new flavors.

If you are going for a cone, then try the Reese’s peanut butter cup flavor but if you want to be bold and daring, then go for the brownie sundae. This definitely needs to be split with someone else because it is a brownie, three scoops of ice cream (you choose the flavors), hot fudge, whipped cream and cherries. I am fortunate enough to have a partner in crime who is usually willing to make the special trip to Georgetown just to split this sundae with me.

Thomas Sweets does have soft serve and frozen yogurt for the non-ice cream enthusiasts. The place is cash only but they do have an ATM in the store for emergencies—isn’t it always an emergency when you forget money for ice cream?