As a first stop we recommend you visit our Sponsorship page, where you will see a list of the many local merchants that have helped us organized the championships, all these places are great places to go to.

Following is a list of recommended spots enjoyed and supported by the IGLA 2008 organizing committee:

Sushi Taro (1503 17th Street, NW, above CVS) is regarded as one of the best sushi restaurants in the D.C. area. It's certainly the most gay-popular!
17th Street Cafe (1513 17th Street, NW) is a very gay-popular lounge/bar/restaurant with a great sidewalk cafe. IGLA sponsor and generally a great friend of DCAC.
Floriana's restaurant and bar (1602 17th Street, NW). Italian, in a cozy rowhouse with a pleasant sidewalk dining area and tiny, dark basement bar. In the unlikely event you're not happy with your food, ask for Floriana herself--she'll take a bite and tell you whether you're right!
Annies's Paramount Steakhouse (1609 17th Street, NW) is the go-to place for those 4:00 a.m. munchies on weekends. Very, very gay--and very, very old-school--yet popular among all ages. You're likely to see drag queens, bikers, club kids, and a little of everything else if you time it right.
Logan Tavern (P Street, NW, between 14th & 15th) and The Heights (14th & Kenyon Streets, NW, in Columbia Heights) are very popular American places, with big bars and great sidewalk seating areas.
Merkado (P Street, NW, between 14th & 15th) started out as Asian/Latin fusion (hence the pun name), but now focuses on a Latin-inspired menu.
Whole Foods Market (1400 block of P Street, NW) is a common meeting place for internet dates (yes, really) and a great place for a quick, relatively inexpensive meal.
Pizzeria Paradiso (P Street, NW, between 20th & 21st, and another location on M Street in Georgetown) features creative, upscale pizzas.
Thai Tanic (1326 14th Street, NW) is a very gay-popular, moderately-priced Thai place.
Rice (1608 14th Street, NW) is a gay-owned, innovative Thai/pan-Asian restaurant. The same owner has a place on U Street, NW, between 15th and 16th, called Simply Home.
Cork (1720 14th Street, NW) is a wine bar with excellent tapas-style food.
Ben's Chili Bowl (1200 block of U Street, NW) is an institution remnant from the days when U Street was D.C.'s "Black Broadway." It's still a great place for a guilty pleasure of carbs and grease--burgers, chili, malts, and the like.
Bistro Ulah (1200 block of U Street, NW) is a recently-opened American place, notable for its moderate prices.
Tabaq (1336 U Street, NW) is a Mediterranean restaurant/lounge, notable for the stunning views from the enclosed rooftop bar/dining area.
Coppi's (1414 U Street, NW) has great pizzas in an Italian bicycling-themed interior, oddly enough.
Vegetate (1414 9th Street, NW) is an upscale vegetarian restaurant.
Kramerbooks (Connecticut Avenue just above Dupont Circle), open 24 hours during the weekend and the perfect place for dessert, brunch, or dinner (and it's also a bookstore)
Rosemary's Thyme (18th & S Streets, NW), offers good brunches.
Lauriol Plaza (18th & T Streets, NW) can be a mob scene at times, with ridiculous waits for moderately-priced Mexican food, but margaritas and the facility--especially the roof dining area--makes it worthwhile. Best to go at off-peak hours.
Levantes (19th Street, NW, between N and Dupont Circle) is an excellent Mediterranean restaurant notable for its enormous sidewalk dining area.
Zaytinya (9th & G Streets, NW) is a Greek/Turkish restaurant with small plates (mezze) and great wine.

Washington is also especially known for its Ethiopian restaurants, many of which are located in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood along 18th Street, NW, but are scattered throughout the city.

Fine Dining

Serious foodies may want to check out the likes of:

Michel Richard Citronelle (3000 M Street, NW). If you are the sort of person who likes this type of very high-end dining experience, you probably already know who Michel Richard is, and we don't have to tell you.
CityZen (1330 Maryland Avenue, SW, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel). If you want to get in here on a nice weekend night, make a reservation now. Inconvenient to get to, but supposedly amazing food (so we've heard).
Komi (1509 17th Street, NW). Vegetarians are usually out of luck at this exclusively prix-fixe restaurant with very carefully edited menus (handwritten, naturally).
Restaurant Nora (2132 Florida Avenue, NW) in 1999 became the first restaurant in the U.S. to be certified as "all organic."
Gerard's Place (915 15th Street, NW). Acclaimed restaurant of chef Gerard Pangaud.

Shopping

Some of the city's fun shopping areas include:

Georgetown (along M Street, NW, and Wisconsin Avenue, NW). Toward the western end of M Street is a collection of high-end furniture and housewares shops (think Roche-Bobois, but also some less expensive options). Clothing stores are concentrated along Wisconsin Avenue.
Logan Circle (14th Street, NW, from Rhode Island Avenue to W, and also along U Street, NW, from about 10th to 17th). Includes lots of small, locally owned stores for funky clothes, housewares, knick-knacks, art, etc.
Gallery Place (including 7th Street, NW, and parts of F and G Streets, NW, in the eastern end of downtown). Includes several art galleries but also a number of chain stores ranging from Swedish clothier H&M, to Spanish-owned Zara, to the country's largest West Elm home furnishings store.
Columbia Heights (14th Street, NW, near Park Road). Rapidly developing area with some big-box options (such as Target and Best Buy) but also smaller establishments including a great vegan bakery and sandwich shop (Sticky Fingers, at 1370 Park Road
Old Town Alexandria (in Virginia, near the riverfront). Many shops along King Street and side streets closer to the river.
Pentagon City Mall (in Virginia, along the Blue and Yellow Metro lines). If for some reason you MUST go to an enclosed, suburban shopping mall, this is the closest one to downtown D.C.