The best place in DC for a first date—you meet in the adjoining Kramerbooks and rejoice or despair at your new friend’s taste in literature—Afterwords Café tries to be all things to all people. Bustling and capacious, the glass-enclosed dining room serves food from morning until late night, including "sharezies"—make-your-own appetizer platters, ambitious New American dinners with suggested wine or beer pairings, and decadent desserts. You and your date are sure to find common ground somewhere on the menu. And when you’ve got to know each other better, you can return for Afterwords’ hearty weekend brunch.
With so many bookish staffers pulling late nights on Capitol Hill and engineers pulling late nights in their start-up’s home office, you’d think DC would be rife with coffee shops. You’d be right. DC’s caffeine scene is not entirely 24/7—though some cafés, like Tryst in Adams Morgan, come close. With sprawling couches (and an occasional Washington Post), outdoor seating, and such elevated menu items as house-made fig scones, chocolate croissants and Virginia sausage sandwiches, these days coffee shops in the capital offer a lot more than a mere cup of joe.
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