Merry Christmas Dinner in DC

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We are finally in Washington, DC. Took us about 4.5 hours. There were a few accidents on I95. People have to remember that most drivers on the road during the holidays do not usually drive on Thruways, only in their small neighborhood.
You need to tame that aggressive side and have patience.

We had just enough time to change our clothes and walk to the restaurant, which was three blocks away off of M Street.

This year we picked a Hilton near Dupont Circle, planning on walking to most of the bars, pubs and restaurants. The District was empty, we actually had most of the streets all to ourselves.
This was the neighborhood right outside Teddy and the Bully Bar.

For some reason The Nudge thought this would be a pub decorated in the style reminiscent of Teddy Roosevelt's study.
He was so wrong!

While most of the houses in this area were row houses built around the turn of the 19th century, there are whole streets right around the corner with huge modern office complexes so there really is no flow. It is totally street by street, building to building.
If you look to the end of the pic above you can see one such building and up the street from these homes was another steel office building.

When we rounded the corner up 19th street I have to say we were totally surprised by the modern look of the place, and slightly disappointed. I would have much preferred a turn of the century building to this.
Pardon the bad picks, I only took my iPad to dinner. I do not do flash while people are eating.

The food was basic American fare, nothing fancy and while the place was open since 1 PM, there was constant movement at the tables.
Most restaurants in DC at Christmas do a fixed menu, so we knew the main meat selection was buffet (a large carving station) at Teddy's.

We could choose one starter and one dessert. The vegetables and sides were also buffet but nothing we couldn't get at a casino buffet.
Brussels sprouts, creamed spinach, broccoli, mac n cheese, yams and stuffing.
I loved the cranberry compote so that was what I ate with my Virginia ham. I do believe it had raspberries in it instead of the usual orange.
I probably should have eaten the Salmon but I have had nothing but bad experience's when ordered in a NON seafood restaurant.

While nothing to get excited about, if you should crave a very nice carving buffet while in DC, you should try Teddy and the Bully Bear. The service was exceptional and you can eat all you want.

First night down.
Today we head down to the mall to see if we can nab a ticket to the newly opened Washington Monument. Seems the pre-ordered tickets are not available until after Jan 3rd.
I will keep my fingers crossed for The Nudge. He was so looking forward to that.
Good thing the Smithsonian Castle is nearby.