Union Market

Union Market is one of my favorite little places in DC. It’s grown immensely in the 2+ years I’ve lived here, which is good and bad, but it’s basically an indoor market. Part permanent farmer’s market and part permanent collection of food stalls. Really, it’s the ideal place to take a group of friends who can’t decide what to eat or have super different preferences or have different dietary requirements. The food ranges from smoothies to poke bowls to huge bagels to Korean tacos to Bao buns to at least three different kinds of noodles. I’ve gotten a Bloody Mary TOPPED WITH A FULL ON BAGEL WITH LOX. Literally the entire bagel is the “garnish.” Wild. In the summertime there’s an outside bar and plenty of picnic seating to enjoy. In the winter the parking lot turns into a Christmas tree lot that looks beautiful in the snow even if you’re not looking to buy a tree.

Inevitably I always end up leaving Union Market with some groceries or treats to take home with me for the rest of the week. My favorite bread bakery has a stall in the market–they make their bread fresh every morning and advised me to keep it in the freezer and pull out my slices as I need them in the morning to preserve that fresh-baked taste. (Pro-tip: make friends with your baker so he’ll give you cranberry walnut buns just because you tell him they’re cute.) Apothekary usually has a stall here as well so I can grab anything I’m running low on. I also love the cheese shop here. It’s super bougie and wonderful and they know everything there is to know about cheese. Luckily they also stock all the things you’d want to eat with your cheese–jams and meats and general picnic supplies.

Union Market also has a few sit-down restaurants inside. One night when friends were visiting we decided to do a little food tour and also try a bunch of fancy foods we’d never tried before. We had drinks at one place in the market and then moved over to the seafood restaurant for oysters and caviar (we didn’t break the bank here, they have three tiers of caviar you can choose from and to be honest, it was far less expensive than I had anticipated), and finally finished the night by walking across the street to Cotton & Reed–a rum distillery that makes rum literally in the back of their bar. It was such a fun idea and made for a very memorable and delicious night!