Tim Carman is The Washington Post’s food writer and is a judge for this year’s Embassy Chef Challenge. He’s been nominated for two James Beard Foundation awards, winning one in 2011 for Food-Related Columns and Commentary. His work has appeared in the three volumes of the “Best Food Writing” collections. Carman has written about food for Maxim, The Onion, and the Food Network magazine and previously was the food columnist (and later food editor) for Washington City Paper for almost five years.

Cultural Tourism DC asked some notable Washingtonians to share with us their favorite places or events that are special and unique to DC.

1. Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market - Every week, this sprawling market offers the best that mid-Atlantic farmers, ranchers, bakers and other artisans can produce. The market is lively. It’s informative. It’s guaranteed to make you hungry. And no two weeks are ever the same.
2. Howard University football games - Aside from die-hard alums and parents of the participating players, few people attend Howard games to actually watch the action. This is not SEC football, after all. But no college football powerhouse in the country has a better, more delightful halftime show than the one produced by Howard’s funky, athletic “Showtime” marching band.
3. H Street NE - Newcomers might find it hard to believe, but this strip of commercial real estate was, just five short years or so ago, a relative wasteland. Now it’s hopping with bars (check out the Belgian beers at Granville Moore’s), restaurants (Atlas Room and Toki Underground in particular) and even oddball entertainment (like the kitschy indoor miniature golf course at H Street Country Club).
4. The C&O Canal in Georgetown - The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was completed in 1850 and survives almost unchanged from its original form. You can access the canal (and its walking and biking paths) right off M Street in Georgetown, where its 19th Century tranquility stands in sharp contrast to the 21st Century commercialism just a block away.
5. J.W. Marriott’s 1331 Bar & Lounge - Why go to a hotel lounge for a drink? Because it was once the site of Shoomaker’s, the famously ratty bar where Washington’s native cocktail, the Rickey, was invented by bartender George A. Williamson in the 1880s. A plaque commemorates the moment. So does each refreshing glass of gin, lime juice, and club soda prepared at the bar.

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