Lunch at Johnny’s Half Shell, Washington, DC

On Monday of our trip to Washington for the Inauguration, we went to Capitol Hill to pick up our tickets for the swearing-in ceremony. The lines to get though security and into the Congressional office buildings were unbelievable. But as was generally the case during our whole stay for this amazing event, people were in good humor and patient.

Once inside, most offices had light refreshments for the visitors. We stopped at Rep. Tim Walz, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Collin Peterson hosted his in the House Ag Committee hearing room (very impressive), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

After we left the office buildings, we still felt like having a light lunch. So we walked a few blocks to Johnny’s Half Shell.

Linda started with the soup of the day. One of the problems with delaying my blog entries is that I didn’t write down anything about the soup, and now, two months later, I can’t remember what kind it was. But she liked it. What she really liked, however, was the grilled squid that she ordered next. It was very nicely prepared, grilled to just done, tender and tasty. (After you’ve had squid grilled or sautéed, the breaded and fried calamari just seems so mundane.)

I had a Salad Nicoise. As you can see by the photo, the components of the salad were separated on the plate, rather than being all mixed together. I liked that, and everything was very fresh and tasty. My only quibble – the tuna was poached. I would have preferred it seared.

I’ve eaten at this restaurant before for group lunches and once for a group dinner. I liked it better when it was just the two of us.