As any political scientist knows, it isn't just the formal institutions of government that make a society go; it's the mediating structures. Such as restaurants.

Washington, D.C., once a wasteland of southern hotel food redeemed only by Chesapeake Bay crabs and oysters, is now a city where not even the most fastidious need brown-bag it to feel well fed. There's a restaurant for every taste and budget. What's more, there's Metro and a pretty good supply of taxis for getting to them. Some are within walking distance of the Hilton.

A few words of general counsel. If invited to the White House, the Senate dining room, the House restaurant, the Cosmos Club or the National Press Club, go, but for the company rather than the cuisine. Among these, culinarily speaking, the White House is the best and the Press Club the worst.