1100 Maine Ave. SW
202/484-2722

HOURS: Mon.-Sun. 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

COST: Most entrées between $10–20

There’s something decidedly un-Washington about the Maine Avenue Fish Market. Take a look around DC: It’s practically spotless, with little grime and litter. Even its market—Eastern Market—is spotless, lacking the feel or grittiness of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market or 9th Street Italian Market.

Enter the fish market, the closest thing the city has to a midway, with its pungent odors, carnivalesque awnings, hawkers promoting their wares, and live critters waiting to be cooked and eaten.

At the fish market, customers can grab crab-cake sandwiches, raw and fried oysters, fried fish, and even dessert at Jimmy’s, which serves pies and cakes. There are no seats, although there is a new covered area; most patrons grab their meals and stand at wooden tables that look out over the river.

Even if you don’t like seafood, the fish market is an experience, a chance to hang out by the river with locals in a relatively safe neighborhood and enjoy a vibe that seems to be disappearing with the slow gentrification of each section of the city.