We'll be at the Embassy Suites Dulles (in Ashburn) next week. Our son has mild food allergies (milk and eggs) and we like to plan ahead by checking out restaurants' menu allergen information. Does anyone know what restaurants are close by?

Also, any malls with indoor playgrounds? And any other kid type places?

Thanks!

If you drive up 28 a few miles, there is the Dulles Town Center with plenty of chain restaurants and stores. It has an indoor playground that is usually teeming with kiddies. I think it's sponsored by JetBlue, BTW. It also has a train (sans tracks) that drives kids and their parents around the mall. It looks fun for a kid.

http://www.shopdullestowncenter.com/

Just south on Route 7 (behind dulles town center essentially), there are more restaurant options like Sweetwater (microbrew - so more adult than kid oriented, but very good food and lots of families)

Along the dulles toll road is Reston Town Center as another option.

Just a warning that if you're staying during a weekday, rush hour traffic can be atrocious and last a bit longer than expected. Also, as long as you have a vehicle you won't have any problems with food, as there is just so much variety in the general vicinity within a 10-15 minute ride.

Thank you! Those tips definitely help. We'll be there for 6 days, and DH and the kids will have to find things to do while I'm in meetings for 3 days.

Not exactly a restaurant recommendation, but a Wegman's grocery store is located less than a mile from your hotel. If you're not familiar with Wegman's, it's a chain of grocery mega-stores in NY and the Mid-Atlantic. There are all kinds of prepared foods you can purchase (and there's even a dining area on the 2nd floor), and you could certainly check with the people serving the food to make sure that they don't contain any problem ingredients. In addition to Dulles Town Center and Route 7, there's a lot of new development on Waxpool, so you shouldn't have any problem finding restaurant choices. As GoingAway mentioned, rush "hour" lasts a lot longer than an hour around DC (and can be bad on weekends, too), so give yourself plenty of time to get around. Also, there's a lot of road work in and around the area where you'll be staying.

Regarding rush hour -- we are spending a couple of days sightseeing in DC, then driving into the area on Monday afternoon. What's a good time to drive in from Downtown Washington DC to the Ashburn area on Monday afternoon? or evening ?

Re: rush hour: Go early or go late. Assuming you're driving out to Sterling/Ashburn next Monday, you'll have the advantage of driving during one of the weeks with the least heavy commuter traffic (lots of Washingtonians take vacations during August), and won't be driving on a Thursday or Friday (Friday in particular is horrible most of the afternoon driving out of the city). Nevertheless, traffic on the Dulles Toll Road can be pretty bad from about 3:00 pm until about 6:30 pm. You might want to have an early dinner downtown, then head out to your hotel after most of the traffic has died down.

Right next door you will find Five Guys (the best burgers in the east - www.fiveguys.com ), a Moe's Southwestern Grill, a Pizzeria Al Forno,
Sorrento Grill. about a mile to the west, you will find IHOP, Potbelly Sandwich works, a Starbucks, A Beef O'Brady's, Pomodoro Italian (in the Ashburn Ice House skating rink - the kids may like that). I second a visit to Wegman's. They have full dinners, subs, pizza, freshly-prepared sushi). Sweetwater, though a brewpub, has FANTASTIC food; it's the one place I'll try anything. Good luck.

Don't let the threat of rush hour change your plans, just be aware it might take longer than expected sometimes. Leave DC when you're comfortable doing so, but be aware that there could be traffic. As far as the ride itself, you'll have enough people in your car to qualify for HOV on the Dulles Toll Road (267) which helps (it's the lane on the left).

For mid-week activities, well there IS DC but out in the direction where you're staying, there is the Air & Space Museum south on Route 28. There are mini-golf courses on Route 7 in that general area (the hotel should be able to point you in the right direction, I haven't done that in a long time but believe they are still around), there is Harpers Ferry in West VA if they want to drive West, also Leesburg (there is Outlet shopping just outside of Leesburg if that is of interest). Wine country isn't too far away, but that isn't great for the kids.

There is Tysons Corner Mall and Tysons Galleria for other malls. Note that this area is Mall and Shopping-Central, you name it and the store is here someplace probably in a few someplaces. There is a water park in Manassas, not sure if there is one in Ashburn/Cascades as well. If there is an interest in history, there is a lot in the area including the Manassas battlefield, some Mills, Farms and Houses. If the kids like animals, there is Frying Pan Park.

And to second gvdIAD, Wegmans is a great option to pick stuff up for dinner or just snacks.

There is definitely more specific information that can be provided if you share interests, etc. Have a good trip.

A couple of thoughts from an Ashburn resident with a 2 year old (not sure how old your child is)-

-The play area at Dulles Town Center can get very crowded at times, but is still fun for the little ones.

-As L1011..N/StoHNL there are restaurants within walking distance to your hotel. FiveGuys is delicious but there is also a very good thai place in that complex. Also there is a Daily Grind which has some ok food in addition to coffee. I don't like Moe's a whole lot.

-Clyde's (http://www.clydes.com) has a new location (Willowcreek Farm in the Broadlands) not too far from your hotel. It is wonderful. From your hotel head west on Waxpool Rd., stay on the same road (though it will change names a few times), then turn left on Claiborne Parkway. Turn right on Broadlands Blvd, and then it will be on the right. Clydes and Sweetwater (already mentioned) are Loudoun County's two most popular restaurants by # of customers.

-Leesburg has some nice restaurants and activities downtown. Plus the outlet mall.

-There is a petting zoo south of Leesburg on route 15. Also one in Reston.

-Being stationed in Ashburn you aren't too far from places like Gettysburg and Antietam. Gettysburg is probably a 90 minute drive up RT15.

Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it. Kiddos are 1 and 5. We leave tonight but I'll check for last minute tips here before we go :)

The Wegman's supermarket is certainly worth a visit, and they even have a Children's Fun Center for you to drop your kids for an hour while you go shop around Wegman's.

Got back last Sunday and just wanted to say thanks! Tips I got here were SO helpful. Wegman's was great, and the mall with the train was great. Kids loved the playground and train. Hubby took kids to Manassas one day while I was working and they really enjoyed running around.