I wouldn't consider Sequoia to be fine dining by any standard.

The atmosphere sitting outside on a nice day is wonderful, howver.

One goes to Sequoia to sit outside on the water. Oh, and they have food. But it's nothing special.

Since I live smack in the middle of Dupont Circle, I'm biased :-)

1. Wrapworks (Corner of Connecticut and Q)
2. Chipotle (Connecticut btwn Q and R)

Weather permitting, grab your burritos from the above locations and find a place to sit in Dupont Circle. Great people watching location!

3. Raku (reasonably priced Asian at 19th and Q - spring rolls here are quite good)
4. The Diner (On 18th but in Adams Morgan - great place for a cheap brunch)
5. Peppers (On 17th btwn P and Q somewhere - fabulous pretzel crusted chicken entree)
6. City Lights of China (on Connecticut between R and S - arguably the best Chinese in DC - be sure to get the steamed veggie dumplings)
7. Penang (19th and M - great ambiance and curries)

Near Dupont Circle I like Bistro du Coin. Great mussles. They have real dessert cheeses.

Gourmet Mag’s (Oct 04) “Big Deal / Good Deal” restaurants in Washington DC

Big Deal = Gourmet, Elegant food
Good Deal = “cheap” local’s spots

Big Deal Restaurants:

Citronelle
The Latham Hotel
3000 M Street, N.W.
202.625.2150

Maestro
The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner
1700 Tysons Blvd
McLean, VA
703.971.5498

Good Deal Restaurants:

Palena
3529 Connecticut Ave NW
202.537.9250

Osteria Del Galileo
1110 21st Street NW
202.293.7191

Game dinner at Signatures Fri night 6:30 start. Paired wines.

202 628 5900

I can certainly agree with the Big Deal restaurants (and would probably add the Inn at Little Washington to the list... but then again, it's 1.5 hours from DC) but Palena and Galileo are both not cheap. Good value for money, maybe, but certainly not cheap.

"Cheap" (and good) local spots IMO are: Komi, Firefly, Pizzeria Paradiso, Cashion's Eat Place, etc.

The Palena reference must be to their cafe menu, served at the tables near their window and on the street (in season). The main restaurant is definitely not cheap, but very good.

Try www.washingtonian.com for cheap eats
 

Other posters have hit the high spots in the upscale range, although I'd always add Vidalia as the best price-performar in up-price eateries.

The Washingtonian's cheap eats guide is online and pretty reliable. The alternate is Tyler Cowan's ethnic dining guide. I don't always agree with his reviews, but I love his point of view.

This is a right decent list of inexpensive restaurants in DC.

http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/100bbindex.html

A lot of foodies disagree with the Washingtonian reviews, but this is a good first cut.