We spent $180 at Charlie Palmer Steak. Our lunch for 2 at the famous spot was solid but not impressive enough for the price.

• I ate at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, DC, and spent over $180 on a multicourse lunch for two.
• The fig salad and peach cobbler were highlights of the meal.
• I liked my food, but if I’m spending so much, I’d rather go somewhere with a more special menu.

I may live in the suburbs of Washington, DC, but I’m far from a political animal.

I’m just your friendly, neighborhood food writer who rarely crosses paths with the movers and shakers who run the DC scene. I may know the restaurants where the action takes place, but the names of the players mostly evade me.

So I headed to Charlie Palmer Steak for lunch with both a critic’s and an anthropologist’s eye.

I threw on my conservative best (although I also brought my hippo-shaped purse) and drove with my husband into the city.

We lucked into a parking spot just across the street from the White House and walked three minutes to the restaurant’s front door at 101 Constitution Ave NW.