When we crave a thick, bloody steak, this is the place that leaps to mind. We prefer restaurateur Michael Landrum’s for its value, its warmth, and its scale. This is a steakhouse for the common man.
This is the neighborhood bar of our dreams, with marvelous cocktails, a lived-in patina, genial bartenders, and Justin Bittner’s ever-changing seasonal small plates.
Dishes are upscale enough to be worthy of leaving home for but not so much that they become precious. What to get: Oysters on the half shell; seafood-studded salsa; grilled bacon-wrapped oysters.
What to get: Pork loin with greens and eggplant; cavatelli with roasted chicken and chicken-skin cracklings; hake with beans and corn; grilled skirt steak with puréed potatoes and mustard greens.
What to get: Pan-fried dumplings stuffed with chicken and shiso; salmon ceviche with ikura (salmon roe) and yuzu vinaigrette; vegetable and shrimp tempura.
When was the last time you picked up a mezcal-spiked cocktail and ate it like a snowball? José Andrés’s 27-course menu kicks off with just that and follows up with other mind-bending surprises.
Ethiopian restaurants aren’t unusual in DC, but this is the place to experience spicy, long-cooked stews and the sizzling theatrics of the meat-and-onion stir-fries called tibs.
