WASHINGTON 鈥� It took a whole year of eating and roughly 300 meals out for the food team at to identify the region鈥檚 best restaurants. But they powered through, and this month, the magazine is out with the .
鈥淲hen we鈥檙e sitting down to rank them, we really ask ourselves one very basic question, which is, 鈥榃hich restaurant are we most excited to eat at right now?鈥欌�� said Ann Limpert, executive food editor and food critic at Washingtonian.
鈥淭hat brings in things like the vibe, the d茅cor … Is it a place that you feel like you just don鈥檛 want to leave, or you don鈥檛 want this dinner to end?鈥�
For Limpert and her colleagues, the most exciting dinner du jour is at , a two-star Michelin restaurant in Penn Quarter from D.C.鈥檚 hometown culinary hero and global humanitarian Jos茅 Andr茅s.
Limpert likens the intimate and interactive dining experience at Minibar to a show, even calling the cooking and service an 鈥渋ncredible kitchen ballet.” But tickets to this avant-garde act don鈥檛 come cheap: A seat at the chef鈥檚 counter is $275 per person; private dining with a wine pairing is $565.
That said, each reservation comes with about 20 courses, and none of them disappoint, Limpert said.
鈥淭his year we found that pretty much each one of those courses were equal parts creative and delicious, and those are two things that don鈥檛 often go hand-in-hand,鈥� she added.
鈥淚f you can swing it, it鈥檚 really worth doing one time.鈥�
The founding chef鈥檚 good deeds have dominated headlines in recent years (his free kitchen for furloughed workers fed thousands during the 35-day government shutdown), but Limpert said Andr茅s鈥� charitable efforts had no influence on Minibar鈥檚 ranking.
鈥淚t was a very happy coincidence,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e would never tell our readers to go spend $1,000 on a dinner that wasn鈥檛 absolutely worth it.鈥�
No. 2 on the list is , a Blagden Alley restaurant from chef Jeremiah Langhorne that showcases mid-Atlantic cuisine cooked in the embers of a wood-burning hearth.
Limpert said while everything on the menu is enjoyable (she and her husband tried to decide on the best dish they had, then realized they couldn鈥檛 鈥渂ecause all of them were that good鈥�), the vegetables especially stand out, including the charred brassicas with n鈥檇uja hollandaise, mint chimichurri and fried shallots.
鈥淪o really unexpected, really interesting takes on our regional cuisine,鈥� Limpert said.
Third is one of the area鈥檚 most well-known establishments: , which received its third Michelin star in September and just celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Limpert said this 鈥渕agical place,鈥� which is located about an hour outside of D.C., has top-notch service alongside food that is 鈥渇un,鈥� 鈥渋nventive,鈥� 鈥渨himsical鈥� and 鈥渆legant.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 classic, American fine-dining with a lot of fun touches sprinkled throughout,鈥� she said.
Similar to Minibar, the tasting-menu experience at The Inn comes at a cost: $238 per person for dinner. Still, there are plenty of top-100 options for diners on a budget, including in Darnestown, Maryland, which takes the No. 11 spot.
鈥淚t is a tiny, no-reservations pizza joint, and it is very affordable,鈥� Limpert said.
鈥淎nd it is easily, easily the best pizza in the area.鈥�
Chef Tony Conte鈥檚 creations include a pie with organic egg, winter black truffles, San Marzano tomatoes and Fontina cheese. Another is topped with oven-roasted potato, onion, smoked mozzarella and rosemary. A classic D.O.C. margherita rings up $13.
, an all-day eatery in D.C.鈥檚 Mount Pleasant neighborhood, and No. 7 on the list, is another spot where diners can find a delicious meal that won鈥檛 put them in the red. And Limpert said it鈥檚 as good in the morning for a breakfast sandwich, as it is for lunch, drinks and dinner.
For those in search of options in the suburbs, Limpert recommends in Silver Spring, Maryland 鈥� especially for its vaca frita and Cuban sandwich.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a party: It is very loud, there鈥檚 usually live music, everyone鈥檚 drinking their mojitos, and the Cuban cooking is just fantastic,鈥� she said.
Bethesda is home to , which Limpert said has the best Peking duck and weekend dim sum, and in Virginia, she points to in Vienna.
鈥淚t has sort of a neighborhood restaurant feel, but the cooking is at an extremely high level.鈥�
Plus, Limpert said chef Jon Krinn changes the menu almost daily and rarely repeats a dish.
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