These days a restaurant's mood music likely emanates from a house iPod. Figuring that one kind of taste is a pretty good reflection of another, we tuned into the top five songs at a few local restaurants.
Jackie's
Owner Jackie Greenbaum confesses to a "total obsession" with her iPod, which floods her retro-themed Silver Spring cafe with everything from bossa nova to Re-Re.
1. "Think" (Aretha Franklin)
2. "Sweet Sweet Baby Since You've Been Gone" (Aretha Franklin)
3. "Simplesmente" (Bebel Gilberto)
4. "Surfing on a Rocket" (Air)
5. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (Air)
Belga Cafe
Jamiroquai, that darling of the European disco, gets some serious love at this sleek Euro bistro on Capitol Hill.
1. "Jump Around" (House of Pain)
2. "Tell Me It's Real" (K-Ci and JoJo)
3. "All My Life" (K-Ci and JoJo)
4. "Supersonic" (Jamiroquai)
5. "Destitute Illusion" (Jamiroquai)
Komi
The cooking at 26-year-old chef Johnny Monis's Dupont Circle foodie destination is as serious as it is eclectic–no wonder the young staff couldn't resist slipping some indie-pop into the rotation of jazz.
1. "Them There Eyes" (Ella Fitzgerald)
2. "Elevator Love Letter" (Stars)
3. "This Charming Man" (The Smiths)
4. "The Lady Is a Tramp" (Frank Sinatra)
5. "Stella by Starlight" (Ella Fitzgerald)
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
