The menus at these seafood dining rooms tout their “fresh list,” a daily roster of 30 or so varieties of fresh catches. Decor varies—the Bethesda outpost is wood-paneled and clubby, the one in DC’s Penn Quarter more modern—but the corporate polish remains the same.
What to get: The menu changes often, but you’ll have the best luck with simple preparations—iced Beausoleil and Kumamoto oysters; steamed lobster; crunchy fried shrimp with cocktail sauce; fried oysters with slaw; just-tart-enough Key-lime pie.
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.
