Vidalia
1990 M St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-659-1990
Neighborhood: Dupont Circle, Downtown
Cuisines: Southern, Modern, American
Opening Hours:
Open for lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 to 2:30. Open for dinner Monday through Thursday 5:30 to 9:30, Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 10. Closed on Sundays during the summer, but after Labor Day dinner will be served Sundays 5 to 9.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Nearby Metro Stops: Farragut North, Dupont Circle
Price Range: Very expensive
Noise Level: Chatty
Reservations: Recommended
Website: http://www.vidaliadc.com/
Best Dishes:
Shrimp ’n’ grits; lemon chess pie; Reuben with pork belly; burger; sweet wreckfish; Dover sole.
Special Features: Wheelchair Accessible, Valet Parking Available
In all their efforts to keep diners interested, restaurateurs sometimes forget the basics. Not Jeff Buben, who has always understood the importance of making a good first impression and a strong closing statement. The complimentary bread basket at his subterranean, Southern-accented restaurant, loaded with buttery cornbread and onion loaf, sets a tone of warm generosity that no amuse-bouche could. And the desserts, with multiple variations on pie and cake, are a welcome sight in an age of airy sweets that seem intended to entice models who are wary of indulging.
The best dishes remain the most identifiably Southern, such as the shrimp and grits, whose precision attests to the boss’s insistence that the “little things” aren’t little.
There might not be a better happy hour in DC, with excellent Southern-style cocktails, wine flights from one of the city’s best lists, and an array of $3-to-$5 snacks. Don’t miss: Foie gras with espresso pound cake; oyster pan roast; crabcakes; Frogmore stew; stuffed roast quail; caramel layer cake; devil’s-food cake. Open: Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner. Very expensive.
