100 Very Best 2014
100 Very Best 2020
Most diners, decked out and awaiting their moment of transcendence, arrive with an air of breath-holding solemnity. Understandable—this is a mecca for gastronomy, one of the most written-about and revered restaurants in the country for decades. But solemnity is exactly what Patrick O’Connell is determined to pierce with this highly orchestrated exercise in countrified camp. No other world-class restaurant would have the audacity to summon an afternoon tea at Grandma’s —the dining room is a masterpiece of overembellished kitsch—and the meal is punctuated with groaning set pieces (pushing a cow-faced cheese cart, a server intones, “This is a moo-ving experience,” while another, clearing your table of debris, cracks, “I’m kind of crummy at this”).
Just some goofy fun out in the sticks, you think—until you settle into your meal and begin to see the other side of O’Connell’s insistence on singularity. The degree of precision on the plate, akin to that of a Swiss watchmaker, is evident in everything from the marvelous poppy-seed rolls to a piece of seared tuna topped with a massive lobe of foie gras (“tuna pretending to be a filet mignon,” as the menu has it). The wonder is that, after 35 years, the dishes are not just beautiful to look at and well executed but also soulful and immensely rewarding. Open: Wednesday through Monday for dinner. Don’t Miss: Heart-of-palm salad with Virginia crab; herb-crusted baby-lamb loin with Caesar-salad ice cream; duo of hot and cold foie gras; grilled breast of pigeon with a zucchini crepe; plum tart with sweet-corn ice cream; butter-pecan-ice-cream sandwich.
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.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
