At a time when restaurateurs are looking for new ways to lure customers, Michael Landrum has demonstrated the value of going old school. At this low-key diner in DC’s Benning/Deanwood neighborhood, it’s not just the walls of album covers that conjure the ’70s—the portions and prices do, too. The cooking, from smoked-then-fried chicken to beer-battered shrimp, recalls the simple roadhouses of the South. East of the Anacostia, DC is lacking in restaurants, but Landrum makes clear that the city as a whole is lacking, too: It doesn’t have nearly enough restaurants like this one.
Don’t miss: Crab bisque; house-smoked baby back ribs; New York strip; cobbler of the day.
For a full review of Ray's the Steaks at East River, click here.
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.
