We embarked on this project last February, not long after finishing our 2014 roundup of Washington’s top restaurants.
From an initial roster of 300 places, we began fanning out across the area, eating, drinking, and taking reams of notes. There were no set-asides. Each restaurant, no matter how established or celebrated, had to earn its way on.
We asked ourselves a simple question: Who makes us want to come back tomorrow? Who sends us home with memories?
The result is a snapshot of the scene as it looks to us at the moment. Not six months ago and not six months hence. Now.
You might find it implausible that a Korean barbecue spot could rank higher than a kitchen/lab devoted to molecular cooking, or that a pizza place could come in above a plush redoubt of Old World refinement.
Not us. Good is good. And after all, we went looking for memories.