100 Very Best 2014This jammed Clarendon brasserie gracefully straddles the territory between bar and restaurant. There are plenty of twentysomethings here to sip from the groaning roster of boutique wines, Belgian and German beers, ciders, and cocktails. But it’s also a family destination, with swing-set-friendly fare—giant pretzels, terrific house-made hot dogs in poppy-seed buns—that tends to show up on a lot of grownups’ plates, too. House-made charcuterie and mussel pots are ideal for communal eating, as are platters of sausages and pork belly piled on top of kraut and spaetzle and garnished with tart lingonberries. In the mood for something lighter? Go for the grilled sea bass, boosted by zippy green-olive vinaigrette.
Don’t miss: French onion soup; pear-and-Roquefort salad; pork schnitzel with noodles; burger with raclette; profiteroles with salted-caramel sauce; Sonoma “The Pitchfork” pear cider.
See what other restaurants made our 100 Very Best Restaurants list. This article appears in our February 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
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.
