About Obelisk
Today’s dining scene often favors the adventurous (edible insects!), so there’s much that’s deeply pleasurable about Peter Pastan’s 29-year-old tasting room. Tricks are few—plates of burrataare set out for maximum room-temperature creaminess—and hassles are none, thanks to a poised waitstaff who leisurely pace the five-course meal. Linger over the antipasti (also a Pastan strong suit at 2Amys and Etto), the generous wine pairings, and the pastas, such as house-made noodles with squid. To say the cooking is simple doesn’t give the kitchen its due—sourcing the best ingredients and showing skillful restraint is a talent in its own right.
Don’t miss: Gargati with squab ragu; snapper with chickpeas; grapefruit granita with candied-fennel ice cream.
See what other restaurants made our 100 Very Best Restaurants list. This article appears in our February 2016 issue of Washingtonian.