About The Riggsby
Hidden in a hotel that resembles your average Dupont Deco apartment building is a keyhole-shaped doorway. Walk through and you’ll discover a place that transports you, Wes Anderson–style, to another time. The dining room looks late-’70s swank and celebrates cocktail-party relics such as the stuffed mushroom and the Harvey Wallbanger. But chef/owner Michael Schlow, also behind Tico in Logan Circle and a handful of well-regarded Boston-area restaurants, isn’t operating strictly within the realm of the nostalgic here. He and deputy Philippe Reininger also put forth lovely fish dishes—including a cut of striped bass with tangy squash purée and pancetta granola—that feel squarely in the 21st century.
Don’t miss: Jalapeño tater tots; chopped salad with Thousand Island dressing; grilled sardines; sautéed calamari; burger with bacon-onion jam; spaghetti with pecorino, tomatoes, and bacon; roast chicken; chocolate cake; crème brûlée; “Last Frontier” cocktail, with bourbon and amaretto.
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.
