100 Very Best 2015“I feel like I’m on vacation already,” says our dining companion when she walks into the foyer, a serene space with pillow-strewn benches. Indeed, the dining room beyond conjures a billionaire’s Amalfi Coast yacht that’s somehow docked on the Georgetown waterfront. Chef Fabio Trabocchi’s vision—here more than at his quartet of other restaurants—is rooted in his native Le Marche, a seafood-happy region of Italy that hugs the Adriatic shoreline. Each preparation of crudo—say, a sundae glass layered with marinated oysters and Prosecco zabaglione—is a miniature tour de force. Twirl your fork into a tangle of chitarra noodles and you’ll encounter beautiful littleneck clams sparked with chilies. A lovely brodetto, the seafood soup Le Marche is famous for, is loaded with octopus, branzino, langoustines, and monkfish in a deeply flavored saffron broth. Co-owner Maria Trabocchi and her team oversee the dining room and its boldface crowd with uncommon grace. And pastry chef Brandon Malzahn is an artist as much as he is a cook. Very expensive.
Also great: Raw Kusshi oysters; tuna carpaccio; bucatini with prawns and sea urchin; bomboloni; apple terrine with hazelnut meringue.
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.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
Kristen Hinman has been editing Washingtonian’s features since 2014. She joined the magazine after editing politics & policy coverage for Bloomberg Businessweek and working as a staff writer for Voice Media Group/Riverfront Times.
