100 Very Best 2015Jeff Buben’s refined dining room feels far from a modern bistro—the fast-paced restaurant that seems as loud as the 9:30 Club. This is a plush, warm-toned respite for elegant, canonical French cooking. Few places do mussels as well, or onion soup, or the classic frisée salad (one of our favorite vehicles for bacon and eggs). Buben’s quiet confidence elevates dishes with subtle tweaks. A crisp-skinned duck breast is paired not with the classic orange but with roasted pear, while a roast chicken gets a Spanish-inspired smoked-paprika jus. The savory stuff is hearty, but save room for the opulent desserts—no surprise, the crème brûlée is near perfect—or a few selections from the lavishly appointed cheese trolley. Expensive.
Also great: endive salad with poached pear; steak frites; pork chop with braised red cabbage; beef bourguignon; apple tart.
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.
