100 Very Best Restaurants 2017: La Limeña
Photograph by Matthew Worden.
Put yourself in a coastal state of mind at this Peruvian strip-mall joint, where the strongest dishes center on seafood. Ceviches and sashimi-like tiraditos emphasize the freshness of the fish without too much pucker of lime. Parihuela, a tomato-based shellfish soup with crab legs, clams, and scallops, contains the depth of a long-simmering French bouillabaisse—albeit with a spicy kick. Humbler fried trout is a sleeper hit thanks to roasted-garlic chips and sarsa criolla (tangy slivers of marinated onion). Don’t forget a round of pisco sours; the restaurant might not have a physical bar, but it serves one of the better versions around. Inexpensive.
Also great: Lomo saltado (beef with tomatoes and onion); causa sampler (whipped-potato cakes with crab or tuna salad); sirloin empanada; rice pudding.
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Executive Food Editor/Critic
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.
Food Editor
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.
Food Editor
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.
Articles Editor
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.