Food

Today at 11: Chat With Food Critic Ann Limpert

Leave a question now for Ann, and she'll get to as many as possible this morning.

Join us today at 11 AM to chat with Ann Limpert. Have questions about how Amazon‘s arrival in Crystal City will effect the local dining scene? Looking for Thanksgiving advice? Or maybe you just need a dinner recommendation. Leave a question below, and Ann will get to as many as she can.

Ann: Good morning, everyone! Nice to trade sloshy and wet for crisp and sunny. Over here at Washingtonian, we’ve been hard at work on our next 100 Best Restaurants section—coming at you in the February 2019 issue—and it’s been as exciting an exploration as I can remember. A few things I’ve noticed so far: 

*Fish off-cuts are big right now. Collars, cheeks, fins—I’ve seen them at Komi (delicious amberjack collar); Pineapple and Pearls (fabulous turbot fin with chamomile beurre blanc); and St. Anselm (the salmon collar I can’t stop thinking about). This is a great thing. They’re lower on the adventure scale than many types of offal; nothing about them is an acquired taste. They tend to be luscious, fatty, buttery…all the good adjectives. 

*Martinis are back in a major way too. I lean towards gin versions, a little dirty, or at least with something pickly or briny. My favorites so far have been the version at Gravitas with pickled heirloom tomato brine and orange bitters, and the za’atar martini at Maydan. 

*It’s been way easier to get into the top-tier, top-dollar places. Probably because now there are so many of them are competing for your attention—and competing with less-expensive restaurants like Elle and Himitsu and the Dabney for your next special occasion. 

Anyway, what’s on your mind? Leave a question in the form below; the chat transcript shows up underneath.