100 Very Best 2016
100 Very Best 2019Simple dishes call for high-quality ingredients and an assured chef. This stylish CityCenterDC osteria has both. Chef/owner Amy Brandwein turns charred napa cabbage—yes, cabbage—into a revelation and has cured our duck fatigue with her tender, crisp-skinned leg confit. The menu changes daily, but it’s hard to go wrong with any of her house-made pastas, whether it’s ribbons of pappardelle with wood-roasted mushrooms and pear or carbonara-style gnocchi with sweetbreads. Wish you could cook with the same top-notch products? Brandwein sells them, including her pastas and sauces, in the adjoining market. Expensive.
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.
