100 Very Best 2019Most anyone can relish a meal at Haidar Karoum’s glassy modern-American restaurant, but it’s a particular delight if you’ve tracked his cooking over his three decades in DC. The menu reads like a starry résumé. There are dishes that recall his early days with Nora Pouillon (glazed sablefish is delicious déjà vu) and his latter years at Proof/Estadio/Doi Moi (we never tire of his scallions with romesco or Vietnamese chicken). Such personal, variant expressions from work and travel don’t always make sense on the same table, but Karoum is what industry types call a “chef’s chef”—he lives in the kitchen, and his dishes are united by a keenly focused, unfussy style. 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.
