1. Ray’s the Steaks
Yeah, we have plenty of steak-houses—but they’re nothing like this pomp-free, value-minded Arlington game-changer.
2. Sally’s Middle Name
Sam and Aphra Atkins’s neighborhood spot helped make H Street a legit dining destination, thanks to a quirky, eclectic menu and delightful fried chicken and doughnuts.
3. Proof
The late Mark Kuller’s ambitious Gallery Place wine bar was our favorite stop before a Capital One Arena outing.
4. PX/Eamonn’s
You can still sip cocktail guru Todd Thrasher’s drinks at his Wharf bar, Tiki TNT, but we also long for the more elegant creations he showed off at his Old Town speakeasy (and the fried-fish sandwiches at the Irish chipper downstairs).
5. Dean & DeLuca
What we really miss is this ultra-expensive foodie emporium in its ’90s heyday, when esoteric mustards and Petrossian caviar weren’t just a click away.
This article appears in the November 2019 issue of Washingtonian.
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.
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.
