Join us today, February 12 at 11 AM to chat with Washingtonian food critic Ann Limpert. Want to show some love to a favorite neighborhood restaurant? Need last-minute Valentine’s Day plans? Or maybe you’re just looking for a dinner recommendation. Leave a question now in the form below, then join Ann Friday morning for an answer.
Ann: Good morning, folks. For decades and decades, every January or February issue of Washingtonian has been dedicated to our assessment of the year’s 100 Very Best Restaurants. That just didn’t feel right this year, so instead we chose to honor the city’s great neighborhood restaurants—the ones that have sustained us in many, many ways both through the pandemic and through the years.
All lists like this are subjective to some degree. And this might be the most personal list we’ve ever done. Crisfield in Silver Spring is on there not just because it’s a great mid-Atlantic institution but also because it’s where my parents took me nearly every weekend when I was a kid (my reward for sitting through their tennis games over by St. John’s). Some of the happiest afternoons of my last five years have been camped out at the bar at the Royal, having a midday daiquiri and arepa with my best friend. I knew more kids growing up whose parents had met at Martin’s Tavern than at anywhere else.
Which is also to say, some of the places that mean the most to you are maybe not on this list. I want to hear about them! Let me know which places most make the city feel like home to you. And of course, send in your questions. Ask them in the form below; the chat transcript shows up underneath.
