VIP-peeping beat autumn leaf-peeping this past week and weekend around DC—especially if you’re into food world stars and/or Bravolebrities (hi!).
No surprise, Le Diplomate in Logan Circle was the biggest Starr scene of all. Comedian Chris Rock, in town for a stop on his Ego Death World Tour last week, waved to fans and dined with bud Questlove and tour manager Tina Farris, according to sources from the restaurant.
Following in their footsteps: Bravo Summerhouse’s newly engaged couple, Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke, who dropped in on Saturday night with eight friends for a grand plateau, escargot, and steak au poivre. Come dessert time, friend and cast-mate Luke Gulbranson brought Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby to meet the group over profiteroles—stoking rumors that the duo are dating. The crew followed up dinner that weekend with a Commanders game and en-suite TikTok dance.
Also on Saturday, R&B singer and DC native Ari Lennox ate at Le Dip and was overheard telling a diner it was her first-ever time sampling creme brûlée. On Sunday, the brasserie hosted Avatar: The Way Of The Water actor Zoe Saldana and friends, who feasted on tuna carpaccio and foie gras parfait, among other plates.
Over at the Wharf, British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was in town to open his first of three Washington restaurants. The Hell’s Kitchen host was a dream partner for Mayor Muriel Bowser during an impromptu milkshake competition at Ramsay’s Fish & Chips on Wednesday, beating deputy mayor John Falcicchio and Hell’s Kitchen season 10 winner Christina Wilson. Ramsay also popped into hotspots Moon Rabbit at the Wharf and Albi in Navy Yard, gushing over chef Kevin Tien’s foot-on fried chicken and Michael Rafidi’s crab hummus.
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Meanwhile San Francisco-based chef Dominique Crenn, the only female three-Michelin starred chef in the United States, teamed up with José Andrés for a blowout dinner at Minibar on Saturday. After, the duo popped into the Four Seasons Georgetown and Bourbon Steak, where high-profile pal Michael Mina was hosting his first DC food festival (partially benefiting World Central Kitchen) with a bunch of Top Chef alums (Mei Lin, all the Voltaggios) and West Coast food and wine world talents.
Let’s hope Andrés helps break the internet by luring Taylor Swift to DC with his promise to cook for her.
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.
