10. Wegmans Opens Its First DC Store
And the people of Virginia and Maryland were like, “Welcome to our Wegmagical lives.”
9. Georgetown Cupcake Is Shut Down by DC’s Health Department
The M Street tourist magnet briefly closed for an expired business license. Earlier in the summer, it had been cited for 13 violations including mold and sprinkles of rodent droppings.
8. Washington Post Ditches Star Ratings
Critic-for-life Tom Sietsema banished starred reviews in an effort to get people to read words (good luck!).
7. Area Restaurants Shut Out at James Beard Awards
Apparently, a major push for inclusion didn’t include local chefs and restaurants.
6. Honest Tea Is Discontinued
Big Coke killed the Bethesda-based brand after a 24-year run.
5. Major Restaurants Closed
RIP, beloved Filipino pioneer Bad Saint in Columbia Heights, Petworth’s Magpie and the Tiger, and AdMo bistro Mintwood Place, among others.
4. Chesapeake Blue Crab Numbers Hit Record Lows
As did our mood when restaurants started taking local crab off menus.
3. Top Chef Booted Out of Fancy Sushi Spot for Birkenstocks
Former St. Anselm chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley reignited the dress-code debate when she was asked to leave sceney Japanese restaurant Shōtō for her not-fancy-enough footwear.
2. José Andrés to the Rescue
His food-relief nonprofit, World Central Kitchen, hit the ground near Ukraine as soon as Russian bombs dropped and has provided millions of meals to refugees since.
1. The Big Board vs. The Man
The veteran-owned H Street bar defied DC Covid mandates, was temporarily closed by the city, reopened without a liquor license, fed right-wing politicians burgers on Fox News, raised nearly $40,000 via GoFundMe, and is now suing the DC government. The story is like the pandemic: It should be over but keeps going.
This article appears in the December 2022 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.
