100 Very Best 2023Venezuelan-born chef Enrique Limardo’s restaurant empire is expanding, from “sexy casual” Joy by Seven Reasons in Chevy Chase to Michelin-starred Imperfecto in DC’s West End. We’re happiest sip-ping a salted-mango-and-rye cocktail at his pan-Latin flagship, where vines drape the walls and plates display the kitchen’s modernist tweezer art. Menus, including a blowout chef’s tasting table, are now all prix fixe. There’s plenty of choice in the four-course version—more fun for sharing bites such as salmon-mango tartare with mezcal foam, scallops in a sultry coconut curry, and guava cheesecake. Very expensive.
