100 Very Best 2018
100 Very Best 2019Yuh Shimomura’s sliver of a dining room in Old Town is as intimate as it gets. Opt for a stool at the six-seat bar so you can watch the lone-wolf chef’s pyrotechnics in the form of blowtorches and indoor barbecuing. His $55 five-course Japanese set menus (no substitutions or choices) can be dazzling. An impeccable sashimi plate—hello, Spanish mackerel and edible flowers—is a given each night. There’s also typically a burbling hot pot and dense house-made ice cream. Inventive grilled, fried, and steamed morsels plus an esoteric collection of sake and Japanese whiskey fill in the gaps. Expensive.
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.
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.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
