100 Very Best Restaurant 2016: G by Mike Isabella

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G by Mike Isabella often has guest chefs deem up sandwiches. This one, a Kim-fil-A--a mess of fried chicken, bacon, and fermented-chili slaw--was created by Jonah Kim. Photograph by Scott Suchman

About G by Mike Isabella

Cost:

By day, this narrow shop slings some of the top sandwiches in town. At night, the lights go down (though the sound system stays tuned to ’90s hip-hop and metal) and chef/owner Mike Isabella’s crew cranks out a more ambitious roster of Italian pastas and roasts. The $40 prix fixe menu—which begins with a generous meat-and-cheese slate—is a killer deal, but you can go à la carte as well. Even if you have kale fatigue, don’t overlook the cavolo nero salad, softened with tangy yogurt-tahini dressing. It’s one of the best plates of greens we’ve had in months.

Don’t miss: goat-and-potato sandwich; lamb on pita; roast chicken; garlic bread and gravy (Sundays only).

Price: Inexpensive (sandwich shop) to expensive (dinner menu).

See what other restaurants made our 100 Very Best Restaurants list. This article appears in our February 2016 issue of Washingtonian.


Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

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.

Food Editor

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.