Food

100 Best Restaurants 2009: La Chaumière

No. 82: La Chaumière

Cuisine: Julia Child-era French classics—quenelles in lobster sauce, salmon in puff pastry—get their due, as do fanciful desserts such as profiteroles and soufflés.

Mood: A beamed, farm-inspired room complete with a stone hearth and walls tacked with copper pans and horseshoes. Tables are squeezed close together, the better to listen in on the denizens of Georgetown.

Best for: Dinner with parents; a celebratory meal where you can laugh as loud as you want and not have your voice rise above the din; big appetites—portions are hefty.

Best dishes: Appetizer or entrée of pillowy pike quenelles in a rich lobster sauce; boudin blanc with sautéed apples; onion soup; wedgelike salad with Roquefort; Grand Marnier soufflé with crème anglaise; apple tart on puff pastry; classic profiteroles.

Insider tips: There are standout specials throughout the week. Diners come on Wednesdays for couscous strewn with lamb, chicken, and beef, on Thursdays for cassoulet loaded with sausage and duck confit.

Service: ••

Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Expensive.

>> See all 100 Best Restaurants 

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.