Albi now counts two, the newest of which is a glass-enclosed rear patio that can seat up to 25 revelers. To order alcohol with your meal, use GoTab. Most restaurants were visited multiple times, and in recent months. Possibly it was the sting of the orange gazpacho, poured from a slender plastic flask, or the broad metal pan used to ferry the seafood-scattered paella from Penn Quarter to my doorstep. Whatever the detail, takeout from Jaleo, among my hall of fame picks, places me back in the dining room, alive with color and energy in happier times. While Ive experienced his cooking only as takeout, the food inside the bags and boxes is arranged just so, as if waiting for a photo shoot. An elegant riff on a gin & tonic arrives in a glass the size of a globe which didnt stop anyone from the last drop. Wheelchair users can enter through a side door from the parking lot; ADA-compliant restroom. Hitching Post, promise me youll keep the lights on forever. "Trust me," says the countrys most famous innkeeper. The service is every bit as engaging as the food, and the only thing you miss by sitting outside is the chance to say "grazie mille" to the woman watching over the kitchen. Takeout and delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats. From the bar flow some of the most beautiful and delicious drinks around. Aim for a counter stool and the chance to watch the staff shape rounds of dough on a surface of durum and maybe meet Valerie Harding. Indoor and outdoor seating. The pale yellow drift to the side is whipped yogurt with fermented mango. No floppy crusts here. The self-taught chef says his flavors are going to be Korean even if his techniques are otherwise. Yet his preaching is subtle. Tom Sietsema on La Vie in Rare, Washington, D.C. It's rare that Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema writes a zero-star review, but, La Vie compelled him to warn readers against ever paying. Long and clattery, the dining room is warmed up with vintage accents and young servers who look after you like good neighbors. Tom Sietsema spotlights 48 DC-area restaurants, including his 10 favorites. Ill be with you in a moment this restaurant might disappoint you. Plenty in his restaurant, a luxe extension of his Seven Reasons on 14th Street NW, will make you glad to be there. The joyride might start with a wispy bite of fried julienne celery root so light it melts on the tongue, along with a surprise center of silken smoked tofu and move on to dishes that trumpet the season. Wheelchair users can enter through a side door (off the parking lot on the left); ADA-compliant restroom. Two of us shared the lot as an appetizer for $10 and stopped only because the soup had competition (spinach-stuffed fried turnovers: lovely) and we needed room to accommodate our main courses, including a truly special special of lamb and okra in a tomato stew kicky with garam masala. Outside, on a semi-enclosed walkway strung with lights and as tasteful as indoors, is a great place to feast on minty leek-and-scallion dumplings and chicken combined with fistfuls of greens and punched up with cilantro. Takeout, no delivery. The ancient grain salad unites golden couscous and nutty black quinoa beneath a cover of sliced sunchokes and pickled cucumbers, a construction amplified by dressings that veer from hot to sweet to tangy. Sietsema reported being so overwhelmed with flavor that he felt like waving his napkin in surrender. Delivery via Skip the Line. A five-course dinner is still served just four days a week to no more than 20 people at a single, 7 oclock seating. Jon Krinn at Vienna's Clarity is serving up quality three-course dinners (e.g., lamb bolognese pasta, sea scallops over vegetables, and tiramisu) for $35, brioche cinnamon rolls baked by his. Tom Sietsema spotlights 48 DC-area restaurants, including his 10 favorites Line cook Sam Hoefer works at the dessert station in the open kitchen at the Dabney in Washington. Note just the meatloaf, glazed with sriracha and slightly creamy with Gruyere, a nod to the French background of chef David Deshaies. One of the best vegan memories in recent months is the chefs Blue Ridge bowl with local vegetables and basmati rice, over which a server pours an amber liquid that tastes like the distillation of a garden with a whisper of ginger. A Caesar assembled with pea shoots, charred snap peas and breadcrumbs instead of croutons is unconventional but so good, even purists polish it off. The biggest change at one of the top restaurants in town? Of course, it was made there. Hang in there, Pennyroyal Station! A custom wood smoker made from a repurposed propane tank, along with an Argentine grill and box smoker in the kitchen, flavor much of the Southern-inspired menu. Lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Takeout via website, phone, Tock, Caviar or DoorDash. Eggplant stars in a schnitzel topped with shaved fennel kraut that would be at home in Germany. Generous grinds of cracked pepper and a brick to press the chicken super-close to the heat reward the recipient with a blast of spice and an entree that crackles when you bite down. While Patierno feels obliged to retain crowd-pleasers, specials are a way to keep his cooks interested. Im crossing my fingers, looking for four-leaf clovers, rubbing rabbits feet and booking more time here. Indoor and outdoor seating. With just four stools at the bar and no more than six seats on the sloped patio, this may be the hardest reservation in town right now. Or dense and delicious morsels of lamb rolled in a grass-colored paste of raw green papaya, ginger, mint and red chiles. I just wanted to do one thing as good as I can, says the chef. Justin Ahn was born in Korea but relocated to Southern California when he was a year old. Culinary heroes Nobuyuki Nobu Matsuhisa and Jol Robuchon are celebrated in a sublime dish pairing the Japanese chefs silken fish in miso with the late French chefs crazy-rich whipped potatoes. Voila!, for sure. [Head to Chennai Hoppers for some of the areas best Indian cooking]. Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. Indoor and outdoor seating. Even his more straightforward-sounding dishes sparkle at Daru. The lush uni, meanwhile, is plucked from Santa Barbara, Calif. Hiroshi presents the treasure with a dab of wasabi and a tiny quail egg. Ive also yet to meet a pasta I havent loved here. "I make food the way I like it," says the co-owner of Northern Virginias premier Laotian outpost, as well as Thip Khao in Washington. Three sides of the Points dining room are windows or see-through garage doors that put customers face to face with a fleet of boats; the menu channels the late Patricia Lyons Jones with dishes including Mom-moms crab soup. The cafe Yellow adjacent is just as great for coffee and wonderful baked goods. Small plates capture big pleasures. Consider just the ssam board, DIY tacos assembled from ribbons of rosy marinated short rib and ruffles of spring-green lettuce (ssam is Korean for "wrapped"). We marvel as a waiter removes the bones from a plate of Norwegian sole with the precision of a surgeon. The entrees sidekicks buttery, pull-apart biscuits, a slaw as bracing as a cold shower on a hot day prove the chickens equal. Takeout via Toast or phone. And yet, its always about the crust, says Linn. Bread lands promptly. (The crust is based on the one created by the owners father, who founded what became La Prima Food Group based in College Park.) Indoor and outdoor seating. A meal begins with complimentary sel roti rings of honey-sweetened rice bread accompanied by a bowl of fermented daikon, slick with mustard oil and tossed with mustard and fenugreek seeds. When he opened his Maryland pizzeria seven years ago, friends told him he needed to round out the menu with appetizers and pasta. Takeout and delivery. Indoor only. The deeper your dive on the menu, though, the more competition the tacos get for your taste buds. The truth is, there are lots to like here: housemade sodas that change with the season (fall finds pumpkin pie and Concord grape), a small dining room decorated with old cooking utensils and Mason jars-turned-lights, and warmth beyond that of the oven. I dont care, says Smith-Davis, laughing at the memories of people trying to pass off her food as home cooking. Which it is, despite some trimming of the drinks and wine lists and a format switch. Meet Andrs-Julian Zuluaga, an alumnus of the school of Fabio Trabocchi. No takeout or delivery. Such a reassuring restaurant. "The wine is gone by midnight. Is it still good?, [Three Blacksmiths invites more to the table]. Kinship is tasteful in all ways. The meat, carved into two chunks, rests on a whip of turnips and alongside carrot coins ignited with harissa. A lot of guests have opinions about vegetables, based on unpleasant experiences with say, canned mushrooms or overcooked asparagus, says Rubba. [On Capitol Hill, two ambitious restaurants debut from one thoughtful owner]. To eat either entree, delivered by servers who look after you like most honored guests, is to understand whats kept the doors open all these years. Airbnb could be forgiven for recruiting the all-day, modern American restaurant on Capitol Hill. [An Ethiopian newcomer makes a spicy splash in Alexandria]. 6395 Seven Corners Center, Falls Church, Va. Takeout via website, phone or DoorDash. This winning mom-and-pop no longer does takeout, and wine pairings have gone the way of Novak Djokovics winning streak on the tennis court. Check out the swordfish kebab, cooked over coals and painted with a sauce made vibrant with green chiles, cilantro, caraway and more. From the brick oven come thin, crisp pies, including the Spotted Pig, decked out with wild boar meatballs, sopressata, a pleasantly sweet tomato sauce, fresh basil and multiple cheeses. Im talking banquettes the shade of marinara sauce, Sinatra on the soundtrack, chianti in straw-swaddled bottles and herby hot garlic bread presented with a four-cheese dunk. Its from everywhere, says Walsh. Shocked to see a tuna melt on a menu from former White House chef Frank Ruta? Delivery via Tock and Skip the Line. Delivery Friday via website. And this in a honey-lit, wood-bound dining room that factors in sheepskin stools for purses, local rocks to ferry the bread and tiny anvils with your partys name written on it. A bite of fried bread followed by a taste of daikon sweet followed by savory and decidedly sour wakes up the appetite. [The Dabney brings depth and technique to Mid-Atlantic cuisine]. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday, lunch weekends. Happy Gyro adds pizza and pork to an otherwise vegetarian menu. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday. The single best starter is a plate of calamari, sprinkled with semolina and fried to a fine crunch. The fire in the red lentils? Which is a long way of saying pretty much everything on the menu created by chefs Lisa and Peter Chang is something you dont want to miss. No barriers at the entrance; a lift in the bar allows access to the main dining room. Proof of vaccination required for indoor dining. Arranging the takeout for a group portrait on my kitchen counter this summer, I was struck by the beauty of the spread.