Photo by Jing.
By the DCist Food Staff.
The holidays may have come and gone, but a new year is a great time to make a wish list for what you would like to get done in 2015. The food scene in Washington D.C. is no exception, as there’s always room for improvement, no matter how many New York-based chefs make the trip south. Despite the increased quality and worthiness of our city as a food and dining destination, there are still some gaps to be filled; or at least the DCist food writers think so, as they detail what’s at the top of their food “wish list” in 2015. What would you like to see more of in 2015? Let us know in the comments. — Jordan Anthony-Brown
Better Options for Late-Night Dining: It should be apparent based on the increased crowded-ness of bars, and the near-constant addition of new bars, that D.C. is well on its way to having a top-notch nightlife scene. But with such a title comes an additional layer of responsibility that the city has failed to meet by providing a fairly weak set of late-night dining options. As people pour out of bars across the city, whether it’s before or after last call, they’re left with limited food choices to satisfy that drunken hunger, and sometimes a gigantic slice of pizza or fast food just won’t cut it. As an increasingly worthy dining destination, this is a glaring hole in the city’s resume. We’re long overdue for some spots where we can actually sit down, enjoy some good food at 2 a.m., and try to stay awake long enough to finish it.—Jordan Anthony-Brown
Coffee Shops with Quality Breakfast Options: D.C.’s coffee scene has greatly improved in the past few years, but I would love to see some of the city’s best coffee shops expand their edible offerings. Let’s say goodbye to the plastic display cases filled with scones and muffins baked off site and the $6 cups half-filled with yogurt and granola. It would be great to see menus with substantial breakfast dishes—hearty egg sandwiches, morning salads, breakfast burritos—that satisfy. I hope 2015 is the year D.C. coffee shops step-up their game to serve food that matches the quality of the drinks being poured. —Elizabeth Packer
Photo by ep_jhu.
Georgian Food: We can thank 14th Street’s Compass Rose for driving D.C. diners wild with their Georgian khachapuri (AKA butter pizza) last year. Now the time is ripe for a dedicated Georgian restaurant to showcase the full range of this underdog nation’s delectable cuisine, from fried eggplant rolls stuffed with creamy garlic-walnut paste to fist-sized khinkali soup dumplings and pomegranate-studded pork sausages. The country is arguably home to the oldest wine-making tradition in the world and produces some of the most interesting yet affordable wines out there, including jammy reds and even some smoky, tannic whites that hold their own against the most succulent kebab. —Jenny Holm
Malaysian Food: With the closure of Malaysia Kopitiam this summer, the District lost it’s lone purveyor of this underrepresented cuisine. It’s a fabulous mash-up of Indonesian, Chinese, Indian, and Thai fare, with a touch of colonial Dutch and British thrown in— it’s fascinatingly complex food. Hallmark dishes include coconut-laced curries and stews, funky and savory fried noodles, and ethereal roti canai (Malaysia’s answer to the croissant). The flavors of Southeast Asia are definitely on the rise, as the success Doi Moi, Thip Khao, and Little Serow attest. Surely it’s only a matter of time until someone seizes upon Malaysia’s culinary treasure trove and decides to sell it to me in the form of overpriced small plates?—Alicia Mazzara
Photo by Francis Sheehan.
A High-End Vegetarian Restaurant: I don’t care if you call yourself a vegetable restaurant, a plant-based dining establishment, or Vegetate 2.0, but someone puh-lease open up a high quality, top-of-the-line vegetarian restaurant in D.C. this year. If Philadelphia (Philadelphia! Home of the cheesesteak and the Nationals-hating bro) has room for two places from lauded vegan chef Richard Landau, D.C. has got to be next in line. I know, we do have a lot of restaurants with great vegetarian options, some quality vegan spots, and an awesome vegan brunch, but if Philadelphia can handle two highly successful and amazingly tasty vegetable restaurants that both vegans and meat-eaters love, WE CAN TOO.—Lynne Venart
Restaurants That Take Reservations: Hey, remember when you could just pick up the phone or log on to Open Table and book a seat at that hot new restaurant? Sure, you might not be able to secure that table for several weeks, but at least you could plan for it. It would be really silly if you just had to show up at a crowded restaurant and wait upwards of two hours while getting increasingly toasted on $14 cocktails at the bar, or resort eating all your meals at 5 p.m. like an impatient octogenarian. Please, this no reservations madness must stop. Even my Millennial time and disposable income have their limits. People who have kids, out-of-town guests, or just want to make it to a 9 p.m. movie deserve to be able to eat at the cool new place, too. If no-shows are a problem, make people guarantee the table with a credit card and charge them a small fee if they bail. The fee could go back to the restaurant or to a local charity. If my yoga studio can do this, surely the D.C. restaurant scene can follow suit. —Alicia Mazzara
All Shophouse, All the Time: Enough with Chipotle. I would really like to see the continued expansion of the Shophouse franchise within the city. Nothing is better on a cold day than a quick stop for a rice bowl with fiery red curry, succulent chicken and pork meatballs, and blistered green beans. It’s more portable than ramen and more well-balanced than a Chipotle burrito bowl. —Travis Mitchell
Photo by Jewtastic.
The Return of the Neighborhood Restaurant or Bar: There is an excellent economic case for new bars and restaurants to locate near other established joints (see 14th St, H Street NE). But will this trend come at the demise of the local watering hole? 2014 saw the closure or relocation of several neighborhood institutions, like Palena and Dino in Cleveland Park and Tonic in Mt. Pleasant. Not every neighborhood can be a destination for high-end dining and drinking a la Logan Circle. I sincerely hope that the economics of D.C.’s rent prices haven’t spelled the end of the neighborhood joint. Regular folks need a place they can go within a stone’s throw of home to enjoy a cold beer or affordable meal. I’d love to see more of that in 2015.—Alicia Mazzara
More Produce Markets: There are a handful of markets around the city that stock their shelves with local products, but places like Each Peach, Glen’s Garden Market and Little Red Fox place the spotlight more on prepared goods than fresh produce. At Union Market, the sole produce purveyor is nearly lost amidst the vendors hawking artisanal meats and Korean tacos. And while D.C. does have many great farmers’ markets, limited hours mean limited access. In my neighborhood (and in much of the city), there are liquor stores on every corner, but an absence of places to buy fruit and vegetables. So in 2015, I would love to see more produce markets open around the city. —Elizabeth Packer
Themed Food Tours: The popularity of brewery tours is growing, but why stop there? Small plates + themed restaurants = a modern take on the progressive dinner. I would love to be driven around on a guided tour of amazing foodstuffs. Here are some ideas: an omakase at 5 different Japanese restaurants; a sampling of European flavors from British, French, Italian, Spanish and German restaurants; a taco tour of DC. Say it with me… TACO TOUR, TACO TOUR, TACO TOUR!!! —Josh Kramer
