We of DCist Food are taking it easy (or at least easier) on the extra-rich, cream-laden, beautifully presented food over the next several days. It seems our epicurean slutiness has come to an end. Let’s face it: a week of three-coursing it at D.C.’s best restaurants is a high-speed merge onto the fat-ass freeway. But reminiscing about the best and worst is calorie-free, so here’s our chance (and yours) to give a rundown.
As far as our experiences go, it looks as if Corduroy wins for best overall experience for the second year in a row. A few DCists spent more than three hours at Tom Power’s joint for dinner one evening, surrendering to osso buco, chocolate hazelnut bars, and three different grappas. It was seriously good.
Elsewhere, Willow’s inspired desserts, Ardeo’s delicious fish (and whole-menu availability), and Notti Bianche’s pastas (but not its lunch-time surcharges) win top marks. DCist lauds 1789’s service and pumpkin ravioli, and we dug Georgia Brown’s appetizers, but the soul-food standby seemed to fall down on the main and dessert with only two choices. With many places offering up whole menus, you can’t get away with such paltry selection anymore. A crabby hostess and poor service dampened an evening at Zengo for DCist, and a commenter wasn’t too keen either. Sam & Harry’s proved to be nothing special, even a little sucky, but we could have told you that beforehand.
If you haven’t filled us in already, let us know in the comments how things went last week; we’ll use your recommendations come August’s Restaurant Week. As for us, it’s celery and Fresca over the next couple of days. We’ll convince ourselves that it’s satisfying.
