We DCists and our readers have tested a pretty wide selection of this summer’s Restaurant Week participants, and we’ve come to a conclusion: Restaurant Week is at once awesome and disappointing. In sum, Washington’s Restaurant Week is a two-faced Janus bastard.
In order to have a good restaurant week experience, one must put in a little work. There are restaurants who do RW that are worth a visit, those that completely phone it in, and those where a $30 dinner is probably double what the meal’s worth. There’s some skill involved in choosing where to go. Consider this post a wrap up of some the week’s experiences, a reference to use (
Commenters Mikaiya and randd tried out Firefly and Butterfield 9, respectively. Mikaiya lauds Firefly for its goat cheese Wellington and stuffed tomatoes, as well as the décor. Randd is less enthusiastic about Butterfield 9 (which holds the title for my personal worst RW experience ever), though he said the food was good and the service passable. Two anonymous guests have lots good to say about Cafe Atlantico, but don’t mince words about Vidalia: “If last night’s quality reflects the quality during non-RW meals, I would probably not go back.” Guest #4 appreciated the discounted wine list, though. Maybe DCist Jamie is right about the place. One would hope a newly minted Beard Award winner wouldn’t be slipping so soon.
Read more in-depth RW reviews from DCist writers after the jump. Thanks to DCists Eddie and Amanda, and DCist contributor Claire Compton for their writeups!
Photo from melanie.phung.
