Photo by christaki
Four D.C. restaurants and one place somewhat errantly identified as being in the District made a list of the “101 Best Restaurants in America” as compiled by the food website The Daily Meal.
Michel Richard’s Citronelle placed best, coming in at No. 10 overall. Also making the list were The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va. (No. 35), minibar (No. 65), Ben’s Chili Bowl (No. 83) and Palena Café (No. 87). The recognition for the local food scene is nice, especially on such a celebrity chef-heavy list. Still, a couple of things:
For starters, if the list is going to be chock full of restaurants run by people like Mario Batali, Thomas Keller and Jöel Robouchon, it’s a bit odd to see only one entry from José Andrés’ empire, and nothing from Ashok Bajaj’s. The Post’s Tim Carman was among the judges, but the final list was heavily weighted toward New York and California.
And putting Ben’s Chili Bowl above Palena, as Young & Hungry pointed out earlier today, just seems a bit too arbitrary, especially when we’re told to believe it’s superior to Palena Café. Then again, this is also a tourist-friendly list that put Katz’s Delicatessen in New York at No. 27. Katz’s is good, but is it objectively superior to Bouchon Bistro in Yountville, Calif. (No. 29) or Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia (No. 34)? It’s not even the best of the major delis in Manhattan. (Second Avenue Deli, which is now on Third, is superior, albeit unlisted.)
But perhaps the most glaring thing about the Washington-area restaurants on The Daily Meal’s list is the way the Inn at Little Washington is presented:
35. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, D.C.
Except, the Inn at Little Washington isn’t in D.C., it’s about 70 miles away in Rappahannock County, Va. Saying the Inn at Little Washington is in Washington, D.C. would be like, oh, saying Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Conn. is in New York City.
49. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven, Conn.
Nope, they got that one right. It’s OK, geography is tough:
