Photo by LaTur.
In 2015, the DCist food staff dared to dream of a world where restaurants stayed open late, took reservations, and fed us cuisines from far-flung lands. Sure, some might say these were first world problems, but occasionally dreams really do come true. After all, we did get more Shophouse locations. As for those other wishes, well, they’re still a work in progress. But that hasn’t stopped us from coming up with a fresh new set of ideas for the coming year. What would you like to see more (or less) of in 2016? Let us know in the comments.
MORE MID-ATLANTIC CUISINE: The Dabney (122 Blagden Alley NW) deserves special praise for trying to do for the Mid-Atlantic what places like Noma have done overseas. America’s unique blend of immigrants and cultures has created some really amazing cuisines across the country, but the Mid-Atlantic lacks the distinctive culinary traditions that define many parts of our country. Yes, we’re south of the Mason-Dixon line, which officially makes us Southerners, but we’re also just north enough that we haven’t quite adopted the food traditions that define Southern cooking. If places like The Dabney can explore, uncover, or even create a distinctive Mid-Atlantic cuisine, then I’m completely on board. In 2016 I want to see what other unique ingredients and dishes this area has to offer. —Jacob Dean
COMMUNAL DINING: Whatever happened to good old “commensality” or coming around the table as a way to resolve differences?We need more communal tables at all types of restaurants to bring people together who want to use cuisine as a good way to share ideas, old and new. In this political year, eating around a table may help humanize this town in ways we could not have thought possible. —Johanna Mendelson Forman
FAMILY-STYLE PORTIONS AND PRICES: Small plates are great for sharing between two people, but they’re a pain for larger groups. I’d like to see more restaurants offering dishes served family-style, with the kitchen adjusting the amount of food they send out based on the number of people eating. This is already common practice at many “ethnic” restaurants,” e.g. the Ethiopian restaurant where you can get a platter of mixed dishes to share around the table or the Szechuan restaurant where you can order meat and vegetables for your hot pot based on the size of your group. Some D.C. restaurants offer a few menu items designed for group sharing, like the pig feast at The Partisan (709 D St. NW) or the slow-cooked lamb at Steel Plate in Brookland (3523 12th St. NE), but many of these require ordering days in advance and tend to be meat-centric. How about pricing regular menu items by the person and adjusting serving sizes accordingly? At the very least, I wish restaurants would stop serving by-the-piece items in multiples of three to groups of two and four, which inevitably leads to one dumpling slowly growing cold while diners pretend not to notice, or the odd (wo)man out ending up with a tiny sliver of three separate risotto balls, leaving everyone less than fulfilled. —Jenny Holm
ENOUGH WITH THE BOWLS ALREADY: Many things are promised for 2016, but if it’s anything like 2015, we’re basically guaranteed to be buried by food that comes in bowls. It’s true that there’s some quality food to be had in bowl-form (Donburi (2438 18th St NW) comes to mind, while Chipotle most decidedly does not), and while I’m very curious to see what places like Little Sesame (1306 18th St NW) are able to do to mix things up, the reality is that our lunch options are becoming increasingly homogenous. You can dress it up as much as you want, but at the end of the day we’re all basically being served the same product: paper bowl, rice (brown or white) or salad, protein, chopped accouterments, sauce. I know that the lunch rush is a grind for both diner and restaurant alike, but no food experience is quite as Orwellian as standing in a line 30 people deep while an unhappy-looking person shovels food into a to-go receptacle. In a town where you can have a custom pizza made to order in less than 5 minutes, eat a sushi roll the size of a burrito, have some damn fine tacos, or even just grab a quality sandwich (Bub and Pop’s! Sundevich! Taylor Gourmet!), the bowl is a bummer of epic proportions. I’m drawing a line in the sand: the bowl’s gotta go. —Jacob Dean
BRING ON THE FORTIFIED WINE: Mockingbird Hill (1843 7th St NW) may have made sherry cool again, but more and more bars have begun focusing on the oft-overlooked world of fortified wines. My interest was first piqued thanks to a glass of Imbue vermouth at Little Serow (1511 17th St NW) in 2011, but back then it was hard to find vermouth in anything except a martini. Luckily, it’s gotten easier to nab a glass of this delicious, complex stuff. Today sherry, vermouth, and other fortified tipples are showing up regularly on local cocktail menus and can be enjoyed all on their own at The Royal (501 Florida Ave NW) and Etto (1541 14th St NW). Here’s to hoping for even better sipping in 2016. —Alicia Mazzara
A FULL-SERVICE GEORGIAN RESTAURANT: 2015 saw the addition of khinkali (Georgian soup dumplings) to the menu at Compass Rose (1346 T St NW) and the appearance of Georgian wines (including funky, tannic orange wines) on lists at popular spots like Maketto (1351 H St NE) and Iron Gate (1734 N St NW). The PurMarili Georgian pop-up at Prequel (918 F St NW) in August sold out quickly, and Bazaar Spices at Union Market (soon to move to 2130 8th St NW) added a line of Georgian spices—including dried marigold, blue fenugreek, and dried ajika pepper powder—to their offerings. This year, I renew my call for a full-service Georgian restaurant in D.C. where we can all get our fix of silky fried eggplant stuffed with walnut-garlic sauce, beef stew spiked with sour plums and mounded with herbs, and, of course, five different kinds of steaming cheese bread. —Jenny Holm
A BAKERY FIT FOR YOUR NONA: What D.C. needs is a good old fashioned Italian bakery. (Ed. note: Or any bakery that isn’t solely focused on cupcakes!) One with wonderful pignoli cookies and the tri-colored cookies that taste homemade, along with Italian breads and anise rolls. Should we really have to travel to Baltimore or NYC to get a taste of these comforting carbs? —Johanna Mendelson Forman
A THIRD WAVE FOR TEA: Independent coffee shops are enjoying quite the resurgence in D.C., with plentiful options for a grabbing a fair trade pour-over served by some hipster covered in tattoos. But the picture is less rosy for folks who don’t drink coffee (yes, we exist). My family has roots in Hong Kong, where Chinese and British tea cultures collide in one bracing cup of black milk tea. Sadly, many local restaurants and coffee shops do not share a similar reverence for the flavor and ritual of tea brewing. Instead, tea is frequently treated as an afterthought, a musty box of Lipton or Bigelow shoved behind the coffee filters. There are bright spots, like Teaism, Chinatown Coffee (475 H St NW), and newcomer Calabash Tea and Tonic (1847 7th St NW). But I hope 2016 is the year more cafes and restaurants get as serious about their tea as their coffee.—Alicia Mazzara
PICK UP THE PHONE: Speaking as both a diner and a food writer, this one is a plea: If you’re a restaurant, have an active phone number. I don’t know if it’s coincidence, some kind of restaurant group/Bilderberg conspiracy, or just a sociopathic act of aggression, but an increasing number of restaurants seem to be doing away with answering phones. While I love your restaurant, I’m not willing to schlep my way across town to discover that the wait is an hour and a half long and you want to sell me $9 beers and $13 cocktails at your bar. Not having a person available by phone to provide a sense of what the wait is like, give directions, or answer any number of other questions, is unacceptable. If you’re worried about having a staff member tied up answering calls, take a hint from Rose’s Luxury (717 8th St SE) and leave a detailed message in your voicemail that at the end tells you what button to hit to connect to someone. Not having an active phone number is an act of restaurant terrorism (I’m looking at you Momofuku CCDC and The Dabney) and is some bullshit that needs to stop. In 2016, please answer the damn phone. —Jacob Dean
LESS TIPPING, BETTER PAY: When I’m not thinking about my next meal, I spend a lot of time thinking about the economy. One issue that’s been nagging me lately is tipping, an onerous and outdated practice that often bears little relationship to the actual quality of service one receives. I can think of at least half a dozen reasons why we should stop it and just paying workers a decent wage. (Fun fact: The tipped minimum wage in D.C. is just $2.77 an hour.) Better labor laws can help, but in the meantime it’s been heartening to see local restaurants like Sally’s Middle Name (1320 H St NE) and the Public Option (1601 Rhode Island Ave NE) taking matters into their own hands by instituting a flat service charge or by building labor costs into their prices. Given the city’s robust dining scene, I hope more restaurants get on the no-tips bandwagon. After all, we want all the folks who help prepare and serve our meals to be able to afford to live here too. —Alicia Mazzara
