#13: How do you rank a restaurant?
#13: How do you rank a restaurant?
a rant on "very best" restaurant lists that are very mid
Washingtonian’s Very Best 100 Restaurants in DC (kind of)
This January, the Washingtonian released their Very Best 100 Restaurants in DC. This yearly round up is often incredibly subjective, just like food writing and reviews. I hope it is no secret that I am generally skeptical of these top lists. They are typically published by magazines driven by ads paid by large hotel and restaurant groups, with a general public to keep in mind.
In the post-pandemic era, these lists seem to have lost their way in terms of adhering to any sort of criteria to rank restaurants…
The value of staying in your lane
Starting with what’s in plain sight, the list includes Maryland and Virginia picks. That would be fine if this list were called the Very Best 100 Restaurants in the DMV… but they distinctly label it DC. This annoys me because there are HUNDREDS of great restaurants in each locale. It is honestly very overwhelming to sift through just northern VA options alone.
Highlighting a handful of a few spots in northern VA and southern MD does not mean you are taking an inclusive approach! What would truly be inclusive is if Washingtonian actually engaged local freelance writers to develop respective VA and MD top 50-100 lists. Instead we get this hacked up list that kind of snubs everyone.
The Washingtonian is called Washington-ian for a reason. I love to add to my growing list of spots in the DMV, but I don’t appreciate the magazine narrowing down the recognition of plenty of other great DC restaurants to highlight only a handful of really excellent restaurants in the burbs that deserve to sit on their own list.
This seems like a bit of a shortcut to me, especially since this list is one of the magazine’s largest undertakings of the year.
Who’s missing?
Moon Rabbit - Moon Rabbit has received wide recognition for its innovation and expression of Vietnamese food. The head chef, Chef Kevin Tien, had a really tough year in 2023. Days after receiving a James Beard nomination, he (and 45 other staff) vacated the original Moon Rabbit location on the Wharf in late May due to union busting by the InterContinental Hotel Group. He temporarily relocated to Bryant Street, a food hall in NE for a little bit, and has now reopened in a new space in City Center. What bothers me about this snub is that Washingtonian included plenty of new restaurants that opened in 2023. Moon Rabbit has run service since 2020, and Chef Kevin Tien just received another James Beard nomination for Best Chef. How could they miss this one?
Tonari - It makes me irate that this Italian Japanese restaurant that has brought life to the Gallery Place/Chinatown dining scene was skipped over on this list. Their $55 pre-fixed dessert bar received so much praise last year. Tonari hits all the boxes for me. They have solid breakfast and lunch ripping pastries, breakfast sandwiches, onigiris, and now ramen? And for dinner they have an impressive array of fusion pizzas, pastas, and appetizers in generous portions with really fair pricing. They are doing the most and deserve to be on that list instead of Unconventional Diner. Come on people!!
Boogy and Peel - Another excellent pizza place with really fun, nostalgic and creative flavor profiles. The cocktails are A+ and service is always really kind. Frick Washingtonian for ignoring them and for putting All Purpose pizza on there instead. *screams*
Mariscos 1133 - I know, I rave about them a lot. They are the near perfect casual dinner out option when you are craving Mexican seafood dishes done well. While I am happy to see casual modern Mexican representation on this list, I have an issue with the list ranking restaurants that have been open only for the last half of 2023 making the list instead. The team selected Amparo Fondita, which I have heard is fantastic, and I am sure it is. But, I think you have to give at least 6 months before you are calling a restaurant one of the very best. Also, I’m sorry (no I’m not) but El Presidente making the list after only opening in September seems a bit hasty; especially since this new Starr restaurant has had inconsistent reviews and has been affectionately named the Rainforest Cafe for adults.
Who I’m adding to the growing list
As much as I can rag on this list, it does help me add new restaurants to my running list. Here are a few that I am genuinely excited to try:
La Chicatana in Columbia Heights
El Amparo Fondita in DuPont Circle (have to see what the hype is about)
Ceibo in Adams Morgan
Meli in Adams Morgan(ish)
Gemini (when I have time for a pickup at 5:00pm sharp on a weekday)
La Tingeria in Falls Church
Nue in Falls Church
Let me know what you thought about the list, and what criteria you would set for what makes a restaurant the very best.
Restaurant Recap: Maketto
This meal restored my faith in DC dining. I have been riding the bitter train recently about how hard it is to get a reservation at some of DC’s most highly anticipated restaurants that sometimes end up falling short (looking at you Le Dip). Part of this is that I have not fully accepted that certain spots are good for certain things. But isn’t it great when a restaurant just excels in everything? That is exactly what happened during our dinner at Maketto.
Maketto is a longstanding staple on H Street that focuses on Taiwanese dishes. I last entered the restaurant five years ago on my first Valentine's Day with Will (very sweet, I know).
During this visit, we had a group of five on a Tuesday night at 8:00pm celebrating our friend’s birthday. Off the bat, they gave her a glass of bubbly. We ordered a boatload, but our server kindly guided us through all of our choices, accommodated allergies every step of the way, and did not rush us whatsoever. These are really small things that a server can do to make a weeknight dining experience feel like you are seated at prime time on Friday night.
We ordered eight dishes and there was not a single flop. The dishes were coursed in order and on time, leaving the correct gaps in between for last bites. Again, this seems like a simple thing, but I have not seen this at many busy, casual restaurants like Maketto. The portions were insanely large and we ended up spending $260 for five people who each had a cocktail - and that includes the 20% service fee. Oh, and there were four containers of leftovers taken home.
The overall experience was unbelievably refreshing and seemed too good to be true. Even when we decided to forego dessert out of fear we may burst on the spot, they brought a complimentary birthday treat. As we walked out, each and every server said “goodnight” and the server who checked us in remembered it was our friend’s birthday. This is really nice shit that doesn’t always happen!
Experiences like this seem to become more rare to me. I think this is partially caused by the rising wall between front of house staff and guests as discussions around service fees and inflation escalate.
Maybe we need these experiences to feel a bit more rare to give greater appreciation when service is done well? Or should we be expecting more dinners like this as servers start earning more livable wages in DC and as prices are rising? It’s a lot to think about, and I’m just grateful to not be disappointed, and now reassured that places like Maketto remain to be the best that DC has to offer.
Related to this topic is a recent Bon Appetit article “Have High Prices Killed the Joy of Trying New Restaurants.” As a young profesh living in the big city with student loans and a behemoth federal tax return owed this year, my TLDR is a resounding yes. But, I’m curious to hear your thoughts (DC or beyond).