A $250-per-person modernist joy ride with José Andrés at the wheel. A $12.50 takeout box of the crispiest fried chicken we’ve ever tasted. Those are two ends of the wild and colorful spectrum of our critics’ favorite places to eat this year. In between, there are some terrific newcomers (a couple of which landed in our ranked list of the top 25 restaurants), fabulous splurges and affordable gems, and plenty of other reasons to get excited about going out to dinner.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
