DC/VA Reccomendations

All: Just as a reference I thought I'd cross post my best of list I threw on Chowhound since I'm leaving the area. Feel free to hit me with questions about DC/VA.

As I'm moving out of DC in exactly 2 weeks I thought I'd throw something on the board about my absolute favorites and why. Note that I have no ownership or special affiliation with any of these restaurants, though in some cases I have sent a glass of champagne back to the kitchen or to the staff for superb service. At some of these restaurants I am a regular, but I do my best to never take a comp and to narrow out when I'm getting special treatment. My general rule is that I don't tend to sit with the same servers and I am often in on off nights when regular management isn't there. That's the end of my qualifications in the opening, but I'll note anything I've got in the body.

By the way, I've lived in the DC metro area exactly 1063 days and visited approximately 225 different restaurants in that time. My initial goal was to eat at every restaurant rated 23 and above in Zagat, though I abandoned that goal after about 50 places and switched up to just eating wherever I felt like. Some of those places remain favorites, some have fallen by the wayside. Zagat's ain't wonderful but it was a nice starting point in 2004.

These are in no particular order.

Best Places:

Eleventh Street Lounge, 1041 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA. I started going to Eleventh Street long before the current chef, Antonio Burrel became head chef. He's a chef I've somewhat followed since he was at Bis, then Viridian now Eleventh Street. The owners of Eleventh Street should be glad to have him as he is taking bar food in NoVA to new realms. The truffled deviled eggs is a hint towards an old Escoffier recipe (eggs in egg wash trick), the sea scallop and watermellon with guacamole dish is an intricacy of flavors and textures so perfect on the tongue, and the broccoli cheddar soup is insanely good. Pros: Amazing food, killer service. Cons: Too euro club ish for me late at night, I hate techo music, smoking is allowed.

Tallula/EATBar, 2761 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 703-778-5051. This is something I always thought Arlington needed- a gastropub. They continue to do wonderful small plates including the risotto fritter, the charcuterie selection and the wonderfully inexpensive steak tartare. The beer selection is incredible as well. Pros: Great food, great service, great prices. Cons: Bar can get VERY loud when full.

Ray's The Steaks, 1725 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-841-7297. A lot has been said about this place, but I'll say a bit more. I'm from the mid-west. I was born in Indiana and lived off grain-fed cattle for the first 8 years of my life. And flash forward to finding Ray's. Far and away the best value steak house in the DC area, and I would argue perhaps the best meat of any steakhouse in the DC area. Not a lot of ambiance, but who needs ambiance when you've got food like this at these prices. Pros: Best steaks in DC, I love the curt service, one of the finest values in dc. Cons: Sometimes there's a wait.

2941, 2941 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 703-270-1500. One of the best fine dining experiences I've had in the DC area, while being in one of the most romantic settings. Plus they give you cotton candy at the end of the meal. Very pricey, but stick to the tasting menu and you can't go wrong. The bread is also insanely good. Look to Kathy Morgan, the sommolier for all your wine choices. Out of all the sommoliers I've talked to in the DC area she has one of the best noses and tasting abilities I've ever seen. Pros: Simply impeccable food and service. Cons: Expensive, in Falls Church.

Restaurant Eve (Tasting Room), 110 S. Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA 703-706-0450. I think the tasting room is simply the best food being prepared in the Mid-Atlantic. I've said it before, I'll continue to say it, I think the work this restaurant is doing time and again is sensational. Every course has been perfectly executed, every wine pairing has been perfect, every server has been personable while still remaining professional. I can't say enough good about this place. Pros: Everything. Cons: none in my book.

Dino, 3435 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 202-686-2966. Lately there has been a bit of concern on this board regarding my treatment at Dino. Let me clear this up right now. I'm a regular at Dino, though I often come in on nights when the owner who is often on site isn't there, I regularly sit in new servers sections who don't know me, and I'm regularly there on off nights. And I've sent food back to the kitchen before. The only benefits I ever see from this restaurant is that occasionally I get to talk wine with the owner a little bit at the end of the meal, but my food isn't coming out differently than anyone elses, nor is my service any more attentive or less attentive than anyone elses in the restaurant. Now that that's cleared up- I find Dino to be my value place in DC. I adore Italian food and I honestly don't find that DC has much if any other Italian worth mentioning at this price point. The wine selection is fantastic, there's something on the menu for anybody, and the homemade pastas are insanely good. I'll add to this that I did have my first date with my soon to be wife at Dino, so it holds a little bit more sentimentality to me, but believe me, if the food wasn't good or the service wasn't good I wouldn't keep coming back. I've got one more meal at Dino before I leave DC. Pros: Value, high quality ingredients, great service, great people. Cons: I'm working hard to find one...maybe that there's no French wine on the menu?

Palena, 3529 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 202-537-9250. Much has been said about Palena, and I will attest to only having eaten at Palena twice (everything up until now I've eaten at least 3 meals at). The food has always been stellar as has the service. The attention to detail is what really gets me here. True story, and the only really solid comp story I've got, I tried to take 6 of us there in February when my father came into town on a whirlwind trip. That day the kitchen had a flood and the restaurant had to be closed leaving us scrambling for another reservation. A few months later my girlfriend and I went to have dinner there. They not only remembered my name in their database, but they brought us a free glass each of stellar Blanc de Blancs (I believe it was Schramsberg) for having come back. That's attention to detail. Every dish comes out that way, every meal has been that way, and the wine is awesome there. Pros: Exquisite food and service. Cons: Price.

Komi, 1509 17th Street, Washington, DC 202-332-9200. This stands up to Restaurant Eve as being one of the finest meals in DC, and I consider this to be a supreme value as well. $175 for a full 20+ course tasting menu INCLUDING pairings is insane. Every course was a new flavor sensation, every course demonstrated something from the simple to the infinitely complex. This is a trip worth every penny.

OK, that's what I've got for now, though I'm sure I'll come up with some more later, but these are my favorites that come to mind.