Café Chatter
The Year’s Best Places To …
From charcuterie
to condiments,
our favorite culinary
offerings throughout
the Corridor At the table, the best doesn’t
have to mean the most fancy.
BY LIZ JOHNSON Fine dining has its place, and you
don’t need us to tell you about
the Per Ses, the Le Bec Fins and
the Citronelles of the Northeast.
Roasted rack of lamb, AYour concierge can do that.
artichoke purée & lemon
from Tinto Instead, our “bests” are restaurants that get you excited.
Ones where you can take a bite
of delicious food, smile and kick
your friend under the table because you’re so happy. Some of
them you’ve likely heard of (o ya,
Blue Hill at Stone Barns); some
of them you might not have (Surf
Taco, Swoon). But all are the best
at what they do—whether that’s
fancy or not.
in the corner of the second floor of Cafe
Atlantico in the Penn Quarter. They are
almost always booked. There is a good
reason for this. After 5 1/2 years, chef-owner José Andrés and chef de cuisine
Katsuya Fukushima are still serving
some of the city’s most innovative food.
The cooking style—hypermodern,
which combines cooking and chemistry to come up with new textures and
flavors—might be trendy (or even a bit
passé), but the food is still assertive,
surprising, bold and fun. Even after 30
tiny courses, who would expect an olive
to pop, then melt in your mouth so you
can drink it? Or a tumbleweed of beets
to dissolve in your mouth yet taste like
a terra chip? Just go. You’ll see.
Pop a Liquid Olive
Minibar
(in Café Atlántico) 405 Eighth St. N. W.,
Washington, D.C.
202-393-0812; cafeatlantico.com
There are only six seats at Minibar, the
restaurant-within-a-restaurant tucked
Best Fish Taco
Outside San Diego
Surf Taco, N.J.
Several locations, surftaco.com
Perfectly crispy, lightly fried cod.
Crunchy white cabbage. Creamy,
tart sauce with lime and cilantro. All
wrapped in a soft tortilla and sprinkled
