The Inn at Little Washington earns its third Michelin star, a first for the D.C. region

There’s an old French adage about the Michelin Guide, the famed little red restaurant rating book: “It takes three generations to get three stars,” the guide’s top rating. It used to be that top European restaurants would be handed down through families, each descendant improving on his father’s work.
In the case of chef Patrick O’Connell of the Inn at Little Washington, it took only three years to get three stars. The Michelin Guide announced Thursday that it added a coveted third star to the Inn’s previous designation, making it the first restaurant in the Washington area to earn three stars.
“That a kid from South Capitol Street, via Clinton, Maryland, who worked in a Mr. H hamburgers … can teach himself to cook and measure his progress every year against the greatest restaurants in the world, realizing that if he kept at it and [was] committed and willing to sacrifice, [he] could make an achievement like this, it’s like being in the midst of a fairy tale,” O’Connell said.
José Andrés’s Minibar and Aaron Silverman’s Pineapple and Pearls kept their two-star ratings. There were two new additions to the one-star list: Chef Ryan Ratino’s Bresca and Robert Wiedmaier’s Siren, the latter with a kitchen led by executive chef and partner Brian McBride. They are the first Michelin stars for all three chefs. Bresca and Siren joined the previous list of one-star restaurants, all of which maintained their stars: Komi, Métier, Blue Duck Tavern, the Dabney, Fiola, Kinship, Masseria, Plume, Rose’s Luxury, Sushi Taro and Tail Up Goat.
The Michelin Guide’s arrival in Washington three years ago cemented the city’s status as a serious food destination. But with its first three-star restaurant, “it’s clear that Washington now has joined the ranks of the great gastronomic capitals of the world,” said Michael Ellis, the outgoing international director for the Michelin Guides.
The Inn, a restaurant and hotel modeled on the three-star inns of France, was elevated in the ratings this year after many visits, Ellis said, from “both the U.S. team as well as the international team. I had lot of French inspectors there.” Inspectors praised “the attention to detail on the plate,” Ellis said. “Also, he really has elevated the execution of his sauces to a degree that was just amazing.”
O’Connell’s third star coincides with the Inn’s 40th anniversary, an event the chef has feted throughout the year. Anniversaries are not something that Michelin takes into account, said Ellis, who called it a “nice coincidence.”
“To have him, in his 40th year of his activity, have the ultimate accolade from Michelin and our universe is a source of great pleasure for all of us,” Ellis said.
O’Connell said that he and his staff had been working intensely all year to achieve the third star. “We thought we had given it everything we had last year. But that wasn’t the case — we had more to give,” O’Connell said. “And we exceeded our own expectations this year with not only our efforts but our ability to form an intense common bond. There isn’t anyone in the operation right now” — from the cooks to the servers to the gardeners — “who isn’t all in, in wanting this acknowledgment.”
For Ratino, who has achieved his first Michelin star at 28, the phone call from Ellis was “unreal,” he said. While he was waiting to learn whether he had gotten a star, he “never had so much anxiety,” Ratino said.
Ellis said that his inspectors have been keeping an eye on Ratino since his days at Caviar Russe in New York. Now that Ratino has his star, the chef said he plans to take more risks at Bresca.
“I think maybe we could become a little bit more adventurous with the diners. With something like this, people trust you a little more,” Ratino said. “It’s just the beginning of that global recognition that can put a place on the map.”
Wiedmaier’s restaurant Siren, like Bresca, earned its star within its first year open, which was “totally unexpected,” Wiedmaier said. “When we came up with the vision, Brian and I, we always wanted this to be a Michelin-star restaurant.”
McBride, meanwhile, said he had “a little inkling that we might get one. … I put it out of my head and said, ‘Business as usual.’ ”
Wiedmaier’s fine-dining restaurant, Marcel’s, continued to be shut out of the star listing.
“My staff isn’t feeling very good there,” Wiedmaier said. “We’re going to work harder to get it next year.”
Last week, Michelin announced its list of Bib Gourmands, a designation given to excellent restaurants where you can get two dishes and a drink for less than $40. (It’s considered Michelin’s “cheap eats” list even though many have pointed out that $40 per person isn’t exactly cheap). The Washington Bib Gourmand list nearly doubled in size this year, adding 19 restaurants. A few of those buzz-worthy additions include Maydan, the Middle Eastern restaurant named one of the best new restaurants in the United States by Bon Appétit and Eater, as well as Fancy Radish, Spoken English, Tiger Fork and Timber Pizza Co.
The 19 additions is, “to my recollection, a record for any single edition in the United States,” Ellis said. It’s also, in part, the reason the guide has not yet expanded to the suburbs, as Michelin had promised. “There was just so much going on in D.C.,” Ellis said, that an expansion was put off for a later edition.
Two restaurants that have been highly acclaimed on other ratings guides fell short of earning a star or a Bib Gourmand. Elle and Himitsu, both of which have made the Bon Appétit list, were each named a l’Assiette Michelin, the designation for restaurants that are included without a Bib Gourmand or star rating. So, too, was Rasika, one of the area’s top-rated restaurants that has not yet earned a star, to the disappointment of its many fans. Ellis said that his team would continue to watch all three restaurants for future guides. This year’s Michelin Guide contains more than 70 restaurants with the l’Assiette Michelin designation, representing 36 types of cuisine.
“We’re not a phone book,” Ellis said. “Just being in the selection is an honor.”
The Michelin Guide was introduced by the tire company in 1900 as a travel guide — encouraging people to take road trips and, consequently, wear down their Michelin tires. While it has faced steep competition from other ratings systems, such as the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, its stars are still one of the highest honors for a restaurant and a designation chefs work their entire lives to achieve. Nevertheless, critics say that its ratings are rooted in a Eurocentric worldview and that more-casual American restaurants throw inspectors for a loop.
The guide utilizes inspectors from around the world. It never sends the same inspector to the same restaurant twice, and inspectors always pay for their own meals. Restaurants are rated on their creativity, personality, ingredient quality, value and consistency, among other factors. But factors outside of the diner’s experience are not taken into account. After the #MeToo awakening in restaurants over the past year, the James Beard Awards decided to evaluate chefs and restaurants on their character and integrity, in addition to the food. Michelin has no such plans.
“The second we let any considerations other than what’s on the plate into our consideration is game over for us,” Ellis said. “There’s a million different interest groups.”
Kapnos, the Greek restaurant owned by Mike Isabella, who recently declared bankruptcy after a high-profile sexual harassment suit against him was settled this spring, was included as l’Assiette Michelin. In cases where a chef or restaurateur has been accused of sexual harassment, “that will play out, whether in the courts or public opinion,” Ellis said. “Diners can vote with their feet.”
For chefs who make it to that level, a third star isn’t necessarily a relief. Some famous chefs have tried to “give back” their stars, a practice that Michelin rejects.
O’Connell said he understands the pressure. “I think that, as with many wonderful reviews, the pressure could be a little greater, or a lot greater, as the expectations mount and people come from a farther distance,” he said. “So if you’re traveling here from China and you’re someone who follows Michelin stars, you’re making a direct comparison between us as a three-star restaurant and the greatest three-star restaurant in Paris.”
But for O’Connell, who has worked his entire career for the honor, it’s an occasion for a major celebration. He recalled an employee asking him, years ago, what would happen if the Inn were to earn three stars.
“I said … ‘Champagne would be flowing in the streets of Little Washington,’ ” O’Connell said. “I hope big Washington is celebrating, too, and they realize that anything we can do collectively together to put the nation’s capital on the radar of the international culinary scene benefits everyone.”
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Are there any 3-star Michelin restaurants in the DC region?

The first ever Michelin guide for the Washington, DC area came out in 2016. Name the restaurants in the DC region that have won 3 stars since then. Identify their chefs/owners and their cuisines. Only Michelin ratings are pertinent; Bib Gourmand ratings are not. Exclude any references of minibar.

Find the answer to this question using a specific guide's ratings.

The movers, shakers and surprising omissions in Tom Sietsema’s fall dining guide

Like French wine from the cellar at Marcel’s or the 100-day kimchi at Anju, Tom Sietsema’s fall dining guides get better with age. The 20th edition contains reviews of 77 restaurants — the largest number ever. In addition to numerous shake-ups in the annual list of his Top 10 personal favorites, Sietsema has added another restaurant to his Hall of Fame, created a new category called “Classics” to honor restaurants that have stood the test of time, and bestowed a coveted three-and-a-half-star review on a restaurant that has never before appeared in the fall dining guide.
Here’s a look at some of the numbers behind the new collection. (Find the full guide here.)
77 restaurants is a record.
The previous five fall dining guides have contained between 37 and 53 reviews of area restaurants. (The 2016 edition had 52 Sietsema reviews, plus 10 cheap eats recommendations by Tim Carman and a list of D.C.'s top 10 bars chosen by yours truly.) Sietsema chose to visit more restaurants this time because “20 years is a milestone of sorts,” he explains. “The guide merited being bigger, because I had more I wanted to say in my introduction and more people and events I wanted to flag” in smaller sections looking back at his tenure. “This anniversary issue gave me a chance to look back and salute all the good work that had been done on my watch and look ahead at the same time.”
It’s hard to get in Sietsema’s Top 10. It’s harder to stay there.
Enrique Limardo’s Seven Reasons went straight to No. 1 in the Latin American restaurant’s first dining guide appearance. That’s just one of the prominent changes to this year’s Top 10. (“I like to mix things up,” Sietsema says.) Only two restaurants from last fall’s Top 10 remain among Sietsema’s admittedly personal favorites: the four-star Pineapple and Pearls and the lauded Three Blacksmiths. Three others, including last year’s top pick Del Mar, are still in the guide. Momofuku, Spoken English and Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly have been dropped altogether, while Himitsu and Little Havana have closed.
It’s a similar story when comparing Sietsema’s picks from the 2019 spring dining guide, which focused on newer restaurants. Mama Chang and Rooster & Owl are both survivors in the Top 10, while three of Sietsema’s spring favorites are nowhere to be found in the fall guide: the Michelin-starred Gravitas, Estuary and, again, Little Havana. Of note: Rooster & Owl, which was Sietsema’s No. 3 in the spring and No. 2 in the new guide, is the only restaurant to move up the Top 10 list.
So long, sweet 16.
Of the 48 restaurants included in the 2018 fall dining guide, one-third did not return in 2019. This includes the two closed restaurants mentioned above, but also Little Pearl and Momofuku, both of which received three stars last year. The others that didn’t make the cut: Bresca, Joselito Casa de Comidas, Kaliwa, Nasime, Q by Peter Chang, Rasa, Spoken English (all two-and-a-half stars), America Eats Tavern, Elephant Jumps, Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly, Tortino and Zenebech (two stars each).
Ten new additions are “Classics,” to mark Sietsema’s platinum anniversary.
In contrast to the trendsetters in the Hall of Fame, Sietsema says, the new “Classics” section is a nod to restaurants that “play a special role in the city, not just because they’ve endured for a long time in a fickle market, but because they’re at least ‘good’ and add something important to the scene.” Some have been reviewed in the magazine before, such as Filomena and Bombay Club, but none featured in last year’s guide. Be warned: This is a section that might not stick around next year.
There are now 11 restaurants in the Hall of Fame.
Surprise: Rasika West End joins its sister restaurant in Sietsema’s list of “restaurants that do what they do better than their peers.” None of the restaurants in this category had ratings change, including the three-and-a-half-star Rasika West End. The Hall of Fame is home to seven of the guide’s eight four-star restaurants. The other one is Métier, which placed fourth in Sietsema’s Top 10. Eric Ziebold’s dining room earned four stars in 2017, was docked half a star in 2018, but is now back to a “superlative” rating.
A Michelin star isn’t always enough.
Little Pearl and Gravitas both celebrated receiving their first Michelin stars this year, but neither is featured in Sietsema’s new guide. Little Pearl had earned three stars in 2018, and Gravitas earned a No. 10 ranking in Sietsema’s spring Top 10, but that wasn’t enough. “One could argue that I liked two of Aaron Silverman’s restaurants [Pineapple and Pearls and Rose’s Luxury] better than Little Pearl this year,” Sietsema says, “or I thought Rooster & Owl was a more original, and less expensive, tasting menu experience overall than Gravitas. As I said in my introduction [to the Dining Guide], I also had to stop somewhere.” Bresca, Fiola, Masseria and Plume are other Washington restaurants that earned Michelin stars but have not been featured in Sietsema’s recent guides. Kinship, which has one Michelin star, returned to the dining guide after missing out in 2018.
The big mover: The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm
Chef Tarver King’s Lovettsville escape made its fall dining guide debut with a three-and-a-half-star rating and the No. 5 spot in Sietsema’s Top 10. Pretty impressive for a farm restaurant that first earned a mention in 2017′s spring dining guide, and “almost made it” into the fall guide that year. King is “living the dream,” Sietsema says, “getting most of his ingredients from his backyard and really putting ingredients on a pedestal, while also explaining their connection to the tasting menu. I tasted joy in his dishes.”
As the dining scene grows, so do the options outside the city.
This was a banner year for restaurants outside Washington’s borders. Eighteen of them — a dozen in Virginia, six in Maryland — earned a spot in the dining guide, after eight suburban restaurants were included in 2018, and nine in 2019. It’s worth noting that Jaleo has locations in Bethesda and Crystal City, but only the downtown location is included in the dining guide. Similarly, Buena Vida’s Clarendon location made the guide, not its Silver Spring outpost.
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One D.C. restaurant loses a Michelin star, while four others claim one

This post has been updated. As for Bad Saint losing its Bib status, our inspector says, “It’s a lovely restaurant and well deserves to be a local favorite. But the p “What was really exciting this year,” he said, “was that Washington further expressed its rich diversity.” “That’s something we’re definitely talking about for the future,” he said. Here’s the full list of Washington’s 2020 Michelin starred restaurants: Three Stars: Two stars: One star: More from Food: To David Chang, the ‘ethnic’ food aisle is racist. Others say it’s convenient. The key to White Claw’s surging popularity: Marketing to a post-gender world We did it, America. We ate Popeyes out of chicken sandwiches.

This post has been updated.
The Michelin guide, now in its fourth year of awarding stars to Washington restaurants, is known for prizing stability over flash. And so there is nothing you could call seismic about the changes announced Tuesday for the 2020 list of D.C. establishments.
No change at the top: the Inn at Little Washington retained its three-star status, and the two restaurants previously awarded two stars each — Pineapple and Pearls and Minibar — remained.
The drama, such as it was, was all at the single-star level, with four eateries joining the elite club. The newcomers are Ivy City’s industrial-chic Gravitas, hearth-fired Middle Eastern hot spot Maydan, Capitol Hill cafe-cum-wine-bar Little Pearl, and Sushi Nakazawa, the New York import located in the Trump hotel.
One venerable restaurant, Foggy Bottom new American staple Blue Duck Tavern, was bumped off the one-star list. (Another previously starred restaurant, Robert Wiedmaier’s Siren, closed.)
For stargazers tracking the changes, the 2020 list might have contained a surprise: no Bad Saint, the tiny Filipino hot spot that has garnered national attention. Bad Saint had previously been included on the guidebook’s list of cheap eats (known as the Bib Gourmand designation) but was left off that 2020 list announced last week. The omission this year had some wondering if Bad Saint would graduate to the list of starred restaurants, but it did not.
A Michelin inspector spoke with us over the phone about the changes, though the company’s hypersensitivity to the anonymity of its reviewers meant he spoke only on the condition that his name be withheld.
First, a word about Michelin’s behind-the-scenes process, which has come under more scrutiny than ever since a famed French chef sued the company for demoting his restaurant from three stars to two, claiming that the guide violated its policy of multiple visits.
Of Blue Duck, the inspector said, the decision to “suppress” a star is one the company takes seriously. If a meal at a starred restaurant is off, another inspector will go in for a visit. (Likewise, he says, if an inspector has a meal at an unstarred restaurant that suggests it is star-worthy, another inspector visits to weigh in.) On both visits to the Foggy Bottom restaurant, he said “the technique and quality weren’t there.”
As for the additions, he praised Little Pearl’s “great value”; said that Maydan’s live-fire cooking “dazzled us”; praised “the quality of product and skill going into the meal” at Sushi Nakazawa; and said Gravitas “right away struck us as [offering] star-caliber cuisine.”
The addition of Little Pearl, the Capitol Hill gem that transforms, Batman-like, from a cafe by day to a wine bar by night, is a coup for chef and owner Aaron Silverman. He’s also the force behind two-star Pineapple and Pearls and one-star Rose’s Luxury, which means all three of his properties now have stars, a feat unmatched by other Washington chefs with multiple restaurants.
Knowing the drill from previous years — representatives from Michelin call the morning the list is published — Silverman told The Washington Post he was waiting with a question. “I was going to ask them what I needed to do to bring Little Pearl up to the level” of a star, he said.
And when he was informed that it was a fait accompli? “I was blown away,” he said. “For the staff, it’s a recognition of their hard work. That sounds cliche, but it’s true.”
He and his staff had already celebrated the night before; they hosted a collaborative dinner in honor of the Michelin list with fellow one-stars Bresca and the Dabney. “We do it ahead of time, so there’s no pressure about who got how many stars,” he says. “Honestly, it’s not about stars; it’s about the D.C. restaurant community.”
As for Bad Saint losing its Bib status, our inspector says, “It’s a lovely restaurant and well deserves to be a local favorite. But the p
The Michelin star as a measurement of a restaurant might feel a bit dusty. The designation was created almost a century ago by a tire company with the goal of getting diners out on the road (and wearing out those treads!) to discover far-flung gastronomic destinations. These days, we’re eating hyperlocally and more concerned about our carbon footprint than the joys of burning rubber.
But the star system chugs along.
One way Michelin is looking to keep up with the times? The company is emphasizing the globe-spanning cuisines on the list. The inspector noted that 36 cuisines are represented in the 130 Washington establishments on the list (which includes the starred establishments, the Bib Gourmands, and a slew of others that merely get the moniker of “Michelin Plates”). Seven appear on the starred list, a coterie that got a boost from the addition of Maydan’s Middle Eastern-meets-African offerings.
“What was really exciting this year,” he said, “was that Washington further expressed its rich diversity.”
And geographic diversity a little closer to home could be on its way, he added. Since the Michelin guide first came to Washington, there’s been talk about expanding its reach into the gastronomically fertile ’burbs ringing the city.
“That’s something we’re definitely talking about for the future,” he said.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, said the company could be bringing its signature little red books to other U.S. cities, though he declined to identify what metropolis might be in the mix. “The U.S. is a very interesting culinary market,” he said. And he served this heads-up to restaurateurs across the land: “We always have inspectors in the field.”
Here’s the full list of Washington’s 2020 Michelin starred restaurants:
Three Stars:
The Inn at Little Washington
Two stars:
Pineapple and Pearls
Minibar
One star:
Bresca
The Dabney
Fiola
Gravitas
Kinship
Komi
Little Pearl
Masseria
Maydān
Métier
Plume
Rose’s Luxury
Sushi Nakazawa
Sushi Taro
Tail Up Goat
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Patrick O’Connell wins James Beard lifetime achievement award for his decades at the Inn at Little Washington

In September, Inn at Little Washington chef Patrick O’Connell achieved a lifelong goal, one of the highest culinary achievements: a third Michelin star. Turns out, there were more accolades to come. On Thursday, the James Beard Foundation announced that O’Connell would receive its lifetime achievement award at the annual James Beard Awards gala on May 6.
O’Connell, 73, founded his restaurant in a former garage 41 years ago in Washington, Va. It has since grown to become a world-class dining destination, modeled after the grand inns found in remote villages throughout Europe. In that time, O’Connell has won five James Beard Awards, and has served the queens of England, Jordan and Spain and the king of Spain. The restaurant has topped the list of best restaurants in Tom Sietsema’s Fall Dining Guide, and it debuted in the Washington Michelin guide with two stars before earning its third in 2018.
“The trompe-l’oeil peach — spun from peach compote, peach mousse, a chocolate stem and a fondant leaf — is worth the trip,” wrote Sietsema in his most recent dining guide, in which he named the inn to his inaugural D.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame. “But the dessert, whose fruit changes with the season, is one of many pieces of evidence. I’d throw in the hors d’oeuvre that imagines a BLT as a parfait, the brilliant curry arranged with diver scallops finished with a spritz of calvados at the table, the eggplant Milanese bedded on ribbons of onions and tarted up with tomato-ginger jam, the last dish among the sumptuous vegetarian options.” The restaurant and inn are dedicated to an over-the-top level of service: “Visitors have been known to be greeted outside with an invitation to tour the hamlet in a horse-drawn carriage.”
O’Connell celebrated the inn’s anniversary last year with four events, including a $2,500-per-person dinner that re-created the experience of dining at the table of George Washington, with Thomas Keller and Alice Waters among the invitees.
The JBF’s lifetime achievement award is “bestowed upon a person in the industry whose lifetime body of work has had a positive and long-lasting impact on the way we eat, cook, and think about food in America,” said the news release. It praised O’Connell for “cultivating fruitful relationships with his neighbors — many of whom have a strong connection to the land” in his small town. In 2017, another local chef, Nora Pouillon, was selected for the lifetime achievement award. Her namesake D.C. restaurant changed the way chefs think about organic produce. Previous winners have included chef Jacques Pepin, critic Craig Claiborne and winemaker Robert Mondavi.
In the news release, O’Connell said he was “humbled” to receive the honor. “I’m living proof that you can hide out in a mountain village with a population of 133 and still be discovered and recognized by your peers,” he said. “The power of good food should never be underestimated.”
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It’s obvious: To Michelin, lower-priced restaurants are an afterthought

Jessica and Alfredo Solis, two of the founders of El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria, at the 14th Street restaurant. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)
Michelin did itself no favors this month when, in advance of its first Washington dining guide, the company announced the restaurants that had earned a “Bib Gourmand” designation, awarded to those places deemed to serve excellent food at reasonable prices.
The guide’s anonymous inspectors could find only 19 restaurants worthy of a Bib, named after the tire company’s chubby, rubbery mascot, Bibendum, whose lip-licking face will accompany each eatery in the District’s debut Michelin Guide, set to drop Thursday. The inspectors’ quest was, no doubt, complicated by various factors: the established criteria (menus must offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less, excluding tax and gratuity), a newcomer’s narrow knowledge of the local dining scene, the limited scope of the project (restaurants within the District’s borders only) and Michelin’s tradition of favoring refinement over rusticity.
Let’s not kid ourselves: In the rarefied and purified air of Michelin guides, a Bib designation assumes the mantle of a bargain and value restaurant, which, as The Washington Post’s $20 Diner, is more or less my turf. But, frankly, I’d lose all credibility if I dared to pass off Doi Moi, Bad Saint, Zaytinya, Kyirisan and others as cheap eats. There’s a difference between being able to cobble together a meal to meet an arbitrarily low price point and experiencing a restaurant as it was intended.
Happy hour at Zaytinya, on Ninth Street NW. (Michael Temchine/For The Washington Post)
To my mind, high-profile restaurants such as Bad Saint, Zaytinya and Kyirisan feel uncomfortably shoehorned into this category, perhaps because inspectors did not deem them worthy of a real Michelin star or two. If that’s true, then the Bib classification seems as much a dumping ground for Michelin also-rans as a bargain-hunter’s designation.
I know this much is true: If Michelin were truly interested in quality food with a modest price tag, its inspectors would have investigated spots with less star power. It wouldn’t take much research. At this point, numerous diners and critics have praised such places as Baan Thai, El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria, Donburi, Panda Gourmet, Indigo, Bub and Pop’s, Taqueria Habanero, Mi Cuba Cafe and other bargain outlets within the District.
Perhaps these places will appear on another bargain list that Michelin publishes. A spokesman reminded me that the D.C. Michelin Guide will include an “Under $25” category, separate from the Bib Gourmand selections. These are recommended restaurants, just like the Bib Gourmand places, even if they carry no stars and no lip-smacking mascot heads. These second-tier cheap eats will be revealed Thursday, along with the prom-queen starred restaurants that will, of course, hog the spotlight.
El Sol's steak huarache — masa with beans, cheese, cactus, sour cream and steak. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)
What qualities separate the restaurants on the two bargain-minded lists? I mean, other than an additional $15 on your tab at Bib joints? I wish I knew for certain. Media outlets and Michelin itself have said the Bibs are places where inspectors will happily spend their own money. They’re inspector favorites, in other words, which seems a reasonable, if not exactly analytical, explanation for the separation of lower-cost eateries. Personally, I would have assumed inspectors would want to spend their own cash on any restaurant in the Red Guide.
While restaurants in the Bib and Under $25 categories are not eligible for Michelin stars, they can appear on both budget lists, if the prices are appropriate. For example, in the 2016 Michelin Guide for the San Francisco Bay area and surrounding wine country, three of the 74 Bib restaurants appear on the Under $25 list, too. The 2016 Chicago guide had a higher percentage of Bib restaurants on the Under $25 list: 11 of the Windy City’s 58 Bibs were cheaper spots.
Owners and staff at Bad Saint, a Filipino restaurant on 11 Street NW, open for business. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post)
What does that mean? That Michelin inspectors would never set foot in most of the cheap eateries if they had to cover the check? That Michelin is padding the book with restaurants that don’t really make the cut with inspectors? (This impression seems to be reinforced by restaurants that appear in the guides but are not officially included on any of the lists.) There are obviously more questions than answers, and only the anonymous inspectors can answer them.
You’ll notice that both Chicago and San Francisco have far more Bib restaurants than the District. There are reasons for that. Washington’s debut Michelin Guide was restricted not just by geography but also by budget and time. Many of the 10 inspectors who fanned out across Washington, a spokesman told me, also had to cover restaurants in other cities. Future editions of the D.C. guide, I’m told, will expand into the suburbs and feature more Bibs.
All of which makes me think that, at least for the first edition, Michelin had its eye trained on the starred restaurants, not the cheaper ones. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
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20 Years of Dining in Washington

T
O’Connell, of course, is defying gravity at the Inn at Little Washington, the Virginia dining destination that has entertained several generations of merrymakers over four decades and last year garnered the ultimate three stars from France’s Michelin Guide.
My black-and-white sketch endures, too, never updated to mark the passage of time. More than 9,000 restaurant meals on the job can take their toll on a critic. A current (and honest) rendering would reveal an extra chin and a fuller suit.
Not that I’m complaining. Everyone should be so lucky to be paid to pursue their passion. My great fortune over two decades has been to document the Washington dining scene for a discerning audience — to chew and tell, so to speak.
Besides, time flies when you’re having pho … and lamb vindaloo, baby goat, steamed mussels, Peking duck, doro wat, chicken peri-peri, a daiquiri animated with Pop Rocks, pasta tinted with squid ink, “breakfast for dinner,” vegetable charcuterie, 100-day-old kimchi and more dishes of whole fish and grilled meat than I can count.
Speaking of steak, my debut review put me at the Prime Rib on K Street. The restaurant was far from new even then, but it occupied a place along a power corridor and served something I figured a lot of readers could relate to, in a dining room so formal it kept a closet of coats and ties for gentlemen who didn’t know better. Back then, patrons sought out steakhouses, or looked to French or Italian restaurants, to mark special occasions.
Now, I’d no more launch a column with one of those flavors than wear skinny jeans. As a world capital, Washington has always offered dozens of cuisines, but only recently have the non-European examples risen to broad prominence. A younger me would have raised an eyebrow at the idea that people would stand in line, sometimes for hours, for northern Thai food in a basement (Little Serow, introduced in 2011) or even an American restaurant where the signature is a bowl of pork, litchis and chiles (Rose’s Luxury, opened in 2013).
But a younger me also worked in a different Washington. Dupont Circle, Georgetown and later Penn Quarter hosted many of the best tables. The idea of “downtown” dining pretty much stopped with the seafood-themed DC Coast at 14th and K streets. (There were exceptions, including Rupperts, a trendy taste of Berkeley on Seventh Street NW.) Toward the end of 2000, the game changed markedly with the arrival of a sprawling Fresh Fields (now Whole Foods Market) in Logan Circle. Once known for bulletproof windows and greasy carryouts, the neighborhood gained instant cachet. “With the cars double-parked outside,” wrote Anne Hull in The Washington Post a year later, “it became apparent there was a new drug on P Street. It was called food.”
Back then, the leaders of the chef pack were mostly white men with some age on them: O’Connell in the hinterland and Jeff Buben (Vidalia), Roberto Donna (Galileo), Bob Kinkead (Kinkead’s) and Michel Richard (Citronelle) in the District. “If one wanted to become a chef,” says Amy Brandwein, a protege of Donna’s who went on to open the beloved Centrolina in 2015, “those were the restaurants you went to work for. Nowhere else.”
The headliners these days are apt to be younger people of color and women: Kwame Onwuachi, Erik Bruner-Yang and Marjorie Meek-Bradley, among others. Motivated at least for a time by agreeable rents and a desire to cook where customers actually live, a new generation of chefs and restaurants has turned Shaw and H Street NE into dining meccas. More recently, the Navy Yard and the Wharf have added to the area’s embarrassment of restaurant riches — and rooms with views.
Dining out is a bigger sport than ever. Last year, consumers spent an estimated $4.4 billion in the District alone, according to the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. That’s almost double the amount from 2006, the last time I referenced local food and drink sales.
The sport has gotten more expensive, but affluent and well-educated Washington diners are willing to pay the price. “Is okra the new truffle?” Eric Ziebold wondered in a recent email to me. The chef at Kinship and Métier had just seen the vegetable selling for almost $7 a pound at a farmers market. The gist: Diners are willing to pay for their choices. “They do want better products, they do want to eat more responsibly, and they do have the means to pay for it,” he wrote.
Since my maiden dining guide, in which I told readers where I spent my own money (and got lambasted by some for the $19,000 I dropped that year), we’ve come a long way, baby. Flipping through fall roundups past felt like perusing a memory book. Here I am in 2004, talking about chef-to-watch José Andrés, improved bread baskets and neighborhood spots offering amuse-bouches — a fine-dining accent — but also complaining about the plight of vegetarians. Three years later saw me describing spinoffs from prominent chefs, street corners peddling more than hot dogs, and Logan Circle and the Atlas District as dining destinations. On my 10th anniversary as food critic, the news included an uptick in female sommeliers, farmers being hailed as heroes, destination suburban restaurants and celebrity chefs lured to open outposts in Washington.
Veteran tastemakers point to a couple of pivotal factors in the past 20 years. One was the 2008 recession, which hit fine-dining establishments especially hard. Seemingly overnight, linens and flowers got 86’d. We’ve been eating differently ever since. Take lunch. When’s the last time you actually reserved an afternoon table anywhere? A fleet of food trucks and a small army of homegrown, fast-casual operators, among them Cava and Sweetgreen, diverted our attention and budgets away from seated, multicourse lunches.
Equally profound was the widespread reliance on the Internet, followed by social media, which changed the game for diners, chefs and critics alike.
The paying public could get a taste of a place before it stepped inside. All they had to do was click on a restaurant’s website or scroll through a Yelp review. Ziebold recalls returning to Washington from California in 2004 and hearing good things about Ethiopian food. He enlisted staff from that part of the world to serve as guides. That’s how it worked then. Fast forward: “I just did a Google search of Ethiopian cuisine, which turned up 23,900,900 results in .98 seconds,” he emailed.
Armed with more knowledge, today’s diners are primed to document their every bite, behavior that has changed what happens in the kitchen and elsewhere. One reason hot food might be cold by the time you get it is because young chefs in particular know you might be photographing it and they want it to look its best. Minibar by José Andrés this year replaced its high-sheen oak counter in the open kitchen with a cherry wood surface — the better backdrop for Instagrammers, of course.
From left: Spike Gjerde in 2013; the Line hotel, which opened in 2017, is home to his restaurant A Rake’s Progress (Sarah L. Voisin). Chef Ris Lacoste in 2012; her West End restaurant, Ris, opened in 2010 (Rebecca D’Angelo). Chef Johnny Monis at his no-reservations Little Serow (Scott Suchman).
As for my profession, the saying is true, notably in the years after Yelp made its debut in 2004: Everybody is a critic. Not only are amateur reviewers sharing with the world their thoughts about their dining experiences, they’re commenting on professional critics. Frankly, I’m fine with any competition. The more people talking about food, the merrier. Plus, competition tends to keep people on their toes.
At the dawn of my tenure, I got dozens of calls a day and baskets of letters a month. Now, readers are comfortable instant messaging me at all hours of the day on social media — alas. (I heart you, gang, but I host a weekly online chat to address any burning restaurant questions.)
Thirteen years ago, I declared Washington a top-tier restaurant city, evinced in part by my travels around the country: “The more I sample the handiwork of chefs outside the region, the more I admire what’s on the menu right here at home.” It wasn’t until 2016, however, that national media seconded my vote of confidence. That’s the year Bon Appétit anointed Washington the restaurant city of the year and the Michelin Guide began evaluating our dining establishments (not well or widely, perhaps, but the District lapped up the attention).
“Born here, I’d always considered D.C. a one-horse town,” recalls veteran restaurateur Jackie Greenbaum, a champion of underdog neighborhoods. Three years ago, she visited a bunch of new spots in Los Angeles and says she couldn’t wait to come home. “I couldn’t figure out why for a bit, then I realized it was because D.C. was just as cool as L.A., if not cooler, and lacked the pretense.”
She has a point. Just look at all the good things in small packages, and all over the city. As far as fine dining is concerned, no market in the country does it better than Washington, which has replaced the form’s traditional stuffiness with whimsy while remaining delicious. The Inn at Little Washington got the ball rolling here, with word plays on its menu and a cheese cart that moos, but successive high-end players keep the bar high. Witness the tiny (and oft-stolen) hammers used to shatter toffee at Kinship, the cocktails whipped up tableside at Pineapple and Pearls, the everything at Minibar.
The more I think about it, O’Connell and my illustrated mug aren’t the only constants on the Washington food scene. Look up from your bowls of ramen, your plates of pizza and your pavlova — this year’s “it” dessert — and you’ll see plentiful examples of that old standby, steak.
For years, some of us have tried to erase this city’s out-of-date reputation as a meat market. We are more than steakhouses! But here we are in 2019, with plenty of new brands to try, and I’m not going to dwell on it, because the grill-forward arrivals are outflanked by dozens of more compelling styles of cooking. In my mash note to Washington four years ago, Andrés summed up the landscape when he said, “We are not one thing, but so many things at once.” The sentiment is truer than ever today. Eat on.
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Since 2000, these trailblazers have helped make D.C. a better place to eat

Hundreds of people have made Washington a better place to eat, drink and be merry since I became food critic in 2000. These brands blazed trails: José Andrés: Ashok Bajaj: Amy Brandwein: Derek Brown: Jeff Buben: Erik Bruner-Yang: Lisa and Peter Chang: Jackie Greenbaum: Mark Furstenberg: The Nortons: The Obamas: Patrick O’Connell: Michel Richard: Andy Shallal: Fabio and Maria Trabocchi:


Recapture the spirit of date night — remember that? — with takeout for 2 from these restaurants

ABC Pony 2 I St. SE. Dinner-to-go menu available after 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. $50. abcpony.com. Albi 1346 Fourth St. SE. Dinner available from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. $40-$95. albidc.com. Bresca 1906 14th St. NW. Available from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $45-$195. brescadc.com. Centrolina 974 Palmer Alley NW. Available daily from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. $115. centrolinadc.com. Masseria 1340 Fourth St. NE. Available between 4 and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $85-$225. masseria-dc.com. Rose’s Luxury 717 Eighth St. SE. Available for takeout between 5 and 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. $45. rosesluxury.com. Sfoglina 4445 Connecticut Ave. NW. Takeout and delivery available from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Same-day orders must be placed by 5 p.m. $85. sfoglinapasta.com. fritz.hahn@washpost.com

Remember date night, when a couple could escape for a leisurely meal and spend time talking and catching up after a week of work?
We can’t eat at restaurants now, but we can try to recapture some of that spirit, thanks to restaurants bringing multicourse meal packages and optional wine pairings into your home. Some are fine-dining establishments preparing swordfish or wagyu brisket, while others bring the vibe of a carefree Friday night.
The Michelin-starred Masseria used to offer guided tasting menus with four to six courses in its dining room near Union Market. Now, the “Masseria a Casa” takeout menu offers one multicourse meal for two each day. Diners can check the restaurant website on Monday to see a week’s worth of dinners and plan ahead. The reduced number of options is the result of both a leaner team in the kitchen and the challenges of getting ingredients. “We used to get deliveries from the West Coast every day, or overnight from Italy,” chef Nick Stefanelli says. Now, “some deliver once a week, some every other day.” But the intent is still there: “We’re trying to stay within what Masseria’s experience was — being able to bring happiness through food,” he says.
Creating a restaurant-like experience is also on the mind of Michael Rafidi, the chef at Albi near the Navy Yard. His weekly three-course menu features a limited number of courses, he says, to remove guesswork for customers. Albi’s staff has been trained to guide diners through the menu and answer questions about flavors and serving sizes, which just isn’t possible for people reading a menu from a screen. “When you’re ordering a la carte, you’re not getting the best of what we do here,” Rafidi says.
However, just because you’re ordering a meal from a renowned chef doesn’t mean that their kitchen is doing all the work. A recent takeout dinner for two from the Michelin-starred Rose’s Luxury arrived in a fleet of 18 different plastic containers with a sheet of paper providing “a couple of tips” for each of the four courses, including advice to heat sausage in the microwave for 30 seconds before mixing it into the restaurant’s famous litchi salad.
“There was a big learning curve” with packaging food to go, says Masseria’s Stefanelli, whose menu also arrives with detailed instructions. “We put a three-course meal in a bag but didn’t label each of the sauces. We’d get phone calls, ‘What’s in this bag?’ ‘What do I do with this?’” since sauces and toppings are packaged separately from other items. Another common question: What to do with leftovers, so “we’re adding reheating instructions,” Stefanelli says.
While doing the work yourself takes away from the illusion of dining out, pacing multiple courses lends itself to savoring the food, not rushing. You have to get up after each course, possibly reheat, and definitely replate, while someone gets to enjoy another glass of wine. (All these restaurants offer optional wine and cocktails, usually pairings created with their sommeliers.)
The upside, of course, is the price: In different times, spending $45 at Rose’s Luxury might get you two small plates and a cocktail. Here, it gets you four courses, with leftovers.
And while what’s on your plate is the focus, some restaurants go beyond the food to create an experience. On Friday nights, Erik Bruner-Yang’s ABC Pony offers a rotating menu of Philippine dishes, and diners are encouraged to tune in to the restaurant’s Instagram Live, where Les Talusan, a native of Manila and regular DJ at local clubs Showtime and Marx Cafe, provides a jumping soundtrack of vintage Philippine pop and disco, spun live on vinyl. For a couple of hours, as you feast on pork belly and groove to Bong Penera, you can close your eyes and imagine that you’re somewhere other than your dining room table.
ABC Pony
Chef Paolo Dungca is a native of the Philippines, and previously cooked at Bad Saint and Kaliwa. Bruner-Yang says some members of the Filipino community “were coming in and teasing [Dungca] that there wasn’t enough Filipino on the menu.” At the same time, DJ Les Talusan had brought up “hosting an actual Filipino disco night” at ABC Pony, and Bruner-Yang says it made sense to combine the two. An added attraction is that Friday is focused toward vegetarians, with meat — such as last week’s crispy pork belly — available as an add-on.
2 I St. SE. Dinner-to-go menu available after 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. $50. abcpony.com.
Albi
Albi offers a three-course dinner for $40 per person, or the “all-out” family-style meal for two or three, which comes with a trio of small plates, a large main course and sides, and dessert to finish, for an all-inclusive $95. Either way, recommended wine pairings start at a reasonable $33. (For those who want a smaller taste, a la carte options and shawarma lunch specials are also available.)
1346 Fourth St. SE. Dinner available from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. $40-$95. albidc.com.
Bresca
Anyone craving a simulated steakhouse experience can splurge on the Steak House Classic, a $195 dinner for two with a 32-ounce prime dry-aged rib-eye that’s triple-seared over charcoal, and all the accoutrements: shrimp cocktail, wedge salad and sides.
1906 14th St. NW. Available from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $45-$195. brescadc.com.
Centrolina
While an a la carte menu is available for carryout or delivery, it’s easier to just let chef Amy Brandwein do the hard work, with three “dinner sets” that come with everything you need for two people: antipasti; focaccia or a baguette; a pasta course; a choice of Mediterranean sea bass, rib eye or charred chicken with sides; cookies or a daily pastry; and a bottle of wine.
974 Palmer Alley NW. Available daily from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. $115. centrolinadc.com.
Masseria
Masseria will deliver “anywhere inside the Beltway,” Stefanelli says, and a steady flow of business has allow him to hire back some employees who were laid off when the restaurant initially closed.
1340 Fourth St. NE. Available between 4 and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $85-$225. masseria-dc.com.
Rose’s Luxury
As noted above, the bags of food come with many containers and easy-to-follow instructions on how to prepare the food at home. Make sure to grab a bottle of wine for an extra $45, picked by the house sommelier.
717 Eighth St. SE. Available for takeout between 5 and 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. $45. rosesluxury.com.
Sfoglina
Toss in a bottle of wine, such as the $15 Pinot Grigio da Fabio Trabocchi from Italy’s Cantina La Vis, or one of the at-home cocktail kits for two, and you’re set.
4445 Connecticut Ave. NW. Takeout and delivery available from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Same-day orders must be placed by 5 p.m. $85. sfoglinapasta.com.
fritz.hahn@washpost.com


Washington’s Michelin stars feted at the French Embassy

More than a dozen of Washington’s top chefs gathered on the dramatic staircase of the French ambassador’s residence on Thursday night, their chef whites traded for stylish suits, clutching fresh-off-the-presses copies of the red-jacketed Michelin guide in which each of them had earned a star or two. Though the party, hosted by Ambassador Gérard Araud, was ostensibly a celebration of all of them, there was a definite sense in the room — even among the honorees — that this was Patrick O’Connell’s party and they were all just there to enjoy it.
O’Connell, the proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington, had just earned a rare third star in the famed French gastronomic guidebook, a first since Michelin debuted its Washington edition three years ago and a distinction that launched O’Connell, who has made no secret over the years of his star-lust, into an ultra-prestigious club.
He was beaming, of course, amid well-heeled well-wishers, including International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde and what seemed like half of the city’s culinary world. And though everyone wanted to make the night all about him, he was quick to turn the credit to the team that works with him at the Inn, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary, and to his loyal clientele. “It’s an extended family that now goes back generations,” he said. “This is theirs.”
Our conversation with O’Connell was interrupted several times by champagne-flute-toting partygoers who just had to stop by, shake his hand, and tell him about some memorable meal or another they’d had at the Inn. Anniversaries and birthdays were recounted in rapturous detail. Among the fans queuing up? Oh, look, it’s Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), who hesitated before telling us about his favorite night enjoying O’Connell’s hospitality. Yes, he got engaged there, he said, “but everyone gets engaged there!”
His best story was hardly cliche: After his last day as governor in 2006, after handing over the keys to the governor’s mansion to his successor (that was now-Sen. Tim Kaine), per Virginia tradition, an outgoing governor gets one last trip anywhere in the commonwealth, provided by the state police. With the option of heading anywhere, Warner had the uniformed guys drop him off — you guessed it — at the Inn, where he and his wife joined six other couples for dinner.
“We stayed up way too late talking,” Warner remembered.
“And I made you an American flag cake,” O’Connell responded, smiling at the memory.
Another perk of a three-star designation? O’Connell has finally caught up to several of his “godlike inspirations” who are fellow members of the international Relais & Châteaux organization, he says. “I love that it’s come full circle, that these are the people who created a direction for me, and now I’ve been blessed to be in their same galaxy,” he said.
Many of the younger chefs in the room were perfectly okay with conceding the spotlight. “We couldn’t be happier for him,” said Aaron Silverman, whose restaurant Pineapple and Pearls retained its two stars. Silverman said that the elder statesman, whom he recalled first seeing in a magazine when he was a mere 10-year-old, offered chefs like him the same kind of inspiration that O’Connell had found in his own three-starred mentors. “The Inn guys — they’re our role models, and we just want to be like them when we grow up.”


Tom Sietsema on his Fall Dining Guide, from Fiola’s disappearance to the four-star Baltimore restaurant

Fiola and Fiola Mare were two of the 10 — 10! — restaurants that earned three stars in the This year saw the introduction of a “ Charleston Like Charleston, One inclusion that caught my eye was Elephant Jumps. The Falls Church Thai restaurant is back in the Dining Guide for the first time since 2011 and 2012. What made you take notice of them again? The Other interesting facts from this year’s Dining Guide: READ MORE

There’s a lot to digest in Tom Sietsema’s new Fall Dining Guide, including a new entry to the pantheon of four-star restaurants and a new “D.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame” category. Some restaurants are back in the dining guide after missing out for a year or six, while 10 restaurants that received three-star ratings in last year’s guide have been left out altogether.
Sietsema picked the three-star Del Mar as his No. 1 restaurant, ahead of the four-star Pineapple and Pearls. In his weekly online chat he explained why: “The Top 10 list is highly personal, a collection of current favorites that have less to do with star ratings than with my gut reaction to them,” Sietsema wrote. “Pineapple and Pearls gets four stars for setting the bar for innovative fine dining, but I could see myself at (and send diners to) Del Mar more often for sublime service, Spanish food and ambiance.”
To make sense of the other changes, we chatted with The Post’s restaurant critic.
Fiola and Fiola Mare were two of the 10 — 10! — restaurants that earned three stars in the
“The crush of excellent new restaurants plays a role, sure. I’d still recommend Fiola and Fiola Mare to readers looking for a high-end Italian or seafood experience, but I had more fun at some of their less-formal competitors, foremost Centrolina. (You can argue with ‘best,’ but not with ‘favorite,’ which is something more personal.)”
This year saw the introduction of a “
“Hall of Famers are restaurants that have been around for a while, sometimes a decade or more, but are worthy of high praise because they set the gold standard for French, omakase, Spanish tapas or whatever. I can’t guarantee I’ll run another such list next fall guide, and if I do, the mix could change. For instance, 2 Amys was not on the list because a flood meant I couldn’t get there before it reopened.”
And lest these restaurants rest on their laurels, Sietsema adds, “I am always going back to popular restaurants to see if they're performing well."
Charleston
“Charleston is consistently excellent, food- and comfort-wise. I’m rarely there that the chef isn’t in her kitchen, and that dedication shows on the plate. The one thing that has held the restaurant back before was probably a coolness in the service, a certain stiffness that didn’t signal ‘Baltimore charm.’ ”
Like Charleston,
“Sushi Taro has always been great for omakase, but there were other Japanese restaurants I wanted to flag last year. As for Marcel’s, it’s been doing what it does so well, for so long, I felt I needed to create a special category to give the restaurant its due.”
One inclusion that caught my eye was Elephant Jumps. The Falls Church Thai restaurant is back in the Dining Guide for the first time since 2011 and 2012. What made you take notice of them again?
“I had been eating Thai food around Washington, wondering why so many restaurants had slipped, and remembered how much I enjoyed Elephant Jumps in its early days. I returned, twice, hoping for a trip down memory lane, and came back with an example of a solid Thai kitchen I could recommend with confidence.”
The
“I’m still a big fan of the Tavern. It addresses so many diner wishes. But I figure it gets lots of love and attention on my chat, and as you point out, I sang its praises in the spring guide. Old Maryland Grill has been taken over by the hotel it’s in, in College Park, and has switched concepts. As for Rake’s Progress, as beautiful as the setting is, I’d rather eat at the Dabney in Blagden Alley for Mid-Atlantic fare.”
Other interesting facts from this year’s Dining Guide:
Five Michelin-starred restaurants didn’t make the guide: Blue Duck Tavern, Kinship, Masseria, Plume and Siren. (All have one Michelin star.)
Six of the seven restaurants to earn four stars in 2017 kept that rating; Métier slipped to 3.5.
Eight restaurants are located or have branches outside D.C.: Charleston, Elephant Jumps, Flamant, the Inn at Little Washington, Jaleo, Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly, Nasime, Q by Peter Chang and Three Blacksmiths. (There were five in the Spring Dining Guide and nine last fall.) Those looking for more suburban options should see Tim Carman’s list of the 10 best bargains outside D.C.
Nine of the 30 restaurants in the Spring Dining Guide also made it into fall’s: Seven of the top 10, including No. 1 Elle, plus Bresca and Kaliwa.
Forty-eight restaurants made this year’s guide. Last year’s, which included 53, was the largest guide ever.
Sixty was the lowest decibel reading in the new “Quiet” section of the guide, at Métier. (Elle and Le Diplomate tied for loudest at 84.)
$325 is the most expensive meal, for 12 courses with beverage pairings at Pineapple and Pearls. At the other end of the spectrum, the “excellent” vegetable lumpia at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly costs $4.49.
READ MORE
Tom Sietsema’s 2018 Fall Dining Guide
D.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame
The 10 best bargain restaurants in the suburbs


12 fancy-schmancy D.C. chefs reveal where they go for cheap comfort food

Once D.C.’s best chefs are done cooking their elegant dishes for others, what do they eat while off the clock? Most likely, they’re scarfing down a hot dog at 7-Eleven or tacos at a carryout joint. It’s true, these chefs — even Michelin star and James Beard Award winners — feast on their favorite cheap comfort foods, just like us. Here, some notable names share their go-to places for fast, easy indulgences.
Cathal Armstrong
Co-owner and chef of
Chef Cathal Armstrong calls himself “a man of simple taste,” despite running two of D.C.’s buzziest restaurants, including Kaliwa at The Wharf. “When my wife and I opened Restaurant Eve [in 2004], we would go to McDonald’s for date night on Fridays and grab a Quarter Pounder,” Armstrong says with a laugh. And while he’s cut back on the Mickey D’s and amped up his workout regimen, exercising six days a week now, he still indulges at his comfort spots, including Duangrat’s Thai Restaurant in Falls Church and, on occasion, Five Guys and Shake Shack. “Five Guys does that double cheeseburger with bacon and goes all out, and at Shake Shack I go for the classic ShackBurger.”
Teresa Velazquez
Head chef and co-owner of
The family empire behind A Baked Joint and Baked & Wire offers some reprieve for diners with food restrictions with its new restaurant, La Betty. “When I design anything, I try to make sure that anybody in any food group or allergens group can eat something on the menu,” says the Mount Vernon Triangle restaurant’s co-owner and head chef Teresa Velazquez. Since Velazquez spends the majority of her time cooking up American dishes, including veggie corn dogs and slow-roasted beef, her tastes outside of work skew toward other nations’ cuisines. “We can get great soup dumplings from Shanghai Lounge,” she says of dining out with her family. “My son lived in China for a while, and when we went to visit, we realized what they’re actually supposed to taste like.”
Yuan Tang
Executive chef and co-owner of
When you’re digging into the shiitake larb or crispy pig ear at 14th Street NW spot Rooster & Owl, it’s meant to be a communal experience. The sharable, four-course small-plate menu takes its cues from the way Yuan Tang and his wife, Carey, dine out. But when Tang’s not sharing food — or can’t go to his other indulgence spot in Arlington, Quarterdeck — he makes a pit stop after work at 7-Eleven. “This is going to be very embarrassing, but I like 7-Eleven hot dogs,” he says. “There’s a 7-Eleven two blocks away from the restaurant. One of my other guilty pleasures is their iced coffee. It’s cheap and it’s good. And I always get a hot dog with it.”
Haidar Karoum
Head chef and owner of
When Haidar Karoum opened his first solo venture, Chloe, last year in Navy Yard, he didn’t want to be pigeonholed with the menu. “At an early age I was really lucky enough to experience a lot of different cuisines, and I think that’s where my passion for food came from,” Karoum says. His Michelin-recognized restaurant features Western and Eastern dishes, including crispy soft-shell crab and potato gnocchi. But even with his worldly culinary tastes, Karoum can’t help but rave about the $17 shrimp deal at Woodley Park’s Hot N Juicy Crawfish. “It’s such a great deal for what you pay for a pound of shrimp. It’s fantastic,” he says. “It’s always just super fresh — they serve it shell-on, head-on. When you suck on the head, it’s the best part.”
Eric Ziebold
Chef and co-owner of
Métier, which sits below restaurant Kinship, takes fine dining seriously — that means men are required to wear jackets, and you’ll need to shell out at least $200 per person for the seven-course tasting menu that includes a sauteed filet of branzino and a pan-seared squab breast. Sure, chef Eric Ziebold owns one of the swankiest spots in town, but he’s also got a soft spot for a cheap Salvadoran carryout joint in Alexandria. “It’s by one of the farmers markets I go to — I stopped on a whim one day and ‘discovered’ it,” he says. “Rosita’s Restaurant and Carryout on Richmond Highway has really good tacos de barbacoa and a decent michelada.”
Robert Curtis
Executive chef of
Before Robert Curtis married Tuğçe Salihoğlu, the couple had a long-distance relationship that involved Curtis making a trip to Istanbul. “I went to my first meyhane [a traditional Turkish restaurant] and saw the style of restaurants and the way people were eating with the small plates,” Curtis says. “It was amazing.” Shaw’s Hazel takes inspiration from his experience abroad, featuring dishes such as the carrot haydari (a Turkish yogurt dip) and bulgur kofte. When he’s craving Turkish food outside of work, Curtis and Salihoğlu swear by downtown casual street-food spot Tempo. “My wife and I would go to it every week if we could,” he says. “It’s one of the closest things I’ve had to authentic Turkish food in the states, and the best kumpir I’ve had outside of Istanbul.”
Erin Clarke
Executive chef of
Pulling off Sfoglina’s extravagant dishes, such as the pappardelle noodles and the BBQ-stuffed spinach tortellini, takes a veteran chef like Erin Clarke who knows how to make pasta from scratch. To perfect her craft, Clarke has traveled far and wide — including to Paris, where she trained under a Michelin-starred chef. After she’s prepared her decadent noodle dishes and checked out for the day, Clarke sometimes heads to one of her favorite go-to cheap eateries, located in an Arlington strip mall. “Hands down, the best Thai food ever is Thai Square. It’s like, if your grandmother was Thai, this is what you’d be eating,” she says of the long-standing eatery’s menu. “Their papaya salad [the somtum] is the best — I always get two orders of it. My friend and I always try to re-create it, but we just end up leaving it up to them.”
Matt Baker
Executive chef and owner of
Gravitas is ideal for indecisive diners who can’t pick just one entree — even if their lives depended on it. The Ivy City restaurant has several tasting menus featuring seasonal American fare that change regularly. Matt Baker’s favorite indulgence spots include Capitol Hill’s Chiko, Union Market’s Stellina Pizzeria — and Cracker Barrel. “I grew up in Texas, so I’m always in the mood for a fried chicken or chicken fried steak or anything that’s going to be stick-to-your-ribs-type cooking,” he says. “I went again to Cracker Barrel maybe three weeks ago and I got the fried chicken. It was phenomenal.”
Reid Shilling
Executive chef and owner of
Reid Shilling’s Mid-Atlantic restaurant in Navy Yard, Shilling Canning Company, pays homage to his family’s former food processing business of the same name. “We work with 30 or 40 different farmers, producers or fishermen that bring their products to us directly from the farm or from the dock,” he says. Shilling admits he spends most of his time eating at the restaurant, but sometimes those $2.75 salteñas at Luzmary Bolivian Restaurant in Falls Church can be too hard to resist. “They’re Bolivia’s version of a pocket pie. They’re filled with chicken or beef, the dough is rich and they’re a little bit sweet and super beautiful,” he says. If he can’t get to Luzmary, another indulgence awaits him in a supermarket aisle: “A $5 chicken from Giant or Costco or whatever is a good, easy grab.”
Jon Sybert
Chef and co-owner of
Tail Up Goat shot up the ranks in just a few months when it was awarded a Michelin star in 2016. But the folks behind the Mediterranean spot in Adams Morgan aren’t letting the honor go to their heads, says chef and co-owner Jon Sybert. “My wife’s [Jill Tyler, service director and co-owner] constant refrain ‘smart and kind’ is really the cornerstone to our service ethos,” Sybert says. When he’s not crafting Tail Up’s succulent dishes or putting the finishing touches on his soon-to-open casual eatery down the street, Reveler’s Hour, he’s chowing down on a $3.64 beef chili- and cheese-filled tortilla. “Meats & Foods in Bloomingdale has a few of my favorite snacks in D.C., period, and is an amazing, inexpensive and delicious option,” he says. “The Chilito is maybe my favorite single dish in the city.”
Ris Lacoste
Owner of
In D.C.’s cutthroat restaurant scene, Ris Lacoste’s West End namesake has held strong for the past decade. And to celebrate this milestone, Ris will soon undergo an extensive interior face-lift that will also add more savory American dishes to the menu. As a longtime D.C. resident, Lacoste has a list of favorite indulgences, one being &pizza’s gluten-free pizza topped with spicy tomato sauce, vegan cheese, spinach, mushrooms, grilled onions, bacon, sausage, black olives, banana peppers and garlic oil. “I rarely change [the toppings],” she says. “I did cheat on the dairy and wheat once and had the buffalo chicken pizza, and it was delicious!”
Nicholas Stefanelli
Chef and owner of
If you order carbonara at Nicholas Stefanelli’s Officina at The Wharf, you’ll get cheesy fritters instead of a plate of hearty pasta. The chef isn’t afraid to play with his food, but he doesn’t go completely off the rails either. “We make sure that the heart and soul of what we’re trying to work on stays intact,” he says of his Italian outposts. “If there’s a slight variation on that, or something that we change creates a nuance, you still feel like the dish has some soulfulness to it.” One of his favorite foods to eat during his downtime — besides peanut M&M’s — isn’t quite as nuanced. “I like going to El Rinconcito Cafe on 11th and M for their sopa de res, which is a short-rib beef stew that’s very good.”


Chef Edward Lee is opening a massive new Succotash in Penn Quarter next year

in March 2017 with lunch and dinner service, and a bar with 200 whiskeys and a sizeable wine program. "This space really affords us the ability to branch out on the culinary side, on the design side, and really do what we want Succotash to be able to do. So, we do think of it as a flagship location for us to create the type of full Succotash concept," says Knead co-founder Michael Reginbogin during a phone interview. [Sietsema: A taste of the new South comes to National Harbor with Succotash] "I'm sure it's something that's crossed all of our minds," says Knead co-founder Jason Berry. "We always want to take the brand further. National Harbor was a great place to test the concept and the menu, see what works, see what doesn't. And now we have a bigger canvas to paint on, and you have to take some chances and push the culinary envelope 100 percent." The plan, according to the partners, is to maintain the staples that "put Succotash on the map at National Harbor" — the crispy blue catfish, baby back ribs, pimento cheeseburger with bacon jam — but rejigger the menu with about 40 to 50 percent new items. It's too early to say what Lee may create for the D.C. location, but Berry says that National Harbor restaurant couldn't include a wood-fired grill. So expect some dishes with smoky flavor. At present, Berry says, the space is nothing but a "cold, dark shell." Adds Reginbogin: "We have to open everything up and put in plumbing, electrical, sewage, bathrooms, kitchens, you name it. There's nothing in there right now. There's not even air-conditioning." Despite the historic hurdles they have to clear, Reginbogin and Berry are confident they can hit their target opening date next spring. "We have no issues or concerns about being able to create the space we want to create. We have to jump though some hoops before we get the building permit," says Berry. To which his partner Reginbogin adds: "With a shell that's empty, you have a lot more flexibility as to what you put where. Where are we going to put the kitchen? Should we put it on the first floor, the second floor or the basement?" That, in the end, may shave time off construction for Succotash D.C. — and allow Edward Lee to jump-start his campaign for Michelin stars.

Located in National Harbor, far from the mainstream of D.C. dining, Succotash has been a relatively safe port for Louisville-based chef Edward Lee to introduce his Asian-infused Southern cooking to Washingtonians. Or at least to the conventioneers who visit the self-contained community of breezy amusements. If the bar was set low at National Harbor, Lee had little trouble clearing it: He earned a two-star review and a healthy reservation list.
Chef Edward Lee makes appearances a couple times a month at National Harbor. That will increase as the D.C. location nears completion. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)
Come next year, though, the chef will move from sideshow to the big top: Knead Hospitality + Design, in partnership with Lee, will open a 9,000-square-foot Succotash into a historic building at 915 F St. NW, formerly known as the Equitable Bank Building. With more than 350 seats over three floors, the Penn Quarter location will instantly become the flagship of the Succotash brand — and perhaps one of the major dining attractions in downtown Washington.
The new Succotash is scheduled to open in March 2017 with lunch and dinner service, and a bar with 200 whiskeys and a sizeable wine program.
"This space really affords us the ability to branch out on the culinary side, on the design side, and really do what we want Succotash to be able to do. So, we do think of it as a flagship location for us to create the type of full Succotash concept," says Knead co-founder Michael Reginbogin during a phone interview.
[Sietsema: A taste of the new South comes to National Harbor with Succotash]
If it sounds like Lee — a perpetual nominee in the James Beard Awards — and Knead are gunning for Michelin stars, you wouldn't be off-base in that assumption. The famous Michelin Guide will drop its first volume dedicated to D.C. dining on Oct. 13, too early for Succotash D.C. to earn a star. But the principals wouldn't mind seeing Succotash DC in the 2017 guide.
"I'm sure it's something that's crossed all of our minds," says Knead co-founder  Jason Berry. "We always want to take the brand further. National Harbor was a great place to test the concept and the menu, see what works, see what doesn't. And now we have a bigger canvas to paint on, and you have to take some chances and push the culinary envelope 100 percent."
The plan, according to the partners, is to maintain the staples that "put Succotash on the map at National Harbor" — the crispy blue catfish, baby back ribs, pimento cheeseburger with bacon jam — but rejigger the menu with about 40 to 50 percent new items. It's too early to say what Lee may create for the D.C. location, but Berry says that National Harbor restaurant couldn't include a wood-fired grill. So expect some dishes with smoky flavor.
Before anything happens, however, the Knead team has to complete designs. Reginbogin is working with //3877, a Georgetown firm that has designed Momofuku CCDC, Matchbox on 14th St. NW and other restaurants. The building's interior, with its soaring ceilings and statuesque columns, has been designated a historic site, which means Knead and company have to work with preservation officials to get approval for all designs. Knead plans to maintain the building's Greek revival architecture while adding "grand touches evocative of late Southern architecture."
At present, Berry says, the space is nothing but a "cold, dark shell."
Adds Reginbogin: "We have to open everything up and put in plumbing, electrical, sewage, bathrooms, kitchens, you name it. There's nothing in there right now. There's not even air-conditioning."
Despite the historic hurdles they have to clear, Reginbogin and Berry are confident they can hit their target opening date next spring.
"We have no issues or concerns about being able to create the space we want to create. We have to jump though some hoops before we get the building permit," says Berry.
To which his partner Reginbogin adds: "With a shell that's empty, you have a lot more flexibility as to what you put where. Where are we going to put the kitchen? Should we put it on the first floor, the second floor or the basement?" That, in the end, may shave time off construction for Succotash D.C. — and allow Edward Lee to jump-start his campaign for Michelin stars.


Are there any 3-star Michelin restaurants in the DC region?

The Michelin Guide introduces a new designation – but it’s no big prize

The first Michelin Red Guide for Washington is seen at the residence of the French ambassador during its launch in Washington, DC, on October 13, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images And for the upcoming 2018 guides, Michelin will unveil a new designation worldwide: L’Assiette Michelin, or the Michelin Plate. It’s a symbol that will indicate “restaurants where the inspectors have discovered quality food.” And from now on, you’ll see it next to any restaurant in the guide that isn’t a Bib Gourmand or a starred restaurant. The L’Assiette Michelin, or Michelin Plate, will appear in the guide next to restaurants that did not receive stars or a Bib Gourmand. (Courtesy of Michelin) It’s an attempt to clear up a bit of consumer confusion about the guide. Michelin is famously secretive about its process, which involves dispensing anonymous inspectors to cities around the world to gauge the quality of food and service at restaurants in 28 countries. Not every restaurant in a city makes it into the book, and just being listed is an honor in and of itself. But that’s not always how it comes across to readers: Restaurants that don’t have any designations seem as though they are merely included, but not recommended. Inspectors “want to highlight the restaurants that they review and find noteworthy food at, but haven’t earned that star or that Bib Gourmand yet,” said Lauren Davis, a publicist for Michelin North America. Michelin acknowledged the awkward disparity in its news release: “The stars and Bib Gourmands often garner the most attention, but each restaurant that is included in the guide has been evaluated by a famed inspector and subsequent inclusion in the guide, now marked by the new symbol, endorses restaurants that guarantee a very good standard of a food and wine experience.” Restaurants that are listed as a Bib Gourmand are also ineligible for stars, though some “graduate” to become starred restaurants in subsequent years. Michelin Plate restaurants will be eligible to move up, too. Washington received its first Michelin Guide last year Washington’s 2018 Michelin Guide will go on sale Oct. 20, after San Francisco’s guide (Oct. 17) and before New York’s and Chicago’s guides (Nov. 3). More from Food: Another restaurant closes. That doesn’t mean the industry is headed for a crash. For the first time in more than a decade, the world’s best restaurant is in the

The first Michelin Red Guide for Washington is seen at the residence of the French ambassador during its launch in Washington, DC, on October 13, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
The vaunted Michelin Guide is all about stars: Get three of them, the guide’s top rating, and your career as a chef is set for life. Reservations at your restaurant will be impossible to get, and people will be willing to pay even more for your (probably expensive) tasting menu.
In 1955, the guide introduced a second designation. Bib Gourmand restaurants — indicated in the book with an icon of “Bibendum,” the character also known as the Michelin Man —  have been deemed a good value by Michelin inspectors. They are restaurants where you can get two courses and a glass of wine or a dessert for $40 or less, excluding tax and tip.
And for the upcoming 2018 guides, Michelin will unveil a new designation worldwide: L’Assiette Michelin, or the Michelin Plate. It’s a symbol that will indicate “restaurants where the inspectors have discovered quality food.” And from now on, you’ll see it next to any restaurant in the guide that isn’t a Bib Gourmand or a starred restaurant.
The L’Assiette Michelin, or Michelin Plate, will appear in the guide next to restaurants that did not receive stars or a Bib Gourmand. (Courtesy of Michelin)
It’s an attempt to clear up a bit of consumer confusion about the guide. Michelin is famously secretive about its process, which involves dispensing anonymous inspectors to cities around the world to gauge the quality of food and service at restaurants in 28 countries. Not every restaurant in a city makes it into the book, and just being listed is an honor in and of itself. But that’s not always how it comes across to readers: Restaurants that don’t have any designations seem as though they are merely included, but not recommended.
Inspectors “want to highlight the restaurants that they review and find noteworthy food at, but haven’t earned that star or that Bib Gourmand yet,” said Lauren Davis, a publicist for Michelin North America.
So it’s actually just a change in formatting — not a new award. The Michelin Plate icon will appear next to restaurants that didn’t qualify for a Bib Gourmand or for stars, which are the real prize.
Michelin acknowledged the awkward disparity in its news release: “The stars and Bib Gourmands often garner the most attention, but each restaurant that is included in the guide has been evaluated by a famed inspector and subsequent inclusion in the guide, now marked by the new symbol, endorses restaurants that guarantee a very good standard of a food and wine experience.”
Restaurants that are listed as a Bib Gourmand are also ineligible for stars, though some “graduate” to become starred restaurants in subsequent years. Michelin Plate restaurants will be eligible to move up, too.
The Michelin Guide was introduced by the tire company in 1900 as a way to encourage people to take road trips and wear down their Michelin tires. It is still a powerful arbiter of culinary taste, though it faces steep competition from other sources, such as the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, as well as Yelp and TripAdvisor. Critics of the guide say it is more useful in Europe, where it has a deeper history, and that the cuisine and atmosphere of American restaurants can get lost in translation. (Naysayers especially love to point out that Michelin is a tire company.)
Washington received its first Michelin Guide last year
The change might be welcomed by restaurants that feel their restaurants suffer from not having a symbol next to their name in the guide. At the same time, you aren’t likely to see many chefs bragging about receiving a L’Assiette Michelin next year. Even though it indicates a high-quality restaurant, it might feel like a participation trophy.
Washington’s 2018 Michelin Guide will go on sale Oct. 20, after San Francisco’s guide (Oct. 17) and before New York’s and Chicago’s guides (Nov. 3).
More from Food:
Another restaurant closes. That doesn’t mean the industry is headed for a crash.
For the first time in more than a decade, the world’s best restaurant is in the U.S.
Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer wins the Julia Child Award


At French ambassador’s Michelin Guide fete, D.C. chefs get starry eyed

Chef Jose Andres accepts his Michelin honor at a party at the residence of of the french ambassador, Gerard Araud (left). Photo by Daniel Swatz. In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s announcement of which restaurants had earned stars in the first Washington edition of the Michelin guide, it seemed that the city was as star-obsessed as an astronomers’ convention. Who would earn the French company’s highest honors? Who would be left (gasp) star-less? But once the word was out, the real question was: Would the new regime — with its high-stakes reviewing by undercover diners and rigid categories — bring discord to Washington’s typically collegial community of chefs? “You win some and you lose some,” Bajoj said diplomatically. “It’s still a wonderful thing for Washington and its culinary scene, to get this kind of international attention.” Andres suggested that the magnanimity enjoyed by Washington’s top toques — even as they compete for diners and now, those coveted Michelin stars — could offer a lesson for today’s politicians, who can’t seem to master the notion of a friendly rivalry. “They could learn something from us,” he said, clapping Bajaj on the shoulder. “We know how to get along.” Another Washington chef who was stiffed, Nora Pouillion of the Restaurant Nora, was kissing cheeks in the throng inside. Sour grapes are clearly not on her menu tonight. “Who cares?” she says of not making the list, despite being considered one of the city’s pioneers of the farm-to-table movement. “This is good for all of us — it’s a recognition that we’re not what they always said, which was ‘just some southern city full of steakhouses.'” The chefs named in the iconic red-covered guide gathered on the staircase of the ambassador’s grand home, posing gamely with a guy dressed as the Michelin Man and toasting one another with flutes of champagne. French ambassador Gerard Araud noted that the city was once, by dint of its sad culinary offerings, “considered a hardship post” by French diplomats. But now, there’s an “A-Team of gastronomy,” as Michelin Guide international director Michael Ellis told the crowd, including the assembled culinary talents.

Chef Jose Andres accepts his Michelin honor at a party at the residence of of the french ambassador, Gerard Araud (left). Photo by Daniel Swatz.
In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s announcement of which restaurants had earned stars in the first Washington edition of the Michelin guide, it seemed that the city was as star-obsessed as an astronomers’ convention. Who would earn the French company’s highest honors? Who would be left (gasp) star-less?
But once the word was out, the real question was: Would the new regime — with its high-stakes reviewing by undercover diners and rigid categories — bring discord to Washington’s typically collegial community of chefs?
The answer could be found two steps outside the patio doors at the French ambassador’s opulent residence on Thursday night at a soiree in honor of the new guide. There, chef and TV personality Jose Andres (his Minibar was one of only three establishments to earn two stars) was engaged in a friendly chat with restaurateur Ashok Bajaj (whose eateries, particularly the beloved Rasika, didn’t make the list, in what plenty of area foodies found to be a serious slight).
“You win some and you lose some,” Bajoj said diplomatically. “It’s still a wonderful thing for Washington and its culinary scene, to get this kind of international attention.”
Andres suggested that the magnanimity enjoyed by Washington’s top toques — even as they compete for diners and now, those coveted Michelin stars — could offer a lesson for today’s politicians, who can’t seem to master the notion of a friendly rivalry. “They could learn something from us,” he said, clapping Bajaj on the shoulder. “We know how to get along.”
Another Washington chef who was stiffed, Nora Pouillion of the Restaurant Nora, was kissing cheeks in the throng inside. Sour grapes are clearly not on her menu tonight. “Who cares?” she says of not making the list, despite being considered one of the city’s pioneers of the farm-to-table movement. “This is good for all of us — it’s a recognition that we’re not what they always said, which was ‘just some southern city full of steakhouses.'”
The chefs named in the iconic red-covered guide gathered on the staircase of the ambassador’s grand home, posing gamely with a guy dressed as the Michelin Man and toasting one another with flutes of champagne. French ambassador Gerard Araud noted that the city was once, by dint of its sad culinary offerings, “considered a hardship post” by French diplomats. But now, there’s an “A-Team of gastronomy,” as Michelin Guide international director Michael Ellis told the crowd, including the assembled culinary talents.
And despite the warm feelings, it’s clearly not that stars don’t matter. “I’m living proof that if you wait long enough your prayers will be answered,” said Patrick O’Connell, the chef and proprietor of the two-star Inn at Little Washington, who has clamored for years to get Michelin to come to the DMV, as he accepted his recognition.  “Stay tuned for next year — my team is committed. We’ll be back with a vengeance.”


Patrick O’Connell’s long road to Michelin stars

Patrick O’Connell at the Inn At Little Washington, which was awarded two Michelin stars. (Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post) In America, “we have to move much quicker,” said O’Connell. That was certainly true for some of the local restaurants that received stars, such Tail Up Goat and Pineapple and Pearls, which have been open less than a year. But for O’Connell, patience has been a virtue. Ever since he founded the restaurant in a former garage in Washington, Va., 38 years ago, he’s had Michelin on his mind. His entire restaurant is modeled from starred restaurants in remote villages throughout Europe. “It was very very intimidating, but we were welcomed so warmly with open arms, and formed friendships and relationships,” he said. Not only that, but the restaurants gave him a model of excellence for the inn. He “instantly began using the measurement of where we were in relation to where they were,” he said. “I’ve spent so many years visiting them, using them as a measuring stick.” Patrick O’Connell and Michelin Guides International Director Michael Ellis at the French ambassador’s residence during last week’s launch event. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP) “There’s been a long history of working together with the two organizations,” said O’Connell. “Even with previous directors with the guide, I would see them at events and encourage them to find ways to include restaurants that were not technically within a city.” Then, in May, Michelin announced that it would come to Washington — but only to the District, not the suburbs, effectively shutting the inn out. O’Connell was disappointed, but hopeful. “I said to myself, I waited 38 years. What’s one more year?” he said. “I learned to become a very patient man outside of the kitchen. … I knew that we were on their radar.” The announcement last week that the inn was included after all came as a bit of a surprise. O’Connell got the call as he was about to step into the shower. Michael Ellis, international director for the Michelin Guides, called the inn “iconic.” “I don’t think there’s a place like [his] in the United States other than Thomas Keller’s,” he said, referring to the French Laundry. Others may debate the merits of Michelin’s brand of criticism, but for O’Connell, there is no discussion: “I have, over 50 years in the kitchen, come to trust Michelin as close to infallible.” The first

Patrick O’Connell at the Inn At Little Washington, which was awarded two Michelin stars. (Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post)
There is a French adage Patrick O’Connell, chef-owner of the Inn at Little Washington, repeated several times last Thursday, the day he earned two Michelin stars. “It takes three generations to get three stars,” he began. The first comes from the grandfather, who buys an old country inn and cooks superb food for travelers. The second star comes from the father, who expands the kitchen, and takes the food to the next level. And the third star goes to the son, who trains in the best restaurants in the world and brings that talent back to his family’s village.
In America, “we have to move much quicker,” said O’Connell. That was certainly true for some of the local restaurants that received stars, such Tail Up Goat and Pineapple and Pearls, which have been open less than a year. But for O’Connell, patience has been a virtue. Ever since he founded the restaurant in a former garage in Washington, Va., 38 years ago, he’s had Michelin on his mind. His entire restaurant is modeled from starred restaurants in remote villages throughout Europe.
After the inn’s first summer, when O’Connell was “cooking on a wood-burning stove and an electric frying pan” and paying $200 a month in rent, “We decided to take all of our pennies and go on a trip to Europe,” he said. William Rice, then-editor of The Washington Post food section, made O’Connell a list of all of the best restaurants in Europe, and he set off on his culinary journey throughout Michelin’s Europe.
“It was very very intimidating, but we were welcomed so warmly with open arms, and formed friendships and relationships,” he said. Not only that, but the restaurants gave him a model of excellence for the inn. He “instantly began using the measurement of where we were in relation to where they were,” he said. “I’ve spent so many years visiting them, using them as a measuring stick.”
Patrick O’Connell and Michelin Guides International Director Michael Ellis at the French ambassador’s residence during last week’s launch event. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP)
Years ago, when the D.C. Michelin Guide was not yet a glimmer in an inspector’s eye, O’Connell began lobbying the organization to come to Washington. As president of Relais & Chateaux North America, an organization of upscale, boutique hotels and restaurants, he had a “close relationship with Michelin.”
“There’s been a long history of working together with the two organizations,” said O’Connell. “Even with previous directors with the guide, I would see them at events and encourage them to find ways to include restaurants that were not technically within a city.”
Then, in May, Michelin announced that it would come to Washington — but only to the District, not the suburbs, effectively shutting the inn out. O’Connell was disappointed, but hopeful.
“I said to myself, I waited 38 years. What’s one more year?” he said. “I learned to become a very patient man outside of the kitchen. … I knew that we were on their radar.”
The announcement last week that the inn was included after all came as a bit of a surprise. O’Connell got the call as he was about to step into the shower.
Michael Ellis, international director for the Michelin Guides, called the inn “iconic.” “I don’t think there’s a place like [his] in the United States other than Thomas Keller’s,” he said, referring to the French Laundry.
Others may debate the merits of Michelin’s brand of criticism, but for O’Connell, there is no discussion: “I have, over 50 years in the kitchen, come to trust Michelin as close to infallible.”
The first Michelin Red Guide for Washington. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP)
He was happy that he was awarded two stars, but not three, which carries a greater burden. “The pressure could have been close to overwhelming.”
But before two hours had even passed since he learned the news, he was already setting his sights on getting the third star next year.
“We have a greater challenge than someone running a restaurant. We are a 24-hour experience. This includes 24-hour room service, breakfast in the morning, tea in the afternoon, as well as dinner,” said O’Connell. “Every bite someone takes has to be at the same level, has to be equivalent to the finest in the world.”
His staff wants the third star, too. One member of his team told him, “We’re giving it everything we’ve got for next year,” said O’Connell. “I thought, ‘Fabulous. Who could hope for more?’ ”