The Dining Guide Comes Out Tomorrow. Y&H Is Out Today.
Lombardi's: Is it everything New Yorkers think it is?
And now the moment I've been waiting for (so I can have my life back again): The City Paper's debut Young & Hungry Dining Guide finally hits the streets tomorrow.
Actually, I had a great time exploring our city, its suburbs, and all (well, many of) the varied places to eat in this region. The fact is, I had a helluva time trying to come up with only 50 of my (current) favorites. It's harder than you think. My working list included more than 130 restaurants and takeouts, almost any one of which could have made the final cut.
I'm hoping the Dining Guide inspires even more discussion about D.C.'s best places to eat: the ones on my list you agree with, the ones you don't, and the ones I was obviously so stupid to overlook.
Unfortunately, my private life, now that I have it back, takes me out of town today and tomorrow, just as the guide comes out. I'll be in New York City for the next couple of days, eating and drinking as much as humanly possible, perhaps even trying to figure out why folks like Andrew Beaujon think NYC pizza is so goddamn great.
More about the Big Apple when I return.
Photo by Eric__I_E via Flickr, Creative Commons
11:23 am
Screw Lombardi's - even though they make a great pie - it's flooded with tourists. Check out Grimaldi's in DUMBO (which also gets a little flooded but due to location less often. John's Pizza, off of Bleeker, is a great fave too.
11:26 pm
The list is great. Definitely better than the Washingtonian list. And I think by "best", you're certainly grading on a curve related to how expensive it is, right?
10:14 am
My number is 17/50. A couple of thoughts:
Bahn Mi D.C. sandwich – had the #1 there last week and was slightly disappointed, mostly because it was lacking in garnishes. The banh mi I had at Hung Phat gorcery in Wheaton was probably better.
General Store – I want to like it more than I do; yes the fried chicken is great (when they have it) and the fish tacos are good, but other items like the beef stew and the meatloaf have been mediocre.
Nava Thai – OXTAIL SOUP
Some places I would add to the list: Minerva in Fairfax; Huong Viet; Grace Gardens; and at least one Bolivian place (Kantutas in Wheaton, or one of the places in NoVa)
Also Tim, if you’re still in NYC, check out Baoguette, Ramen Setagaya, Degustation, and Soba Totto. All are spectacular.