Ambar

"Where southeastern Europe meets Southeast DC," Ambar is a Serbian-owned restaurant along the bustling Barracks Row that features Balkan inspired dishes emphasizing meats and cheeses. The name refers to a Balkan building used to dry maize. With a desire to introduce DC to cutting edge Balkan cuisine, proprietor Ivan Iricanin has created a dining space that will delight and indulge the senses. Primarily featuring "small plates" Ambar will also offer wines and spirits from the Balkans not often experienced by the American diner. Closest Metro is Eastern Market.

Joselito Casa de Comidas

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Joselito Casa de Comidas is an intimate eatery reminiscent of the timeless establishments found throughout Spain at the turn of the century. Brought to us by Javier Candon and his wife Christiana Campos, who own SER Restaurant in Ballston, Joselito's menu features traditional family recipes from Spain, but prepared with the modern techniques of today.  Closest Metro is Eastern Market.

Sababa

Sababa is a Hebrew slang word meaning "great or cool" and can express enthusiasm and satisfaction. Sababa comes from the Arabic word tzababa, which means great or excellent in spoken Arabic. Like the name Sababa, Israel's food has its roots in both Jewish and Arab cuisine. Sababa's menu offers a small plates and large plates menu to encourage guests to sample the large variety of cultural influences on the cuisine of Israel as well as a full wine bar that offers wines from around the world including Israel, Lebanon, the Mediterranean. The design of the restaurant evokes the port of Tel Aviv with Mediterranean tiles on the floor and sails on the ceiling and the lounge area boasts a unique Bedouin-style tent with community tables.  Closest Metro is Cleveland Park.

Sfoglina

Sfoglina is a casual Italian trattoria and pasta house from Chef Fabio Trabocchi, named for the artisans and Italian cultural icons that carry on the tradition of rolling sheets of pasta by hand with a rolling pin, a technique passed through the generations. The menu features homemade pasta reflecting classics and regional specialties from throughout Italy, changing often and including daily specials.  With three locations in DC, we went to the Downtown location near Metro Center.

American Son

American Son is helmed by Chef Tim Ma and offers modern-day American cuisine as a "melting pot of immigrant culture". The menu features simple yet thoughtful presentations of American comfort food, using local and seasonal ingredients and techniques influenced by Chef Ma's own immigrant background as a second generation American. Located in the Eaton Hotel, the closest Metro is Metro Center.

Bad Saint

Bad Saint is a twenty-four seat (mostly stools) Filipino restaurant located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. In 2016, Bon Appetit named it the #2 New Restaurant in America and Michelin recently awarded it a Bib Gourmand. Open for about 3 years now, this little shop that use to be "wait-in-line-for-a-seat only" most recently started accepting limited reservations online, so we were able to score a table this winter's evening.

La Méditerranée

La Méditerranée offers maritime inspired cuisine, in which particular attention is paid to the best ingredients, and is influenced by the accents of the south. Located opposite the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris, this restaurant is popular with the locals in the summer who like to dine beneath the azure blue awning.  Winning the Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2018, we enjoyed a dinner of 3 courses for 36€ per person.

Michelin Round Up - Washington, DC

In 2017, Michelin first came to Washington, DC to rank restaurants for its prestigious list, and in 2018, each of the restaurants listed in the first DC red book received a follow-up visit from the tire company's anonymous team of inspectors.  DC remains the only U.S. city Michelin rates that doesn’t have a three star restaurant. Both New York and San Francisco have six restaurants apiece with three stars, while Chicago has two. There are only about 100 restaurants worldwide with three stars.  Maybe one day... Keith and I have been fortunate enough to have dined at all listed so far on the DC list.  Find our round up below.

Chloe

Chloe in Yards Park is a showcase of Chef Haidar Karoum's personal culinary journey, including his Lebanese roots and extensive travel around Western Europe and Southeast Asia, all grounded in and linked by the seasonal bounties of the Mid-Atlantic.  Closest Metro is Navy Yard.

Tiger Fork

Tiger Fork, located n Blagden Alley, brings Hong Kong's gritty, badass culinary culture to the streets of DC. Tiger Fork melds old school Hong Kong culinary tradition with pops of global influence, pulling regional, Asian, European and Islamic flavors to their crafted menu. Executive Chef Irvin Van Oordt has created a menu that combines Hong Kong cool with flavor-packed global influence in Hong Kong classics like dim sum, Chinese BBQ, fresh tofu and chili crab. Designed by Edit lab at streetsense, Tiger Fork's 2,600 square foot space is outfitted with a 21 seat bar and an 8 seat chef's counter overlooking the open kitchen. The dining room includes 56 seats, 18 of which that flank either side of a long communal table designed to showcase Tiger Fork's family style plates and dim-sum menu.  Closest Metro is Convention Center.

Succotash

Succotash located in Penn Quarter is named after the classic dish that has been a longstanding staple of the Southern table. While many know "succotash" when they see it, the dish has been interpreted, modified and passed from generation to generation for centuries. Here, James Beard Award nominee Edward Lee brings his Korean roots and Southern repertoire to a soulful Southern menu, which gives a progressive perspective of classic Southern favorites to downtown DC. Closest Metro is Metro Center or Gallery Place.

Red Hen

Red Hen is an Italian-influenced American restaurant located in the historic Bloomingdlae neighborhood of Washington, DC. Michelin Guide gave them the Bib Gourmand rating writing, "The look is farmhouse funky complete with reclaimed timber, exposed brick, and a wood-burning oven in the kitchen, but don't let the country-cute appeal fool you: there's a CIA-trained chef manning the stove. It's largely American with an Italian accent, plus a few offbeat ingredients (shichimi togarashi and za'atar) thrown in for good measure. Pasta is a sure thing, and the crowd favorite, mezze rigatoni with fennel sausage ragù, is sealing testimony that simple isn't boring."

Maketto

Maketto is a 60 seat restaurant that offers a fresh interpretation of Cambodian and Taiwanese cooking inspired by the people and flavors of those respective cultures. With a small retail shop in the front and extra seating upstairs and outside, we went recently for dim sum, served on Sundays only from 11:30am to 4:00pm.  Closest Metro is Union Station.

Kyirisan

Kyirisan by Chef Tim Ma brings medium plates of French-Chinese fare to the ever-growing, up and coming, trendy Shaw neighborhood.  Featured in the Inaugural Michelin Guide's DC Bib Gourmand, we figured we better check out this joint quick!  Closest Metro is U Street or Shaw.

Whaley's

Whaley's is an oyster bar, featuring the bounty of the neighboring rivers, bays, sea and farms that was built into the Lumber Shed at Yards Park, an historic industrial building in the Washington Navy Yard. The restaurant features a 22-seat bar and a 44-seat dining room, as well as outdoor patio seating facing the riverfront and the surrounding Yards Park.  Closest Metro is Navy Yard.

Hazel

Hazel, located in DC's Shaw Neighborhood, provides a thoughtful dining experience that is of high quality and sophisticated, yet without the stuffiness as noted by the acclaimed food critic, Tom Sietsema. The menu is a collection of distinctive and satisfying medium size plates featuring global influences, each with a story that is meant to be shared. Closest Metro is U Street.

Thip Khao

Thip Khao is the creation of Chef Seng Luangrath and was born from her passion to bring an innovative, yet genuine Lao dining experience to Washington D.C. Similar to Northern Thai cuisine, Lao food is complex, diverse in flavors and textures. Laos is a landlocked country. Food here is preserved and fermented, which means only one thing: Lao food is deliciously funky in all the right ways. Closest Metro is Columbia Heights.

China Chilcano

China Chilcano celebrates the rich culinary diversity of Peru and brings an exciting exploration of this multicultural cuisine to our nation’s capital. The restaurant honors Peru’s deeply rooted and diverse heritage, including its native Criollo, Chinese Chifa and Japanese Nikkei cuisines; its name an homage to Peru’s renowned fish stew and its popular national drink, the chilcano. Discover Chef José Andrés and team’s unique take on contemporary Peruvian cuisine with bold flavors, heady aromas and the buzz of excited diners that take you on a sensorial journey that is anything but everyday.  Closest Metro is Archives- Naval Memorial.

Zaytinya

Zaytinya us a trendy, fun, Mediterranean mezzes (small dishes – like tapas) restaurant. Great service and the price is fairly decent ranging from $7-11 a plate. Plan to order 5 - 6 plates per couple. Mostly serve Greek and other Mediterranean wines along with trendy overpriced cocktails that use Turkish fruits like apricot, pear, and pomegranate. They also have a patio for summer dining. I have sat inside, in various sections of the large restaurant; each decorated with modern contemporary décor as well as outside on the patio. Even the bathrooms are modern with “floating” faucets and extra private toilet stalls. Closest Metro is Gallery Place.

Doi Moi

Doi Moi (pronounced "doy moy') is a new Thai and Vietnamese street food restaurant along the bustling 14th Street NW neighborhood.  Brought to us from Chef Haidar Karoum and restaurateur Mark Kuller, the team behind Proof and Estadio, as well as Adam Bernbach, the bar manager for both of those restaurants, there have been rave reviews of this modern hotspot.  Closest Metro is U Street.