Dining in Washington DC

Each year brings an explosion of promising new restaurants to the capital, but this year's crop seems especially noteworthy. The chef/owner of what I consider the city's best restaurant, Michel Richard of Citronelle, in Georgetown, has opened Central, an American/French brasserie on Pennsylvania Avenue. Robert Wiedmaier, whose high-end, West End dining room, Marcel's, always gets high marks for its elegant Belgian/French cuisine, is doing a brisk business at his more casual, most delicious, Beck's, on K St. And superman Jose Andres, he of Jaleo, Café Atlantico, Zaytinya, and minibar, has moved his Mexican Oyamel from suburban Virginia to the heart of the Penn Quarter neighborhood, which means that D.C. finally has an authentic Mexican restaurant (even if Andres is a Spaniard).

In all, Washington has about 2,000 restaurants, offering irresistible tastes of world cuisines for every budget. Space constraints limit me to review a mere fraction -- about 100. I've included all the above mentioned restaurants, as well as old faithfuls, little sandwich places, neighborhood joints, special occasion destinations, intimate eateries, and party-hearty spots, to cover every type of dining experience you might desire.

If a place beckons, call ahead for reservations, especially for Saturday night. More and more restaurants are affiliated with an online reservation service called www.opentable.com, so you can also reserve your table online.

If you wait until the last minute to make a reservation, expect to dine really early, say 5:30 or 6pm, or after 9:30pm. Or you can sit at the bar and eat, which can be more of a culinary treat than you might imagine: Some of the best restaurants, including Palena, Citronelle, and PS7's, offer a reasonably priced bar menu.

Better yet, consider a restaurant that doesn't take reservations. This practice seems to be on the upswing and works for places like Pesce and Lauriol Plaza, where the atmosphere is casual, the wait can become part of the experience, and the food is worth standing in line for.

Few places require men to wear a jacket and tie; I've made a special note in the listings for those places that do. If you're driving, call ahead to inquire about valet parking, complimentary or otherwise -- on Washington's crowded streets, this service can be a true bonus.

I've listed the closest Metro station to each restaurant only when it's within walking distance of that restaurant. The closest Metro stop to Georgetown is the Blue Line's Foggy Bottom station, where you can hop on the Georgetown Metro Connection shuttle bus for a short ride to Georgetown.

Glover Park -- The blue-painted Georgetown Metro Connection shuttles travel as far as R Street and Wisconsin Avenue, and the D.C. Circulator buses travel as far as Whitehaven Street, both just a little bit short (south) of Glover Park; you can walk it easily, but it is all uphill. Regular Metro buses (the no. 30 series) travel to Glover Park. Perhaps the easiest thing to do is take a taxi.