A really Philly guide to Washington, D.C., restaurants

Though our nation’s capital is a mere two hours away from Philly via Amtrak, a different, but no less diverse world of dining awaits.

Just as Philadelphia’s dining scene is deeply informed and defined over the years by immigrant groups, such as those from southern Vietnam, Mexico’s Puebla, and various regions of Italy, Washington’s is shaped by distinct immigrant groups, including groups from El Salvador, Ethiopia, and, like here, countries throughout Southeast Asia.

D.C. also boasts high-end omakase restaurants, countless steakhouses, and plenty of flashy spots tailor-made for lobbyists and the people they’re trying to influence. Generally, expect higher prices and more smoke and mirrors — restaurants in D.C. typically have larger, glitzier dining rooms, as well as larger marketing budgets. This doesn’t always translate into better food or service, just a bigger bill.

If you are wondering where to start, here’s a guide to Washington’s restaurants that follow the outlines of Philadelphia’s scene from a former chef who splits her time between the two cities.

If you’re a fan of West Philly’s Abyssinia, there’s more Ethiopian food than you can imagine in D.C., which has the largest Ethiopian population outside of Africa.

You must have Ethiopian food in D.C. It has the deepest Ethiopian scene of anywhere in the country. Elfegne and Dukem are stalwarts, while I personally love Tsehay Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar and Chercher Ethiopian Restaurant and Mart. Both have received Michelin Guide nods over the years. Tsehay’s beef tibs with rosemary and tomato are rich and wonderful, while Chercher’s gingery doro wot (chicken with hard-boiled egg, simmered with aromatics) and fish dullet (chopped tilapia mixed with onion and jalapeños) are not to be missed. You’ll find marvelously elastic, spongy injera at either one, though.

When tourists go to Philly, chances are, they will ask a Philly local if they should go to Pat’s or Geno’s. Curious about the D.C. equivalent?

There, that gut-busting void is filled by Ben’s Chili Bowl, which has four locations serving Half Smokes (mixed pork and beef chili on a hot dog), subs, and variations of chili cheese fries. This is where locals bring visitors because that’s just what you do. Ben’s Chili Bowl was recently featured on Amazon Prime’s Cross (which is great, by the way), in case that further entices you to go just once to see what the fuss is all about. The detectives in the show are unable to function without getting their Half Smokes. (I was unable to function after getting a Half Smoke.)

Do you love acrobatic tasting menus, like the one at Provenance or River Twice?

D.C. has no shortage of places that deploy copious amounts of ultra-luxe signifiers like caviar, wagyu, uni, and gamtae in ways both novel (José Andrés’ The Bazaar) and not-so-much (every high-end steakhouse). Jônt, a 17-seat chef’s counter, keeps things fresh and celebratory by blending high-end ingredients — especially Japanese ones — with distinctly American specialty ones like pink pineapple and Texas venison. The music will be loud. The “snacks” will be extraordinary jewellike morsels. The bill will be shocking. You’ll have a great time.

If you’re searching for carefully constructed seafood-focused dishes, head to Georgetown’s Reverie, where Johnny Spero shares a similar approach to Randy Rucker with seasonal Mid-Atlantic ingredients like black walnuts, but married to Japandi (Japanese and Scandinavian) aesthetics and esoteric seaweeds.

If you’re a Francophile who longs for Parc’s French onion soup, D.C.’s equivalent is Stephen Starr’s Le Diplomate, a picturesque homage to Parisian bistros and cafes.

The soup will have the same dramatic cheese pull, and the bar is as transportive as Parc’s. Le Dip is even as contentious as Parc, which people either love or love to hate. But you’ll be able to get those hometown home runs of tuna carpaccio, crispy artichokes, and the steak tartare du Parc, a dish that gives Rittenhouse’s largest restaurant a nod.

Craving the warmth of Le Virtu or a Fiorella-style meticulously handmade and deeply comforting pasta fix?

Meander down to Osteria Mozza, Stephen Starr’s new Georgetown outpost of Nancy Silverton’s legendary L.A. house of Tuscan specialties. There’s no bad seat in this charming restaurant — you walk into what feels like a market (if you need potatoes, jarred pesto, or boxed pasta, you can buy them while you’re waiting for your table) — and you’ll get balanced, perfectly al dente versions of classics like tagliatelle with Bolognese and rigatoni alla carbonara. Another option for wood-fired Italianesque grilled fish and comforting, precisely executed pastas is Amy Brandwein’s Centrolina, which, like Andrew Wood’s cooking at Le Virtù, transforms mostly Mid-Atlantic ingredients into hauntingly lovely dishes like a white Bolognese with chestnut and gnocchi alla gricia.

Do you long for the vermicelli platter at Gabriella’s Vietnam or a comforting bowl of fragrant, beefy pho from Pho 75?

Kevin Tien’s Moon Rabbit will scratch that itch, but its takes on Vietnamese cuisine are less traditional. It draws on Cajun influences, for instance, as in the duck sausage-stuffed quail with jambalaya-like tomato rice. Tien spent his formative teenage years in Lafayette, La., the heart of Cajun country, and those flavors intermittently weave their way into his cooking. The Món Lớn is most akin to Gabriella’s vermicelli platter, but it features lemongrass meatballs and chili pineapple pork skewers. The rotating squash course — yes, there is a rotating squash course — currently consists of koginut squash, fermented curry, crispy seeds, and curry leaves. It’s one of my personal favorite dishes in D.C., vying for the top spot with Moon Rabbit’s own kanpachi crudo with coconut mousse and puffed rice paper. Pastry chef Susan Bae’s tofu cheesecake, durian mousse, and seaweed panna cottas constitute a perfect coda to the meal.

For pho, worry not, there are branches of Pho 75 all over the DMV (that’s D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, not the place where you have to wait in line forever in order to get a REAL ID). There are 10 Pho 75s in the immediate D.C. area, the closest one being over the Francis Scott Key bridge from D.C. in Arlington, Va.

Need a celebratory omakase experience like the back room at Royal Sushi & Izakaya?

Go to the four-decades-old Perry’s Restaurant in D.C., which serves some of the best sushi I’ve had on the East Coast. It’s far more casual than Royal Sushi’s hallowed, wood-paneled temple to omakase; Perry’s positively bustles for dinner on weeknights. In addition to the omakase offerings, it has izakaya staples including karaage chicken, fried shishito peppers, and dumplings, as well as entrées like udon carbonara, a shrimp katsu burger, and BBQ eel donburi. Twice a month, Perry’s sells tickets to its Japanese breakfasts, which are practically unheard-of in Philly; there’s also a drag brunch for some entertaining chaos. And if, for whatever reason, you’re in need of an eye-wateringly expensive omakase experience, D.C. has an outpost of Sushi Nakazawa in the Waldorf Astoria.

Craving something like Machine Shop’s croissants and jammy egg pastries?

That’s an easy one — the relationship between Machine Shop and Yellow goes deeper than a shared loved of za’atar. Their respective owners, Emily Riddell and Michael Rafidi, have been together for more than 10 years. The couple constantly inspire one another, which plays out on their menus. Machine Shop’s everything bagel croissant is essentially on the menu at Yellow’s three D.C. locations in the form of the za’atar croissant. There are also jammy egg and shatta danishes, along with excellent pitas, falafel, and what Yellow calls (not) pizzas — 12-inch flatbread pies covered in toppings like harissa, kefta, burnt eggplant, and Armenian beef sausage. Save your crusts to eat with hummus and the thick, fluffy toum, a garlic dip that manages to be simultaneously sharp and mellow.

Speaking of bakeries, looking for excellent loaves and hearty sandwiches like you’d find at Mighty Bread?

Bread Furst is the answer to that. You’re enveloped in yeasty, heavenly fumes as soon as you enter and walk past its shelves crammed with curated pantry items, esoteric vinegars, and unique sauces. Stock up on fresh-baked sourdoughs, brioches, and baguettes, as well as an ever-changing selection of pastries and loaves made with local ingredients. My absolute favorite item is the magnificently simple French ham and gruyere sandwich made with butter and a hint of Dijon on the baguette. It’s as perfect as the La Colombe ham and butter sandwich, which I am unable to resist whenever I stop into its Philly coffee shops.

Need a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel sandwich, like you would get at Kismet?

D.C.’s equivalent is Call Your Mother, which has six locations — or seven, if you count its presence at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market (kind of like how Kismet sets up at the Rittenhouse Farmers Market on Saturdays). In line with being a delightfully quirky, pop-arty establishment, Call Your Mother brands itself as a “Jew-ish deli” — there is a bacon sandwich in addition to the latkes — but it has all the bagels you’d expect, plus some others seasoned with za’atar and maple salt and pepper. Another way to think of it: It’s a sandwich shop that happens to use bagels as bread; it also serves pastrami on challah or rye and other, meltier sandwiches.

Are you enamored by locality, by way of West Chester’s Andiario or South Philly’s Heavy Metal Sausage, and want to taste more of the Mid-Atlantic?

Jeremiah Langhorne’s The Dabney will similarly stun with open-hearth cooking and a focus on Mid-Atlantic cuisine. Expect Chesapeake Bay scallops, charred carrots with single-farm provenance, and courses like local oysters with ’nduja vinaigrette, along with a bar program that equally celebrates produce from nearby farms and even backyards. The dining room is homey and beautiful, like a bucolic Andrew Wyeth painting come to life. Chefs shake fans over coals, tweezer nasturtium leaves onto the vegetables roasted on the hearth, and tease soft shell crabs into spiky bouquets in bowls, while bartenders shake up housemade shrubs into cocktails as leafy as the plates emerging from the kitchen.

Do you love the frenetic energy of Reading Terminal Market?

You’re not going to get exactly that huge, historic blend of eateries, butchers, cheese shops, and fishmongers, but you can go to Union Market, which houses a butcher, a fishmonger, and an array of food stalls, from AboveGround (an ode to the UK’s comfort foods) to the Creamery, which serves ice cream in classic flavors like cookies and cream and chocolate. The wider Union Market district is also home to vegetable wholesalers, larger restaurants, and the most design-forward cookbook and candle shop in the region: Salt & Sundry. If you need a farmers market to go to in D.C., the Dupont Circle market is the big one, held on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Want to eat and drink alongside restaurant industry folks like at Fountain Porter?

Let me introduce you to Service Bar, which is known not for its burger and beer selection, but for its fried chicken and sometimes wacky sounding (but not wacky tasting) cocktails. Think vodka sodas spiked with concord grapes, vermouth infused with chamomile, and a cocktail called the Great Pumpkin, which blends Wild Turkey with pumpkin and garam masala. Cocktails run $9 at happy hour, and the fried chicken is offered in a variety of forms that are as iconic in D.C. as the Fountain Porter burger is in Philly: nugget, thigh, or sandwiched between a sesame seed bun. This no-nonsense, not-too-many-frills, borderline dive bar has also been recognized as one of North America’s 50 Best Bars. D.C. is a town that closes early (seemingly even earlier than Philly; good luck trying to get dinner at 9 p.m. on a Sunday), and Service Bar is one of those rare establishments with a late-night menu. It includes Buffalo chicken dip, the aforementioned fried chicken as thighs and nuggets, and a wide enough array of bites to assemble a dinner.

Miss a.kitchen for its elevated comfort food, local wine-forward wine list, and calm surroundings?

No problem, D.C. has an a.kitchen in the AKA hotel. The menus are not exactly 1:1, but you’ll be able to get the same huge, pillowy gougères, cheesy Boursin omelets, octopus lyonnaise, and a chickpea panisse with crisp edges and a creamy center. There are also menu crossovers that are expressed in distinct ways. The hamachi in D.C., for instance, is tinged fuchsia with purple cabbage and red onion, while in Philly, blood orange gives the pearlescent fish the same hue. And the iconic burger is painted with dijonnaise in Philly, but in D.C., it’s essentially an upscale Big Mac. Unlike Philly, there’s a veggie burger on the menu.

Finally, if you are traveling with your dog, no shortage of restaurants in D.C. cater to pups.

Joy by Seven Reasons has an extensive dog menu with rice and chicken, salmon with lentils, and Greek yogurt pupsicles, all highly recommended by Philadelphia Magazine’s Official Dog Critic, Coconut Aranita. The Dog Daze Social Club is D.C.’s version of Philly’s Boozy Mutt, as it has a full restaurant and bar catering to humans and a dog garden where your pup can run amok.