Best of 2015: Restaurants and Cocktail Bars

Is the pace of Washington, D.C. restaurant opening ever going to slow down? That's what comes to my mind first when I think back on this year of dining out at home. 

In 2013 and 2014, we watched 14th Street fill up with seemingly weekly openings. As the "hot" neighborhoods proliferate (Shaw seemed to welcome a particular number of promising newcomers this year), now it's like there are multiple interesting openings per week, making us diners very lucky to be have so much selection (while simultaneously feeling like we cannot possibly keep up). One of my first restaurant reviews of next year promises to be a good one--the recently opened Convivial in Shaw, where Mintwood Place chef Cedric Maupillier is cooking some amazing food. 

Big-name chefs continue to show interest in D.C., the biggest of which to open an outpost in our city this year was David Chang, the man behind the Momofuku collective. Judging be the lines outside Momofuku CCDC, I wasn't the only one impatiently waiting to see how his creative Asian-inspired cooking translated to our market. 

Plus our own Jose Andres continued to expand his gastronomic empire with the one-two punch of the Peruvian-by-way-of-Asia China Chilcano and the vegetable-centric-fast-casual Beefsteak, which I'm happy to hear will be adding a new location in my neighborhood next year. Also coming to my neighborhood in 2016--a new Italian restaurant from Fabio and Maria Trabocchi--the wonderful talent behind Fiola and Casa Luca. After a hard few years where we lost places like Palena and Dino, even stodgy ol' Upper Northwest seems to be getting back in the game.

Outside of D.C., we had our usual jaunts to New York, where we discovered our new favorite Mexican restaurant. We made do with cruise food, but enjoyed some pretty incredible eats in port. And we indulged our love for barbecue, Tex-Mex and good cocktails in Austin, Texas, which was as much a place to spend a long weekend as we'd hoped. Interestingly, a lot of my favorite dishes this year didn't come from the more expensive or buzzy places we visited, but rather the more casual, less flashy places we stumbled upon.

Here then are the best eats we enjoyed outside the home this year (restaurants named are in Washington, D.C. unless otherwise indicated).

Palak Chaat, Rasika

Best Starter: Palak Chaat (Rasika). Rasika is widely considered to be D.C.'s best restaurant, a pretty cool honor considering that it's Indian, a cuisine too many sneer at to their detrimental. Dinner at Rasika is an amazing experience--even more so after this year's design refresh. While everything we ate there was good, the Palak Chaat, an appetizer of chickpea-battered flash-fried spinach, is absolutely amazing. The kind of thing you'd just have to order a side of even if you promised yourself to try something new. Honorable mentions: Fried Avocado (Tupelo Honey Cafe, Arlington, Virginia), Fried Chicken Skins (The Partisan), Guacamole (The Black Ant, New York), Spicy Cucumbers (Momofuku CCDC), Hush Puppies (Fat Pete's).

Frida Kale, Beefsteak

Best Salad: Make Your Own (Beefsteak). The first thing that struck me upon walking up to the counter at Beefsteak was the amazing variety of fresh vegetables. As it should be for famed D.C. chef Jose Andres's first outing into the fast-casual corner, a beautifully minimalist space that puts all its focus on the one thing we all know we should be eating more of: our vegetables. And what better way to enjoy then to design your own salad here with all the amazing blanched, raw, crunchy, bitter and sweet you can imagine. Honorable mentions: Shredded Cabbage Salad (Tico), Quinoa Salad (China Chilcano), Lettuces and Vegetables (Hearth, New York), Dungeness crab salad (The Rookery, Juneau, Alaska), Pea Tendril Salad (White Street, New York).

Sliced Brisket with Beans and Slaw, Fat Pete's

Best Entree (Meat): Sliced Brisket (Fat Pete's). I've been pretty open about my love of barbecue. It seriously literally (yes, I'm using this correctly) makes my mouth water. Like right now as I write this, thinking about the amazing sliced brisket at Fat Pete's, which is so meaty, smoky and tender. I just love it. And it's within walking distance of my home. Yeah, I know Franklin's in Austin is the best, but really, if I can get barbecued brisket this good close to home, I can forgo Franklin's. Honorable mentions: Brisket Taco (Guero's Taco Bar, Austin, Texas), Black Angus Short Rib (Lamberts, Austin, Texas), cochinita pibil tacos (La Condesa, Austin, Texas), Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder (The Partisan), Meatloaf Tacos (Tupelo Honey Cafe, Arlington, Virginia). 

Corn Ravioli, Ghibellina

Best Entree (Pasta and Grains): Ravioli di Mais Dolci (corn ravioli) (Ghibellina). Graffito used to be the undisputed champion of corn ravioli (or technically agnolotti) in D.C., but with this dish, Ghibellina has emerged as a formidable challenger to that title. The popular 14th Street venue garnishes its ricotta and corn-stuffed pasta pockets with toasted almonds, a delicious idea. Honorable mentions: Beef Noodle Soup (Momofuku CCDC), Aeropuero (China Chilcano).

Halibut Fish & Chips, Alava's Fish & Chowder

Best Entree (Seafood): Halibut Fish & Chips (Alava's Fish & Chowder, Ketchikan, Alaska). You know how people rave about sometimes those ramshackle hole-in-the-wall places have the best food? In this case, it's absolutely true. We're not big seafood eaters, but of all the dishes we enjoyed in Alaska, the best was the halibut fish & chips at Alava's. The fish was incredibly fresh--caught that morning I imagine--and the light breading added just enough crunch. Honorable mention: Slow-Cooked Cod (White Street, New York), Grilled Salmon (Landing Zone, Icy Strait Point, Alaska).

Breakfast Tacos, Taco Joint

Best Breakfast: Steak and Egg with Smokey Gouda Cheese Taco (Taco Joint, Austin, Texas). Breakfast tacos were one our favorite finds during our trip to Austin, and this taco, from a little taco restaurant just north of the University of Texas campus, was the best of the lot. Honorable mentions: 24 Hash (24 Diner, Austin, Texas), Omelet (The Royal Treat, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware). 

Fried Apple Pie, The Partisan

Best Dessert: Fried Apple Pie (The Partisan). Sure, it sounds like something you get at McDonald's, but consider that the apple pie is actually most people's second-favorite thing to eat at the Golden Arches. Then take that concept and turn it into something freshly made by a pastry chef, and you're in dessert heaven. Honorable mentions: Dulce de Leche Pudding Cake (La Condesa, Austin, Texas), Key Lime Pie (DBGB Kitchen & Bar)

Best service: Dos Locos (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware). Maybe I'm getting pickier, but service was an area where few restaurants really excelled this year. Service where we ate was fine, for the most part, but rarely was it a memorable aspect of our dining experiences this year. A notable exception was Dos Locos, our favorite restaurant at the beach, where we are always made to feel welcome no matter if we're sitting down for dinner or just pop in for an afternoon margarita. Even when they are crushed under the busy dinner service, our needs for condiments, refills or just the check are always anticipated and never delayed. Honorable mention: China Chilcano, La Condesa (Austin, Texas).

Lamb Pot Stickers, China Chilcano

Most Visually Striking Dish: Pegao Norteño (Lamb Pot Stickers, China Chilcano). At China Chilcano, a starter of lamb dumplings arrive connected by a lacy layer topped with flowers and gold hovering above a few artful brushstrokes of squash puree, like some sort of beautiful garden that's also quite tasty. Honorable mention: Ponderaciones de Kiwicha (China Chilcano).

Best Cocktail (Restaurant): Maybe a Joyful Noise (The Partisan). I'm breaking cocktails into two parts, since it doesn't seem fair to compare cocktails from cocktail bars (where they do little, if anything, else) to those at restaurants. That said, the Maybe a Joyful Noise from The Partisan is a pretty incredible drink that rivals our favorite tipples from the next section. The mixture of bourbon, bitter-sweet Italian digestif, French digestif and chocolate bitters was a perfectly balanced and heady concoction that I would happily drink again. Honorable mentions: Cool Hand Luke (Tico), Cholotini (China Chilcano), Dennis Coles (Hearth, New York), Colonial (DBGB Kitchen & Bar), Honey & Chamomile G&T (Tupelo Honey Cafe, Arlington, Virginia), Devil in Oaxaca (The Black Ant, New York).

Ready to Depart (left) and Dijahbone (right), Mayahuel

Best Cocktail (Cocktail Bar): Dijahbone (Mayahuel, New York). This was the year we really made an effort to visit cool cocktail bars. We hit up some pretty amazing ones in Austin, and even found a cool one in D.C. But the two best were in New York and they are relatives of sorts (they share some of the same talent): Death & Co., whose book I can't stop raving about, and Mayahuel, its Mexican-spirits-focused offshoot. While we had wonderful experiences in both bars, we found the focus on mezcal, tequila and newcomer (to many Americans at least) sotol, to be particularly intoxicating. The Dijahbone, a blend of sotol, duck fat infused Grand Marnier, carrot juice, lime juice and cumin, was as delicious as it was interesting, a wonderful example of how to blend a number of unusual ingredients into something magical. Honorable mentions: Herb Alpert (Mayahuel, New York), Elijah's Railcar (CU29, Austin, Texas), Sierra Madre (Death & Co., New York), Someday Baby (Garage, Austin, Texas), Devil's Grin (2 Birds, 1 Stone).

Stuffing Our Faces in Austin, Texas

I've shared before the fact that barbecue is one of the types of foods that makes my mouth water, and my love of Tex-Mex/Mexican is legendary. That's what made our recent weekend trip to Austin, Texas pretty special: the city does both of these really well (it also does cocktails well, which I wrote about last week). Over the course of a few days, we samples some pretty amazing barbecue and Mexican restaurants and also discovered a wonderful morning food Austin is known for: the breakfast taco.

Stubb's brisket sandwich

Texas and Texas Barbecue Capital

Austin is the capital of Texas, but it is also the capital of Texas-style barbecue. After all, it's home the country's most famous barbecue restaurant, Franklin. As much as I'd have loved to try Franklin, I wasn't willing to give up half a day of a short vacation to stand in line or it. Nonetheless, we still found excellent barbecue in the city.

Hungry after the long flight on our first night, we set out for Stubb's, the casual barbecue joint and music venue that was a short walk from our hotel. You might recognize the name for their national brand of barbecue sauces and rubs. We settled down for a delicious plate of sliced brisket served on Texas sliced bread. This brisket was a real winner--tender, moist and meaty. It was smoky, but not overly so. We also enjoy the coleslaw, which showed admirable restraint with its creamy dressing, as well as the creamy potato salad.

The beans you get with Texas-style barbecue may be unfamiliar to those expecting the sweet Southern-style baked beans. Although I've seen recipes for Texas-style beans with honey, brown sugar or molasses, when I've ordered them in restaurants they are not typically sweet, at least not as sweet as the Southern-style baked beans. That said, they are really good and nicely complement a helping of smoky meat.

Stubb's was hosting a band the night we went in, but thankfully we were able to get a table quickly and had prompt, friendly service (I appreciated that Stubb's has actual table service). Basically, within an hour of landing in Austin we had barbecue, live music and even saw a fight (of sorts, as a group of guys sitting near us got a little rowdy). How perfect is that?

Lamberts angus short rib

On another night, we headed to a different kind of barbecue restaurant, Lamberts. This is a little more upscale than your typical barbecue restaurant, and their menu features grilled items in addition to its oak-smoked barbecue dishes. The restaurant is located in the historic Schneider Brothers building in the Second Street shopping district.

While the grilled dishes were tempting, we stuck with barbecue, enjoying the black angus brisket with brown sugar, coffee rub and pickled escabeche (jalapeño). Although I'd say we preferred the Stubb's brisket, the black angus short rib was out-of-sight good. The tender, flavorful rib was garnished with a spicy cilantro and scallion slaw plus a fennel and caper relish. Our other sides were also good, particularly the Brussels sprouts with bacon and brown butter.

The service at Lamberts could use a little attention. They were very efficient, perhaps too much so, and not as friendly as the servers we encountered elsewhere. I was also disappointed with how our food was served, which made it difficult to share. When ordering, I asked the server if it made sense for us to choose a couple of barbecue entrees and sides to share, which she said was a good plan. Yet, our food arrived as individually plated entrees rather than family style, which made dividing the plates to share a bit of a hassle. Sharing is such a trend in restaurant-eating now, that it is surprising to find a restaurant that doesn't make it easy.

That said, the food at Lamberts was quite good, and it's one of the few options for barbecue where you can get a reservation. They also made a quite decent Old Fashioned with demerara sugar, bitters and a thankfully simple garnish of orange peel.

Before I move on from barbecue, I want to give a shout-out to Iron Works BBQ. Chris and I did not go here, but I visited it a couple years ago during a business trip to Austin, and it was fantastic. It doesn't look like much: the interior is a bit ramshackle, with tables covered in those cheap red-and-white plaid vinyl tablecloths. But that's part of the charm, accentuating the down-home vibe of the really excellent barbecue. I sat on the back porch overlooking Waller Creek and enjoyed an amazing sampler of sliced brisket, beef ribs and sausage.

La Condesa cochinita pibil tacos

Mexican That's Not-Kidding-Around Spicy

You know how some restaurants will warn you a dish is spicy, but when you eat it, it's really not that spicy at all? At La Condesa, they aren't kidding around with the chiles. Their cochinita pibil tacos, made with achiote-braised pork shoulder and pickled habanero, set my mouth on fire. But man, were those tacos good. The heat was moderated with black beans, pickled red onion and cabbage. It was one of several delicious things we tried at this downtown Austin modern Mexican restaurant.

We also enjoyed the mole dominguero, a tender seared chicken breast served with a delicious mole sauce and grilled green beans. Guacamole is, of course, a great way to start the meal. We customized ours with roasted pumpkin seeds and queso fresco. It didn't hurt that they served the avocado dip with very good corn chips--always a plus.

Dessert was also quite good. We ordered the dulce de leche, a pudding cake with saffron and cream cheese ice cream the menu said included "sweet corn." Since fresh sweet corn was just ending its season, I was expecting fresh corn to appear in the dessert, but it turned out that sweet corn was caramel popcorn. I'm seeing popcorn more and more in desserts and I'm loving it. Such a simple way to add another interesting dimension to a dish.

Another thing La Condesa is serious about are their margaritas. La Clásica is a wonderful choice, made with El Jimador silver, Patrón Citrónge, lime and agave kicked up with a cactus and lemongrass-infused salt rim. The smoky and tart Día de Los Muertos, made with mezcal, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc and lemon was another winner. We ate a lot of good meals in Austin, but our dinner at La Condesa was possibly my favorite of the trip.

Guero's Taco Bar fish tacos

The other really good Mexican meal we had in Austin was at Guero's Taco Bar. We were wandering in and out of the shops on South Congress Street on a very hot day (it was in the mid-to-high 90s each day), and I was really ready for a good lunch by the time we hit midday. Chris sprang from the brisket tacos with braised meat that so tender and glazed with a spicy-sweet sauce. They were quite possibly the best tacos of the trip. I had the fish tacos with marinated and grilled white fish, shredded cabbage, corn and chipotle-tequila mayonnaise, which were also very good.

Also of note at Guero's were the rice and beans. A lot of Mexican restaurants serve them as sides but don't put much thought into them. At Guero's, both were very good. Although the margaritas were just average, the tacos here were outstanding and the service, despite how busy the place was, was friendly and attentive too.

24 Diner French toast platter

Breakfast Tacos: an Austin Specialty

Starting the day off with a good breakfast is critical while on vacation. We loved the food at 24 Diner so much, we went there twice. This 24-hour diner, location in the North Lamar shopping district near the flagship Whole Foods market, has a casual cool interior that's both retro and modern. It also boasts a menu as inviting as its decor.

24 Diner sweet potato hash

During our first trip, we both had hash plates, hot dishes with potatoes, onions, cheese and meet. The 24 hash is a classic rendition with bacon and sausage and a bit of heat from jalapeños. The sweet potato hash was also quite good, served with roasted poblano peppers, sausage and jack cheese.

On day two, we sprang for sweeter breakfast treats. The Belgian waffle was very good and came topped with a heaping mound of brown sugar butter (along with maple syrup on the side). The waffle itself was made from yeast-risen dough and vanilla, giving it a taste almost like French toast. Speaking of which, they do that well there too. The French toast platter came with giant-sized pieces of toast and an apple compote topping plus lots of butter.

The friendly staff at 24 Diner always kept our coffee cups coming. Were we Austin natives, this would be the kind of place I imagine we'd frequent often.

Taco Joint breakfast tacos

The other great breakfast find in Austin was breakfast tacos. Breakfast burritos are everywhere, but tacos? That's an Austin specialty, and it's a wonderful idea. Our favorite breakfast tacos were from Taco Joint, a no-frills kind of place just north of the University of Texas campus.

The menu offers a few suggestions for tacos but allows for plenty of customization too. They also provide a nice bar of additional sauces and garnishes. The steak and egg with smokey gouda cheese really hit the spot, especially with a little chipotle cream salsa on top. I also loved the sausage and egg with tomatillo salsa and the potato, onion and cheese taco. We ordered all of these with corn tortillas, which they smartly double for better taco integrity. All of them were delicious--hot and flavorful. Keep your eyes out for a recipe later this week inspired by our breakfast at Taco Joint.

Our other foray into breakfast tacos was at Taco Shack, a small local chain with a similar offering. The Texan was a delicious blend of scrambled eggs piled with slices of beef fajitas. The El Niño was a spicier offering of beans, chorizo, cheese and jalapeño. We had these tacos with flour tortillas and a little green salsa and both were delicious.

I think it's safe to say we had our fill of a lot of favorite foods in Austin. I know the city is known for a lot of creative cooking in other genres too, such as Qui, the restaurant from Top Chef winner Paul Qui. I suppose we'll just have to go back. Starting with more of those breakfast tacos.

24 Diner Belgian waffle

24 Diner, 600 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas. (512) 472-5400.

Guero's Taco Bar, 1412 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas. (512) 447-7688.

Iron Works BBQ, 100 Red River Street (at Water Avenue/East First Street), Austin, Texas, (512) 478-4855.

La Condesa, 400A West 2nd Street (on the corner of Guadalupe Street), Austin, Texas, (512) 499-0300. Reservations: Open Table.

Lamberts, 401 West Second Street (on the corner of Guadalupe Street, opposite of La Condesa), Austin, Texas, (512) 494-1500. Reservations: Open Table.

Stubb's, 801 Red River Street (on the corner of 8th Street), Austin, Texas. (512) 480-8341.

Taco Joint, 2807 San Jacinto Boulevard (two blocks north of Dean Keeton Street), Austin, Texas. (512) 473 8223.

Taco Shack, 402 Brazos Street,  Austin, Texas. (512) 473-0101 (Also at eight other locations.)

Exploring Austin's Cocktail Bars

[Update: Bar Congress has closed.]

The other week, Chris and I spent a long weekend in Austin. Next week, I'll fill you in on our adventures in barbecue, Tex-Mex and, a real find, breakfast tacos (clearly we ate well). But this week, I want to focus on the great cocktail bars we visited. Cool cocktails bars have been a particular focus of ours this year (see Death & Co, Mayahuel and 2 Birds 1 Stone, for example), and Austin did not disappoint. We steered clear of the 6th Street party scene to discover three fun and exciting cocktail bars working their magic with a focus on good service and quality ingredients.

Classic Setting, Creative Drinking

It's rather unfortunate that cool cocktail bars are hard to find. They're doing the whole speakeasy thing, which is fine. I honestly don't have the patience for too much of that (no passwords please). So it's nice to find a cool cocktail bar that does it the old-fashioned way: it's on the street with a sign. How novel!

CU29 (pictured above) may present a traditional front, but there's nothing ordinary about this spectacular downtown cocktail bar that's just a short walk from the Texas state capitol. The roomy space has a long meandering bar fronting a rather impressive stock of bottles. Although the name may sound like it's meant for people in their 30s, it actually refers to the elemental name of copper, which the pots around the bar are made of.

The menu is filled with original creations. The night we visited, we saw a particular bent toward bitter-and-sweet Italian amari mixed with whiskey and agave spirits. How perfect! I enjoyed the El Dueño, a smoky-sweet concoction of mezcal, Averna amaro and green chartreuse. Even better was the Friendly Stranger, a sort of fancy take on the Manhattan made with bourbon, Cherry Heering, Grand Marnier and walnut bitters topped with egg white foam and a orange peel flamed with a bit of green chartreuse. It was an elaborate and delicious drink.

But best of all was the Elijah's Railcar, another Manhattan-like drink but very different from the Friendly Stranger. I tried to approximate what we had on Monday, and although I think I came close, it wasn't quite as magical as I remember it in the bar. With a base of James E. Pepper 1776 rye whiskey, the drink also contains Meletti--another amaro--chocolate bitters, honey liqueur and a topping of freshly grated cinnamon. Wonderfully aromatic and well-balanced, it was the best cocktail we had during our time in Austin, and one of the best we've had this year.

We liked the bar so much we went back a second night, during which the bartender made us off-menu cocktails based on whatever we told him we were interested in. He hit the mark with each one. It's nice to find a place where the bartenders are as greatly skilled as they are friendly. Combine that with the classic atmosphere and the occasional live music, and CU29 is a real winner.

Park Yourself at This Bar

On our first full day wondering around Austin, we passed a nondescript down parking garage with "cocktails" written above one of the garage entrances. How odd, I thought, and chalked it up to Austin's quirky side.

Turns out, there is actually a cocktail bar in that parking garage, a rather cool one. The appropriately named Garage is built into a surprisingly roomy space near the entrance to the garage. The swanky minimalist interior has a round bar at the center with small tables along the lounge's concrete walls.

The drinks here were also very good. Cheers to bar manager Chauncy James for designing such an inventive menu. Some of our favorites were the Someday Baby, made with tequila, mezcal, honey chamomile and lemon, and the Psychedelic Fir, which combines gin, malic acid (sounds strange, but it adds sour flavor), lime and ClearCreek's Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir, a product I have in my bar but haven't been sure what I should do with it.

Classics on Congress

Amazingly, the bar hidden in the parking garage wasn't the hardest to find among these three. It was this one--a narrow bar space that connects two restaurants along Congress Avenue. We searched and searched for the entrance to Bar Congress before realizing that you must go through either Restaurant Congress or the Second Bar + Kitchen to get to the bar.

Bar manager Jason Stevens designed the menu with classics in mind. Most of the drinks date back to the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Chris had the Tequila Daisy, a 1930s-era tequila cocktail with Marolo Chamomile Grappa, honey wine and citrus. I chose the Queen's Park Swizzle (pictured at right), a refreshing blend of rums, lime, mint, bitters and sugar. So if you're in the mood for something old-fashioned, this is definitely the spot.

Austin isn't Texas's largest city, but I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's become the state's best-known destination for good food. With great cocktail bars like this, I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's the state's best drinking destination as well.

Bar Congress, 200 Congress Avenue (enter from either Restaurant Congress or Second Bar + Kitchen), Austin, Texas. (512) 827-2760.

CU29, 720 Brazos Street, Austin, Texas. (512) 474-0029.

Garage, 503 Colorado Street (inside a parking garage--no joke--between 5th and 6th Streets), Austin, Texas. (512) 369-3490.