ThE POwER OF PERcEPtiON.

the weekly standard: Washington Power Dining 2013
The Power
of Perception.
These unique dining spaces offer the air
of significance and the aura of success.
1789, Georgetown, D.C.
1789
1226 36th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007
202-965-1789
www.1789restaurant.com
In 1789, the U.S. Constitution was adopted, Mayor
Robert Peter incorporated the village of Georgetown, and
the original site of the 1789 restaurant was purchased by
Georgetown University founder Archbishop John Carroll.
This Federal-period house in one of the city’s most fashionable neighborhoods is a classic Washington experience. Six dining rooms are graced with candles and flowers on each table, crystal glassware, Limoges china, and
American antiques.
With its dynamic young chef, it’s also one of the most
modern places to dine. Anthony Lombardo is dedicated to
sourcing from local farms and adapting the menu to the
changing harvests. Lombardo’s nose-to-tail cooking, making creative use of every part of humanely raised animals,
yields unusual stocks and sauces. 1789 is known for its
outstanding rack of lamb; Lombardo and his team prepare
more lamb than any other restaurant in town. The Italian
chef makes pasta in-house, naturally. Recognized outside
the Beltway as well as inside, Lombardo was a featured chef
at New York’s James Beard House this summer.
1789 just celebrated its 50th anniversary. Soon after
opening, its cuisine and impeccable service made it a must
on the Washington power and society circuits. The staff is
loyal and dedicated; many have been with the restaurant
for twenty years.
Café milano
3251 Prospect St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007
202-333-6183
www.cafemilano.net
When your restaurant hosts a lunch for Pope Benedict
XVI, you are in awe and create an unforgettable occasion.
When First Lady Michelle Obama celebrates her birthday at your restaurant, it’s a magical event. Café Milano
has drawn in the beautiful, successful and socially prominent to its stylish dining rooms for two decades.
“When this adventure began on a cold night in November 1992, I had a vision of translating my passion for the
rich food, wine and hospitality traditions of my homeland,
the weekly standard: Washington Power Dining 2013
Italy, into Cafe Milano,” says owner Franco Nuschese. “I wanted to infuse the DC dining scene with a new kind of experience and energy. Then and today, 21 years later, my goal is
the same, that everyone feels at home at Cafe Milano.”
True to its energetic vibe, the décor celebrates Italian
culture with rich murals and framed designer scarves.
Tourists and ordinary locals as well as powerful politicians and of-the-moment celebrities receive gracious, attentive service along with their veal Milanese. Everyone
gets a kick out of spotting an entertainer taking a break
from Kennedy Center rehearsals. When the weather turns
warm, the floor-to-ceiling windows open onto the leafy
Georgetown side-street for blissful dining al fresco. Café
Milano: almost Italy.
“Our guests are people that make the world spin,” says
Ellen Gray. “But we don’t kiss and tell. We serve many high
profile people you’ve never heard of, and they prefer it that
way. News often happens here first. I overhear something at
dinner and read about it in the New York Times and Washington Post the next morning.”
Hay Adams
Lafayette Room
800 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006
202-638-2570
www.hayadams.com
Equinox
818 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20006
202-331-8118
www.1789restaurant.com
As pioneers in the regional and seasonal food movement,
Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray have made Equinox, one
block from the White House, quite the foodie destination.
Even vegans have their own tasting menu.
An enthusiastic promoter of mid-Atlantic sourcing, Todd
Gray draws on his background in classical French and Italian
techniques to create inspired menus. He and Ellen have a
growing empire, with new restaurants and a successful catering business. Todd is also Culinary Director for Sheila Johnson’s
Salamander Hotels & Resorts. The Grays recently released The
New Jewish Table, a cookbook that explores the melding of
seasonal American and Eastern-European Jewish cooking.
At Equinox, they are excited to have on board native
Washingtonian Colin McClimans, a hot young chef, according
to Ellen, and beverage director Steve Oshana, formerly of BLT
Steak, who is shaking things up, literally, with new cocktails
and wines for a sophisticated clientele.
President-elect Obama and his family made the Hay-Adams, a stately hotel that opened in 1928, their home in 2009
before the Inauguration and move-in day at the White House,
which they could see across Lafayette Park from their suites.
Surely they ordered room service from The Lafayette Room’s
menu of contemporary American cuisine.
At breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, this intimate setting is conducive to conducting business and collaborating while being seen but not heard, making the elegant,
light-filled Lafayette Room attractive to politicians, business
leaders, and diplomats. The wait staff is quietly attentive, allowing guests to enjoy their meal and company in privacy.
Although popular items such as the oatmeal soufflé, crab
cakes, and Dover sole will probably never be replaced, the
chefs change the menu often.
With farm-to-table objectives, Hay-Adams chefs are regular visitors to local farmers’ markets. For even more variety,
they also incorporate into their dishes fresh produce grown
through the University of the District of Columbia’s College
of Agriculture sustainability program. Senior Executive Sous
Chef Jaime Montes De Oca, who oversees the Lafayette Restaurant, enjoys using leafy greens and other vegetables native to Africa, Jamaica, the Caribbean, Asia, and the West Indies—all successfully grown in the District.
the weekly standard: Washington Power Dining 2013
Old Angler’s Inn
10801 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, MD 20854
301-365-2425
www.oldanglersinn.com
With its reputation for elegance and fine dining, not
many people know you can get a grilled cheeseburger at
the Potomac, Maryland landmark. Just off the C&O Canal,
Old Angler’s is known for its lovely front patio and graceful
dining rooms, but behind the 1860’s building, the Angler’s
Garden welcomes bikers and hikers to enjoy burgers,
wraps, and salads.
This special restaurant, with its stone fireplace and plentiful spring flowers, had undergone a gradual reinvention—-new look, new chef, new staff—from 2005 through
this year, when a glowing Washington Post review catapulted it back into prominence.
Among the changes made by second-generation owner
Mark Reges is the first floor layout, from bar and lounge to
bar and dining room. He hired Head Chef Nick Palermo,
formerly of Cityzen, whose menus evolve with the seasons. By demand, cavatelli and rack of lamb never rotate
off. Red wine braised beef short ribs are the owner’s favorite entrée.
“We’ve always been known as a place to go for a great
meal off the beaten track,” says Reges. “I have taken the resurgence in interest to heart, and do everything it takes to
meet the expectations of our new and returning guests.”
The Occidental
1475 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004
202-783-1475
www.occidentaldc.com
Manhattans are a specialty at The Occidental. Imbibing
makes some wonder if they are being watched—-or watched
over—in the portrait-filled dining room. Seventeen hundred
photographs of presidents, senators, athletes, authors, and
other notables reach the ceiling. Director Ron Howard and
actress Naomi Judd recently joined Franklin Roosevelt and
Amelia Earhart on the hallowed walls.
Ideally situated for the influential, the hundred-yearold-plus restaurant is a close White House neighbor. The
best tables, booth-like and with views, are 116 and 161,
but the most popular table has a brass plaque that tells of
The Occidental’s role in the Cuban missile crisis. The threat
of nuclear war dissipated after a Russian diplomat communicated their offer to withdraw missiles from Cuba to
ABC-TV’s John Scali.
History may intrigue but the surf and the turf bring
people back. Seasonal dishes are created from fresh ingredients procured from nearby farms such as Virginia’s
Whipple Farm, for biodynamic produce; the J&L Green
Farm for eggs and pork; and Maryland’s Roseda Farm for
all-natural beef.
Executive Chef Rodney Scruggs explains the restaurant’s
philosophy best when he says, “Here guests are surrounded
by this elegant and sophisticated atmosphere, yet we strive to
ensure that our food is real, not fussy or pretentious.”
Old Ebbitt Grill
675 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005
202-347-4800
www.ebbitt.com
The Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s first known saloon,
has a powerful history. Founded in 1856, the restaurant was
known for presidential visits. Today, it’s different things to
different people. Opening at 7:30, it’s a breakfast favorite for
many White House staffers, and for some it’s the only place
to have an important lunch. Regulars would revolt if they
couldn’t get Old Ebbitt crab cakes or Parmesan-crusted rainbow trout for dinner. There are Oyster Happy Hour devotees,
and night owls that arrive after midnight.
One hundred of its three hundred employees work
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under Chef Robert McGowan, who, with Le Cirque in his
background, knows how to keep things current. He also
understands this restaurant’s rich history. He and his staff
serve between 2,000 and 2,500 guests per day.
“Between our long history and prime location, Old Ebbitt is part of D.C.’s culture and a highlight of people’s visits here,” says managing director David Moran. “A mix of
America comes through our revolving door. We can have
congressional representatives working on the budget in
one booth, tourists in the next, and Bono across the room.”
Honored with the Award of Excellence for more than
a dozen years straight by Wine Spectator, The Old Ebbitt
Grill has been among the top ten highest grossing restaurants in the United States.
Modern Power Lunch menu. In addition to the mouth-watering food, professional servers, and unique atmosphere,
it has a living Washington institution in its Executive
­Director, Tommy Jacomo, whose personality and hospitality helps keep people coming back, again and again, since
the ­restaurant opened in 1972.
Tosca
1112 F St. NW, Washington, DC 20004
202-367-1990
www.toscadc.com
The Palm
1225 19th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-293-9091
www.thepalm.com
The Palm’s well-known caricature tradition began in the
original New York restaurant that opened in 1926, when artists paid for their meals by painting portraits on the walls. At
Washington’s Palm, the caricatures are of the most loyal and
frequent guests. A recent addition is Governor Chris Christie
of New Jersey. The restaurant reports that most of their regulars like to sit as close to their caricatures as possible.
The Palm’s philosophy, from the beginning, is simple: Treat
guests like family, serve great food, and always exceed expectations. The restaurant quickly became a place to enjoy lobster and porterhouse, but also to catch up with old friends,
meet new people at the bar, discuss business and politics, and
celebrate special occasions. The Palm is also a favorite place
for Washingtonians to take out-of- town guests, who are sure
to see someone they recognize.
The Palm, voted the Best Power Lunch in D.C. by­Washingtonian Magazine, has a popular and moderately priced
Insiders who crave privacy request table 50 at Tosca,
where a perfect dinner may start with a creative salad but it
must continue with Executive Chef Massimo Fabbri’s homemade pasta. Consider the tortelli, crown shaped ravioli filled
with robiola cheese and black truffle with chanterelle mushroom sauce, or tagliatelle with lump crabmeat, artichokes,
and peppers. The most popular pasta is carrot pappardelle
with rabbit ragu. From the freshest of fresh seafood, grilled
branzino and halibut are popular secondi. Finish up with a
seasonal panna cotta or house-made sorbet.
According to Washington Post restaurant critic Tom
Sietsema, “Tosca might be the most moving-and-shaking
restaurant in town.” Since its 2001 opening, Tosca has been
praised in regional and national newspapers and magazines. Owner Paolo Sacco and Chef Fabbri are dedicated
to serving the highest quality contemporary northern Italian cuisine: honoring traditional recipes, using fresh ingredients at their peak. White-jacketed waiters offer warm,
­efficient service.
In the heart of downtown, Tosca is close to the Warner
and National theaters. Even for those who count themselves among the power lunch crowd or well-dressed
dinner set, there’s an often-praised pre-theater menu.
Freshened up this past January, the restaurant is sleekly
furnished with luxurious fabrics in neutral tones.