Tom Sietsema’s Busy Week Includes a First-Ever ‘D.C. Hall of Fame’

Old Faves

Before he unveiled his full fall dining guide — which rated Pineapple and Pearls as the top restaurant in D.C. — Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema picked “The D.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame” for the first time. He writes that exciting newcomers to the city shouldn’t keep D.C. diners from appreciating “the great performances of some of Washington’s more established players.” To him, the oldies are still beautiful.

Sietsema’s guide highlights just 10 places — including Buck’s Fishing & Camping, Charleston, The Inn at Little Washington, Jaleo, and Rasika among a few others. Six of the ten restaurants earned four stars from the reviewer. [WaPo]

2Amys

Sietsema has been busy this week. The reviewer also visited the re-opened 2Amys pizzeria, giving credit to the pie crusts for “big lips, nice char and pleasant chewiness.” Sietsema says the restaurant just off Wisconsin Avenue NW “hasn’t skipped a beat,” praising its breaded-and-fried pig tails and a roasted eggplant dish that is a “substantial meatless entree or shared appetizer.” Sietsema says the steak at 2Amys is a deal at just under $30, but warns the diner that plenty of chewing will be involved. And the pizza? Sietsema calls a puttanesca version the “sassiest” of the offerings, saying it’s “the taste equivalent of a bugle blast.” [WaPo]

Momofuku CCDC

Washingtonian food critic Ann Limpert visited Momofuku at City Center, which got a major reboot earlier this year when Tae Strain was hired to “destroy” the menu. Right off the bat, Limpert praises the bing, a Chinese-style flatbread, saying that she would “hoard nearly all” of the dish’s accompaniments, including a sunflower-tweaked take on hummus and pimiento cheese with kohlrabi. She saves her finest praise for the $54 roast chicken, which undergoes two days of brining. She says it “feels 100 percent the work of the actual chef in the kitchen.” Not everything was amazing, though. Limpert called the dumplings “stiff,” the cucumbers “sodden,” and said the crab dip was “a mild disappointment.” [Washingtonian]