Capital Consumption: Eating and Drinking in Washington DC

Just back from a weekend in Washington DC, where I revisited some of my favorite spots. Number one on the list has got to be the Old Ebbitt Grill - not for eating, not for fancy cocktails, but for ambience and atmosphere. It's been a Washington landmark since 1856, and to this day, it remains a classic slice of old DC. It's always full of local characters, friendly drinkers, and smart-ass bartenders. A drinker's paradise, pictured here.

I have several favorite restaurants in Washington: Vidalia being my top choice for its high-end Southern cuisine, but also DC Coast for seafood and a terrific bar menu, Bistro Bis for classic French bistro and great Sunday brunch, Georgia Brown's for Lowcountry cuisine. Although the prices have climbed over the years, Vidalia was superb this time around: I started off a perfect mint julep served in a pewter cup, followed by Vidalia’s five onion soup (duck broth, duck dumplings, cornbread croutons, $13.50), which was an explosion in contrasts. The soup is amazing, but very rich. I then devoured their famous shrimp and grits (anson mill's grits, vidalia onion, tasso ham, shellfish emulsion, $29), which is one of the reasons I keep coming back to Vidalia. Many people still rave about Jaleo, the acclaimed and popular Spanish restaurant owned by Jose Andres, and I've been many times over the years - personally, I think it's lost the magic it once had.

On this trip I made my first visit to Central, owned by celebrity chef Michel Richard and named the Best New Restaurant of 2008 by the James Beard Foundation. The food is traditional American comfort cuisine with a bit of French influence. On a busy Friday night, the room was bustling and noisy and we were seated about 15 minutes after our reservation time. At dinner, I began with a salad of iceberg lettuce and blue cheese, which was very nice, and dressed in a tangy vinaigrette instead of the traditional creamy blue cheese. My "fried chicken and mashed potatoes" entree actually came out as a boneless chicken breast fried in heavy buttermilk batter, along with similarly batter-worn chicken leg, mesculun salad, and heavily whipped potatoes. Other dishes - fish and chips, grilled salmon, burger - looked pretty good, but overall I found the menu not very adventurous, and the "modern" room boring - it had that insipid blonde-wood, IKEA-inspired decor. Next time, I'll take Citronelle. Richard's flagship restaurant in DC.