AOL’s CityGuide has posted their 2005 all around “Best Restaurants”, broken down by category. It’s worth a quick read, especially as they encompass the whole D.C. metropolitan area, and I found a number of restaurants listed that I’d never heard about.
However, I’ve got to comment on a couple of the findings, including:
- Best All-Around Restaurant: Lebanese Taverna – Now, I’m a huge fan of Lebanese Taverna; the food is some of the best in the city. But the restaurant came in as the best “overall” restaurant, beating out restaurants that have ambrosia-quality food, such as Citronelle and Galileo. The category itself is probably to blame, however, as it doesn’t account for price range.
- Best Breakfast: Bob and Edith’s Diner – I haven’t eaten here, but I’ve heard it’s amazing, so no arguments. However, The Original Pancake House on Rockville Pike came in #2, and their breakfasts are mediocre at best. And they certainly don’t come even close to the breakfasts at the Broadway Diner.
- Best Chinese: Meiwah – Oh, come on. Meiwah is fine, but it isn’t Chinese for your true Chinese-food lover. Even the ever-venerable Full Kee ranked only 6th, and Gaithersburg’s banquet-hall-sized Dim Sum house New Fortune came in 8th. The amazing Chinatown Express didn’t get a mention, nor did Rockville’s fantastic Joe’s Noodle House. Clearly, these people don’t know good Chinese.
- Best Takeout: Five Guys – Alright, they got this one right. Best fast-food burgers in a 100 mile radius, no questions asked. Although I’m less sure it should rank first for Best Burger all around. It’s hard to compare a fast food burger with a juicy, slow cooked restaurant burger.
The categories were: All-Around; Breakfast; Brunch; Burgers; Cheap Eats; Chinese; Coffeehouses; Comfort Food; Family-Friendly; Healthy Dining; italian; Late-Night Dining; Mexian; Outdoor Dining; Pizza; Romantic; Seafood; Steak Houses; and Takeout.
Let us know what you think in the comments section. If you’ve got other suggestions that AOL CityGuide missed, let us know – we’re always looking for new places to try!
(Link via AOL’s Notebook: Washington, D.C.)
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