WASHINGTON — The holiday season is upon us and Eater DC has gifted us with their annual end-of-the-year picks for the best places to grab food, a drink or just a snack for 2021.
The food website, created by Vox Media, took a break last year due to COVID, while the food industry struggled to find its place in the early days of the pandemic. Now the list is back with Eater DC's selections for best restaurant, best debut, the bakery of the year, chef of the year, bar of the year and brunch of the year.
With these six categories, you'll have any occasion covered.
For restaurant of the year, Eater DC selected Albi. The Middle Eastern restaurant is located on 4th Street in Southeast. According to Eater, the restaurant open in February 2020, right before COVID forced many restaurants to close their doors.
Chef Michael Rafidi takes inspiration from his family's Palestinian roots and melds "the ancient tradition of the region’s coal-fired cuisine with local, seasonal ingredients and a refined culinary acumen."
Albi is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Reservations can be made online.
For Debut of the Year, Eater DC selected Daru. The new Northeast restaurant serves food inspired by India and Nepal. According to Eater, people have had to wait hours in line to snag a seat at Daru.
The restaurant's website states that customers are required to show proof of vaccination if dining indoors. Those who had a medical exemption are required to have a certifiable document or photo of the document.
Daru is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Reservations can be made here and pick-up or delivery orders can be placed online.
For Bakery of the Year, Eater DC selected downtown's Rose Ave. The Asian-American sweet shop can be found inside The Block DC Food Hall.
According to the bakery's website, owner Rose Nguyen moved to D.C. nine years ago to become a pediatric nurse at Children’s National Medical Center, where she worked for almost a decade. With some support from friends and family and a lot of practice, Nguyen's love of cooking and baking eventually led to her opening Rose Ave.
Rose Ave is open Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For Chef of the Year, Eater DC selected Mélange’s Elias Taddesse. Taddesse opened Mélange as a pop-up in 2016.
Taddesse was born in Ethiopia and trained in France. He uses a blend of his heritage and training to create awe-inspiring -meals at Mélange. Locally-sourced ingredients are also used at the Northwest restaurant. The restaurant's website claims Mélange's beef is sourced from Monkton, Maryland.
"[The beef] is dried and aged to perfection. Getting the right meat blend was incredibly important to us and we’ve made it for you to enjoy," reads the website.
For Bar of the Year, Eater DC selected Jane Jane in Logan Circle. The "classic cocktail" bar is located on 14th Street in Northwest.
Owners Jean Paul Sabatier, Drew Porterfield and Ralph Brabham combine backgrounds in culinary arts, event planning and hospitality to bring Jane Jane to life.
Guests can stop by the bar and order from a selection of cocktails such as the Scorpio Szn or the vodka-based Am I The Drama? Small food dishes are also available, such as onion dip and picked okra.
Jane Jane is open Monday through Wednesday from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m., Thursday through Friday from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. and Saturday from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Lastly -- and for some, most importantly -- the Brunch of the Year selection by Eater DC goes to Muchas Gracias in Chevy Chase.
The restaurant started as a small Latin pop-up at the beginning of the COVID pandemic as a way to help provide relief funding to Latin American immigrant workers.
The restaurant's brunch menu has selections from Apple Cider Park Carnitas tacos to Masa Ball Chicken Soup.
The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m. and for dinner from 5 p.m. through 9 p.m.
Click here to read the full list of the 2021 Eater Awards Winners for D.C.
Chef Elias Taddesse, formerly of the Michelin-starred Caviar Russe in New York gives Ellen a preview of what to expect from his new restaurant in DC.