WASHINGTON — Rich in culture, delicious and aesthetically pleasing are all descriptors of the eight new additions to the 2023 Michelin Guide for Washington D.C.
Guide inspectors spent all year on the road uncovering the best restaurants to recommend and now they are revealing a sneak peek for this year's guide.
"And like the melting pot that is D.C., the city's cuisine is equally diverse and forward-thinking—mother-son duo Yesoon Lee and her son Danny demonstrate how savory Korean food can be at Mandu, while Jeanine Prime, owner of Caribbean boîte St. James, highlights the intense flavors and colors of the region," Michelin said in a release.
It's not yet known which, if any, of the eight additions could be given Michelin stars.
Here's a look at the eight spots added to this year's guide.
In the East End neighborhood, the restaurant opens up to people with its soaring 20-ft ceilings and undulating glass-enclosed space. Their contemporary cuisine includes tender and sweet razor clams bathed in a pil pil blend, while on the other end of the menu people can find Carolina gold rice studded with knobs of Jonah crab. If the restaurant goer can make it to dessert - burnt cheesecake ice cream is said to be a delight.
Chef Carlos Delgado provides a taste of his birthplace to people's palettes in a dual concept space in Blagden Alley. The restaurant seats around 20 for a tasting menu that takes diners on a journey of flavors inspired by the topography of Peru. It all begins in Lima with coastal seafood, then progresses into the Andes and the Amazon. The menu includes the Peruvian classic and namesake dish, causa, with its mashed potatoes with aji amarillo paste, then topped with cucumber, avocado and tuna tartare.
Once a pop-up is now a neighborhood gem in Columbia Heights. Quick and efficient, this simple counter serves just coffee and a handful of tacos mined from a time living in Texas. Their breakfast tacos are made with a superb flour tortilla kept warm in tightly wrapped foil. Fillings include soft scrambled eggs, creamy pinto beans, queso and meats like bacon, chorizo and even brisket. Michelin guide say the team is working on expanding upstairs soon.
Chef Yesoon Lee and her son Danny are showing D.C. that Korean cuisine is more than just bibimbap and barbecue. From plump, steamed beef and pork mandu to vibrant banchan, Michelin describes this type of homey cooking keeps your warms the spirit. Tip from the guide inspectors themselves: No visit would be complete without gamjatang, a bubbling-hot soup featuring tender, bone-in pork ribs and potatoes swimming in a red broth fired up with gochugaru and perilla seeds.
"In contrast to many of the shiny new restaurants that open every year, this Woodley Park veteran under-promises and over-delivers in the best of ways," the Michelin Guide said. The menu that covers a variety of American cuisine has broccolini with black garlic Caesar dressing, crispy fried oysters with pickled cauliflower, and tempura beach mushrooms dusted in a Moroccan spice blend. And those are not even the main courses.
The modern Caribbean concept is named for the district within Trinidad’s Port of Spain. The shared plates-style menu adds a variety of options from a bowl of Callaloo soup to the jerk brisket, which marinates for 12 hours before it's smoked. There is even Trini-style taro dumplings in a curry sauce.
With an all-day concept, people can go for the crostata by day or Italian-leaning dishes by night. The restaurant has a contemporary and seasonal menu of breads and snacks to start, followed by small plates like a tomato and peach salad, oysters or fried artichokes. "From there, sandwiches or individual pizzas are on offer, but the real draw is the house made and impossible-not-to-finish pastas," the guide said.
In quiet Chevy Chase, on the border of Bethesda, the restaurant is on its way to becoming a neighborhood essential. The menu includes ricotta dumplings, beef tartare, a properly cooked filet of trout. "And for dessert, there is no escaping the tiramisu ice cream, a triumphant finale that nobody will want to share," Michelin Guide said. The menu is said to be reasonably priced for the vast selection.
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