50 Best Restaurants 2012

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Eve will be the first time you see beauty in a turnip and will continue to win your reservation for that coveted night out." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Like the swinging hips of Elvis, the tenderness with which the kitchen treats ingredients arises instinctually." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "A pale pink soup tastes more like watermelon than the watery fruit itself, and wows with its subtlety." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "At the beginning of this year, 2941 transformed from a special occasions French prix fixe to a more casual, French and Mediterranean restaurant. Its rebirth should be commended." - Nov. 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Slit horizontally, thin scallops buoy in a salty, airy broth radiating the nuttiness of Parmesan." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Firey, little wings... bathe in creme fraiche and chili paste for a bar snack that belongs nowhere near unappreciative drunkards." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Most plates are available in full or half portions, with the latter generous enough for a meal. The waitstaff is sweet, quick with wine knowledge and happy to serve you." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Hot dogs that would make a stadium’s version blush, come mini-sized, but still produce meaty bites." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "When the whole fish arrives, crisp with blackened skin contrasting against the pliable whiteness of meaty flesh, dollar signs disappear..." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "...a waiter in black tie buttered and warmed crepes suzette for us, tableside. Soft, sweet, tinge of citrus, a way for flat circles of flour to showcase the beauty of butter." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The drab room (more suited for a corporate conference than an inventive meal) diverts from sparks on the plate, but when the kitchen is on, Farrah Olivia borders on stunning." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The kitchen keeps a hearty lamb ragout light, but still indulgent, with smooth and soft house-made fettuccine, weaving through chunks of tender lamb..." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "On Sundays, a mandatory three-course prix fixe for an easy $29, can start with deeply flavorful cream of onion soup that vanquishes thoughts of the more pedestrian French onion soup." - Nov '12 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The kitchen takes cues from nature. A potato gnocchi in a broth reared from smoked potato skins tastes like a campfire cocktail, in the best way possible." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "One night The Majestic can blacken a local catfish with aplomb and another night can barely pep it up with an Asian-leaning vinegary sauce." - November 2012

Northern Virginia Magazine: "A Southern-bred chef with a gourmet flair lets a solid plate of fried chicken stand true to its origins (red eye gravy, collards)..." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Gnocchi nestles with a smoky (a la bacon) cream sauce. Giant meatballs sink into the rich polenta below." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Pudding-smooth butternut squash fills house-made ravioli in a light cream sauce." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The house-like restaurant, complete with backyard tables, and a roaming cat, feels like dinner at an inventive and culinarily minded friend’s home." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "La Strada manages to up the bacon-on-everything status quo with a dreamy chocolate fettuccine licked in a creamy sauce, punctuated with pancetta." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Crunchy strips of ear, mixed with additional, softer pig parts, combine in a miniature-sized tortilla for the ideal way to start a night of adventurous dining." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Chunks of cucumbers, more like artful rods, stack on top of each other in a tall glass usually reserved for a Tom Collins." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Order the crab... It’s as big as a potpie with none of the filler. Pure, tender chunks of creamed meat, mounded on the center of the plate." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Pound cake feels fresh after it’s fried, and somehow manages to stay moist; a feat for pound cakes in any situation." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Sea Pearl continues to amaze with its star dish of fish ribs. What is normally delicate fish meat amps up with a lacquer of thick, salty, sweet, smoky and soulful sauce." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "...in-house pastry chef Kate Jansen showing up Resses’ with a peanut butter and chocolate tart sitting in a hard chocolate shell topped with sauces of vanilla and caramel..." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "[Michael] Landrum’s flagship, Ray’s the Steaks, contributes to the menu with strips and filets, but here, offers a bonus discounted three-course option." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "A side of ultra creamy mac and cheese finds its matching top as ground salty pretzels skim the surface for bites that feel silky and snappy all at once." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "A vegetable Thali lets you travel around the menu with one order... saag paneer, spicy chickpeas, sweet and vinegary softened eggplant and a slightly chewy dal makhani." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The fusion of Korean and Cajun feels confusing on some plates, but has much potential for excitement." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Bare bones, house-made fettuccine is submerged in pitch-perfect Alfredo." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Mussels, helpfully de-shelled, and delicately plated, glimmer in a garlicky butter sauce." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Cream elevates a wickedly good gazpacho, balancing the gritty tomato texture and for $4, it works." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Hank’s Oyster Bar manages to maintain a buttery softness with its scallops, folded into a weekday (!) omelet, with equally cared for chunks of shrimp." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "View cocktail and wine options on an elaborate (search by region, vintage or grape) iPad app." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Bits of cooked lobster fill in for ground beef in a play on nachos, as crispy and browned potato chips hold a tower of tomatoes, blue cheese and a snappy basil aioli." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Society Fair is not a restaurant. It’s a bakery and a butcher, a cheese shop with desserts, a sandwich counter, a wine bar, and once a week, live theater." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "...eggs Benedict on the menu midweek... the dish uses Irish-style bacon that’s smoky, salty and thinner (in a good way) than its Canadian counterpart." - Nov. '12 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Whether you need the energy or not, take a straw to Vietnamese iced coffee, a revelation in the richness of caffeine." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Pay the premium for the purest pigs on the planet: jamon de Ibérico... It’s an exquisite piece of meat, eaten with tomato-smushed bread and little else." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The restaurant may be housed in a former mill decades old, but the food here is still relevant, including a beer list ripe with choices both local and national." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Stick with the fun sushi rolls. Inner Harbor honors Md. with tempura shrimp tucked into a strip of seaweed with matchstick cucumbers and avocado, adorned with creamy Old Bay crab." - Nov. '12 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Order the hot pot with mala broth and sort through the long ingredient list for a pick-your-own-(slurping)-adventure." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Order a full entree of the shiro (number nine on Meaza’s menu) and let well-cared for vegetables (number seven) surround the perimeter of the injera round." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Beef liver jerky, bright red and sweet, shifts between pleasantly chewy and tender, and adding one more textural element to a bright, crunchy and fun salad of green papaya." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Tachibana pulls across Japan’s culinary landscape." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "A Chilean sea bass melts at the touch of a fork, flakes sliding off and into a comforter of cheesy, creamy risotto." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "The [crabcakes] rest on a chipotle-spiked slaw, crunchy and snappy and any extra dressing can be used for the basket of sweet potato fries served alongside." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "Beef morphs into the shape of a football, takes to the fryer and rumbles with the sour cream of the Middle East—labneh—for a meaty treat." - November 2012 Issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: "... the balcony makes the place sing. It’s cozy, decorated with greenery and confirms how lovely it is to dine—with a glass of wine—al fresco." - November 2012 Issue