For months, the Washington City Paper asked us all to cast ballots for our favorites in Washington, DC. On April 9th, everyone in the city seemed to be in attendance when the winners were announced as part of the Best of DC celebration at the Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square. 

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For one night, the event gave attendees the chance to try dishes and beverages from 50 of the areas best restaurants. Cocktails from the Gibson, sandwiches from Taylor Gourmet, and oysters from Hank’s Oyster Bar were all on the menu for the night and there was no reason to limit yourself to just one. As always, the event introduced us to a couple restaurants we’ll be adding to a list of places we need to visit in the coming months.

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Crafty cocktails can be found around every corner, but when it comes to the best of DC it’s hard to beat the Gibson. Just like last year, we felt their new offerings beat out the others.

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After grabbing a beverage we began walking around the packed rooms in search of some of our favorite restaurants. One of the most memorable food items of the night was the first one we tried. Taylor Gourmet won major points with their sliders, something we hope to find again soon.

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In the same room we were happy to see some of our favorite restaurants,  Zengo, El Centro, DF, and Masa 14, one after the other. This rooms best cocktail was courtesy of Vinoteca which added a refreshing taste to pair with the previous dishes.

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Moving downstairs we found one of our new favorite dishes in all of Washington, DC – the Ancient Grain Salad from Republic. Though small and possibly missed by many, you should do your best to seek out this dish in the coming months, weeks, or even days. Also downstairs was an Indian Curry Chicken over rice from Policy and one of the best overall presentations of the night from Pearl Dive Oyster Palace.

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Finally making our way upstairs the theme seemed to be barbeque. Smoke and Barrel and Meridian Pint both excelled with their different iterations of pulled pork. Both were great pairings for the cocktails being offered at Chaplin.

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As it became increasingly difficult to move around we went outside into the tent where several other restaurants and breweries were positioned. The big winners outside was the Porter from 3 Stars and a unique beer from Blue Jacket that was aged in Cabernet Franc wine barrels. To finish off the evening we grabbed a savory Apple Fritter and Funfetti doughnut from GBD.

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If you haven’t attended the Washington City Paper’s Best of DC celebration in the past stay tuned for next year’s event –  this is one that we won’t miss.

Cheers!