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Penang
You can eat like a king at this authentic Malaysian restaurant when cheap meal deals are offered, - Monday to Friday. For around US$8 you get a soup, salad, appetizer, drink and noodle dish. Otherwise portions are large, delicious and almost all can be made vegetarian. Try the Kari Mee noodle soup (around US$7 ). Don't let the outside discourage you: inside the place is intimate Asian chic.
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Perry's
You can do sushi here but the creative fusion fare really deserves your tongue's attention. The only problem is deciding whether to dine in the funky lounge or under the stars. For the very adventurous, the Sunday drag-queen brunch is a hoot. This place can be hard to spot because there's no real sign - the doorway canopy uses rebus symbols (like a pear) to spell out the name.
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Pesce
The colorful fish decor gives away the menu at this consistently delicious award-winning Dupont restaurant. It features bluefish, salmon and grouper - all perfectly fresh and simply prepared. The dishes at this crowded café have a Mediterranean twist: seafood pastas, Provençal fish soup, grilled sardines and scallop ceviche are among the specialties.
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Petits Plats
This petite French bistro fits a warm, welcoming atmosphere into its little rooms. The traditional menu gets high marks for delicious appetizers, salads, seafood and desserts. But this place is so charming you might not care what you eat, so long as the waiter continues to pour your wine. The artichoke soup with scallops is a winner, as is the seafood-packed bouillabaisse with its smooth, garlicky punch.
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Pho 75
For a no frills dining experiment offering only pho (a beef noodle soup), this place is amazingly successful. Hordes of tourists, locals and Vietnamese pack communal tables each slurping their own unique variation of the soup - some add brisket or tripe, meatballs or flank steaks; others douse it with lime, hot sauce and Asian basil. Whichever you choose, odds are it will be delicious.
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Pizza Mart
Any place that sells 'jumbo' slices (and we mean jumbo) until the wee hours in bar-hopping central is bound to be a hit. Blieve it or not, this pizza's pretty good, at least after a few drinks.
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Pizzeria Paradiso
This casual restaurant serves wood-oven Neapolitan-style pizzas with scrumptious toppings to crowds of starving patrons with rave results. The pizza crust is perfect - light, crisp and a little flaky. Great people-watching from the big plate glass windows, popular happy hours and a hand picked beer and ale selection heighten the appeal. Still thirsty? Check out the cool basement beer bar. There's a second location in Dupont Circle.
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Poste
Former mail-sorting room for the City Post Office, many of this brasserie's restored architectural features had a practical purpose back in the day, such as skylights and a picture window providing light to sort by and a portal entry (now leading to patio seating) large enough for a horse-drawn carriage. It's now a fantastic place for a drink (try a 'Skyy Love Letter') or a delightful, French-influenced meal.
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Prime Rib
It seems like this place has always been synonymous with DC's movers-and-shakers, a notion that becomes more apparent once you step into its time-warp inducing interior. Tuxedoed waiters serve suit-bedecked patrons (mandatory attire) prime aged steak and some of the city's top crab cakes. Few things at this institution ever change and you'll be treated like a VIP as long as you dress the part.
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Raku
We love the chicken curry udon noodles here. Our obsession with Raku's noodles may be unique, but everyone else seems to be obsessed with the restaurant itself these days. Where else can you get such a delicious assortment of fresh Asian fusion dishes at reasonable prices? Other menu musts include 'Pan-Asian tapas' and a selection of sushi, salads, fish and meat. How about a green tea martini? There's a second branch in Bethesda.
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Red Hot & Blue
The logo featuring pigs in sunglasses jamming on guitars says it all: Memphis-style barbecue. And this Memphis-born author says the place is almost worthy of the title. The traditional spicy dry ribs are undeniably the best, but you can also get them smothered in sauce. In any case, they are smoked over hickory wood for hours and hours, and served with beans, coleslaw or other classic Southern side dishes.
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Rio Grande Café
One of the city's top spots for Tex-Mex. Start with a bowl of melted queso (cheese); ask for some fresh flour tortillas on the side. The fajitas are some of the best in the business and what to order (skip the only so-so tacos and enchiladas).
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Rocklands Barbecue
Order up some spicy ribs and choose your side dish from among Southern classics like potato salad and collard greens. While you wait for your order, check out the huge selection of hot sauces ('From the Depths of Hell'). Then take a seat at the wooden counter in the window and watch the passers-by drool.
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Rosa Mexicano
With house specialties like made-at-your-table guacamole and pomegranate margaritas, it's no wonder this visual masterpiece across from the MCI Center is usually packed. The shockingly pink dining room and wall-size blue-tiled waterfall see everyone from tourists coming from the Spy Museum to locals grabbing an enchilada and early drink. Aside from the guacamole, the food can be hit-or-miss - ask your server for recommendations.
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Rumba Café
Get a sidewalk seat and watch life pass you by while sipping one of the mintiest mojitos in the city and munching on mouth-watering morsels. This tiny, eclectic restaurant's menu is mainly Brazilian, though it also includes classics from across the continent. We love the empanadas and anything steak-based is likely delicious. After dinner the place hosts live Latin bands. In colder months, with everyone packed inside, it can feel claustrophobic.
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Sequoia
Overlooking the Potomac and offering mouthwatering seafood, this classic Georgetown restaurant caters to all the senses. Try the more casual outdoor patio, where the menu's a bit cheaper and the sunsets spectacular; indoors it's all white linen, china and suits. Inside or out, the food is creative and elegant, the service excellent. At night, it's a popular drinking spot with the city's preppy pretty people.
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Sesto Senso
Early in the evening, this restaurant is ideal for a business lunch or romantic dinner. The Northern Italian menu is authentic and affordable, featuring delicious, lightly fried calamari, fresh vegetarian pastas and thin, crispy pizzas. After hours, the Euros show up in all their finery to dance the night away.
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Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar
Packing in the suity hill types, this fancy wine bar must be doing something right. Oh yeah, it made Washingtonian magazine's 100 Best Bargains barely a year after opening. Two floors provide lots of space for good tables. The menu features small plates (although a few, like the sumptuous Linguine alla Vongole , are big enough to be mains) and fresh cheeses as well as a very reasonably priced tasting menu. Loosen your tie and dig in.
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Sushi-Ko
DC's first sushi bar, this minimalist place is still beloved for impeccably fresh fish. The kitchen serves the basics (tuna belly, California roll) and the exotic (raw-trout napoleons). It's as popular with tourists as it is with university students, Gucci-clad glam girls and fashion conscious diplomats.
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Tabard Inn
This delightful oasis includes a warm, dark bar inside and a sun-dappled, walled garden outdoors. Eclectic mains include fish stew, pastas and chops for dinner, which you might enjoy on a rainy night next to the roaring fire in the lounge. Or come for beignets with vanilla whipped cream or chocolate-almond pancakes for brunch in the garden. Life is sweet.
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Tastee Diner
Maryland's favorite greasy spoon, this is the place to get eggs at after a night of drinking. It's an old-school diner )open since 1935) in a ramshackle tin and brick building, complete with long bar and Formica tables touting personal jukeboxes. Local high-school kids pack in on weekend nights for coffee and plates of grilled cheese with fries. See if you can guess which waitress has served here for over two decades.
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Teaism
This teahouse is unique in the area for its very affordable lunch options - hot noodle dishes and fresh bento-boxes - and its pleasantly relaxing atmosphere. The entrance is on H St between 17th and Connecticut - near Lafayette Square and the Farragut West Metro Stop. There is also a branch Downtown, as well as one located near Dupont Circle.
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Tel Aviv Café
This 'sceny' restaurant is a perennial favorite with Maryland's hip Israeli and Jewish crowd (although the place is equally attractive to cool cats of all religions). There are many falafel dishes on the menu, which also offers popular Israeli and Mediterranean cuisine. Grab the sidewalk seating on a summer night; with the exotic clientele smoking cigarettes and talking on their microscopic cell phones, you might as well be in Tel Aviv.
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Tenpenh
Jewel-toned walls and shimmering lights, an abstract painting of an Asian warrior, a 17th-century black Buddha statue: such stylistic touches set the tone for ultra-hip Asian fusion cuisine. Jeff Tunks, of DC Coast fame, adds ingredients and spices from China, Thailand and Vietnam to his well-honed traditional techniques, resulting in eclectic, exceptional culinary experiences for his guests.
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Thaiphoon
The quality of the food does not always match the sleek decor, which features a wall of windows, a colorful interior and a funky bar. But Thaiphoon's seafood and veggie dishes are good enough to draw crowds, giving the place a buzz to match the tingle of Thai spices.
