Bad Saint: The Bold & The Beautiful
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s a great time to be a foodie in Washington, DC. New and inventive restaurants continue to sprout all over the city, making it increasingly challenging for even the most avid restaurant goers to keep up. The quality and variety of dining options continues to improve, while restaurant after restaurant continue to churn out innovative, unique, and top-notch cuisine.
To clarify, this post is not about my favorite all-time meals in DC…although that would certainly make for an interesting post. No, this post is about my most favorite recent meals in our nation’s capital. The ones that left me satiated and salivating, and sadly the one that left me downright disappointed.
Happy Eating, All!
THE BEST
Bad Saint
This highly coveted and often elusive Filipino restaurant has received countless accolades, including being named Bon Appetit’s second best new restaurant in the country in 2016 and the Washingtonian’s ninth best DC restaurant of 2018. But of course, with great recognition and hype, comes longer lines and greater chance of rejection. Bad Saint’s no reservation policy and limited seating to just 24 spots often results in hopeful diners lining up outside its doors as much as two to three hours before they open. We have been victims of Bad Saint’s spurning multiple times, leaving us frustrated and famished. And I’m not too proud to say that these were dark times. But after countless times (ok, three times, but still) of basically being told, you can’t sit with us, this summer we were finally granted access and accepted to eat with the cool kids. And let me tell you: the blows to self-esteem, questioning of self-worth, and utter starvation were all worth it. So very worth it.
They say nothing worth having comes easy. Clearly these people have eaten at Bad Saint.
Every single dish here is better than the last, bursting with aggressive yet simple flavors that will leave your tastebuds thanking you for your enduring tenacity and perseverance. Bold, innovative, and luxuriously flavored, Bad Saint has justly shone the spotlight on Filipino fare, a gift that many of us Washingtonians didn’t even know we needed, yet now can’t imagine our foodie lives without.
So what should you order at Bad Saint? Um, everything. Duh. But if you need a place to start, our favorites include the sisig (trumpet mushrooms, farm egg), laing (kale, coconut milk, lobster), and piniritong alimasag (soft shell crab cooked in crab fat).
Tip: While I can’t make any promises, if there happens to be, say, a heat wave, or maybe even a tropical storm or blizzard, that could be the ticket to scoring a few seats. We went on a scorching Sunday afternoon when it was well over 100 degrees and our wait time was less than 10 minutes. Boom.
Fancy Radish
My plant-based loving heart and wanna-be vegan stomach have me feeling all the feels for Fancy Radish, easily one of my current favorite restaurants in DC. The culinary geniuses behind Philadelphia’s critically acclaimed Vedge (if you haven’t been to Vedge, you need to go asap) have finally answered my prayers and have brought their high-end vegan concept to the District. 100% vegan and 1,000% delicious, Fancy Radish will make even the staunchest of meat eaters salivating over every plant-based bite.
Maitake magnificence
Potatoes have never tasted so good
I have dined here three times since they opened their doors in March and every single plate (trust me, I have ordered well over half of the menu each time) has been amazing. Like mouth-watering, eyes rolling in the back of your head, uncomfortable groans of delectable goodness kinds of amazingness. Vegan or not, I’d put Fancy Radish up against any top-notch restaurant in DC. In my opinion, Fancy Radish is putting out some of the most creative and interesting cuisine in the city right now. What I love most about this restaurant is that it’s not trying to make vegan versions of meat dishes like sliders and burgers. I hate when restaurants do that. Because let’s be honest, these fake-meat concoctions rarely ever taste like meat (with the exception featured below…wait for it) and almost always fail at inception. Instead of trying to be something that it’s not (and clearly doesn’t want to be), Fancy Radish chooses to celebrate the simplicity of seasonal produce while simultaneously creating complex and inventive dishes.
If you’re not a beet lover, this dish will likely make you reconsider
Although the majority of the menu is seasonal, the rutabaga fondue with soft pretzel roll and spicy dan dan noodles (both fantastic and highly recommended) seem to be mainstays. While we have seriously loved every single item we have ever ordered here, of course we have our favorites. Our absolute favorites include the seared maitake dish, heirloom tomato “blt”, Peruvian potatoes, stuffed avocado, and trumpet mushrroms. Oh, and don’t even get me started on their s’mores dessert –it’s sooo much better than its boring average name suggests. I am so obsessed with this restaurant, and I can’t wait to return.
Pre-food coma with our dear friend Kelby
O’ku
Ever since our trip to Japan, we like to believe that we’re sushi aficionados. But it’s really all in our heads. We’re not the experts we desire to be, we’re really just obsessed with sushi (one of the main reasons that I’m still a wanna-be vegan–vegetarian rolls are just not the same–I don’t care what anyone says). So when we had dinner with friends at O’ku, one of the most exciting newcomers to join the Union Market neighborhood, we knew instantly that this place is special. In fact, it’s one of the best sushi experiences outside of Japan that we’ve ever had. In case you’re wondering, Sushi Yasuda and Sushi Nakazawa in New York, Sushi Taro in DC, and Uchi in Austin are our other favorite outside-of-Japan sushi spots. The sushi, sea bass, and other bites of delectableness at O’ku were all exceptional. While O’ku is not a budget restaurant by any means, it is a memorable and outstanding dining experience that authentically represents the exquisite flavors, art, precision, and attention to detail that is so prevalent in Japanese cuisine. Highly recommend!
Metier
Lauded as the Washingtonian’s number one restaurant of 2018, Metier is a special occasion kind of place and served as a wonderful setting for my most recent birthday. Eric Ziebold’s tasting room is tucked under its equally phenomenal sister restaurant, Kinship, and offers a creative and delicious seven-course tasting menu. To read all about my amazing birthday dinner exactly two years ago at Kinship, click here.
Upon entering Kinship, you are immediately whisked downstairs to the secluded space of Metier. Guests begin their evening in the restaurants’ sitting room parlor and are greeted with a welcome cocktail and accompanying hors d’oeuvres.
Metier pulls out all the stops: immaculate service, an elegant setting, and of course exceptional cuisine. They are eager to accommodate their guests, which with a $200/pp price tag (excludes drinks, but includes service), that is to be expected. I had asked for a change to my already specially-crafted tasting menu and they happily obliged. Something to note: jackets are required for men. T had taken his jacket off because he was warm and about ten minutes later, he was politely and quietly reminded that jackets must be kept on in the dining room. So yeah, an incredible dinner, but also equally pretentious. Not a big deal, per se, just something to keep in mind.
The entire dining experience is outstanding and it is certainly worthy of its one Michelin Star, but we can’t say that we agree with the Washingtonian’s #1 rating. Top ten, sure. Possibly even top five. But number one? We just don’t see it. So should you go to Metier? Absolutely. Just remember to be realistic with your expectations. And gentlemen, remember to keep your jackets on.
A playful and sweet twist on the old-time favorite, root beer float
Farewell
Pierogi bliss–bringing me back to childhood and Pennsylvania roots
So full transparency here, Farewell is a diner. A hipster vegan diner…that also happens to be all kinds of amazing. The staff is witty, sarcastic, and downright hysterical and the food is really really good. Oh, and added bonus, they have taken considerable measures to significantly reduce their carbon footprint. Not only by restricting their menu to plant-based fare, but also by prohibiting glass and plastic bottles–all wine and beer are only available on tap.
Now this is the one place to order that fake burger–their Impossible Burger makes the nearly impossible possible. This vegan burger actually tastes like the real thing. I’m not kidding. This is definitely one of the best plant-based burgers I’ve ever had. Trust me. It’s ridiculously good.
Buffalo cauliflower dip
Chocolate chip pancakes for dessert? Yes, please.
If you’re thinking that all vegan food is healthy diet food, think again. This diner serves up all the comfort and calorie-laden food that is reminiscent of most diners–it just doesn’t murder animals in the process. I know. I excel at subtleness.
The only thing I regret about Farewell is not going sooner! Can’t wait to return again and again again.
AND THE DISAPPOINTING
Maydan
Ok, full disclaimer, Maydan is good. In fact, by all accounts, I’d say it’s even better than good. But when a restaurant is hailed by Bon Appetit as America’s #2 Best New Restaurant of the year and #17 in the DC by the Washingtonian, then I expect it to be nothing less than amazing. Like Bad Saint amazing. And it wasn’t. Not even close. And like so many other DC hot spots these days, it’s pretty hard to get a reservation here. After a few failed attempts to score an online reservation, a friend of mine and I arrived about fifteen minutes before they opened their doors on a Tuesday night and managed to squeeze in by snagging two seats at the bar.
The restaurant by the way is stunning. The blazing fire hearth sits at the core of their warm and intimate dining room and celebrates the restaurant’s famed method of cooking. While I wasn’t wowed by the food by any means, I did love the decor and vibe.
The fresh baked bread, spreads and salads have all received high praise, but I’m not really sure why. Yes, everything is good; we didn’t have one bad thing here. But nothing we had was great or even remotely memorable. Honestly, I’d take the spreads and dips at good ol’ Cava over the ones at Maydan. While you will undoubtedly eat a good meal here, I would recommend lowering your expectations and ignore all of the unwarranted hype. I guarantee you’ll be better off if you do!
So what’s next on my DC restaurant pursuit? Every new restaurant I haven’t been to, of course! At the rate that new restaurants have been opening in this town, this should keep me busy for, oh I don’t know, pretty much forever. I promise you will never hear me complaining!
One of the nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. —– Luciano Pavarotti
Recent Reads: Hong Kong, Venice, Kauai
Related Reads: DC Dining Winter 2018, DC Dining Winter 2017, DC Dining Summer 2016