Rooster and Owl in Washington DC is Yuan and Carey Tang's 14th Street Michelin-mentioned modern American dining room, a four-course prix fixe with a strong vegetable-forward focus.
Signature dishes: Pork rind chicharrones, Crispy chicken bites
Must order: The pork rind chicharrones with chili lime; the most photographed dish on the menu.
Tip: The four-course prix fixe is $79 at dinner; the wine pairing leans natural and is the value upgrade.
Address: 2436 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, Washington DC
Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC is the 1958 U Street counter from Ben and Virginia Ali, the city's defining half-smoke, served at 1213 U Street NW under the famous mural for sixty years.
Signature: Chili half-smoke, Chili cheese fries
Order: The chili half-smoke with mustard, onions and chili; the dish that built the room.
Tip: Cash and card both accepted; line moves fastest at the take-away counter on the right.
Founding Farmers DC in Washington DC is the Pennsylvania Avenue farmer-owned cooperative dining room near the IMF and World Bank, an all-day American kitchen with a strict farm-source list.
Signature: Fried chicken and waffles, Pot roast meatloaf
Order: The fried chicken and waffles with apple butter; the menu's most-ordered single plate.
Tip: Reservations book out for brunch a week ahead; weekday breakfast and the bar take walk-ins.
Ben's Next Door in Washington DC is the sit-down sister of Ben's Chili Bowl at 1211 U Street, a soul-American kitchen with a cocktail list and the half-smoke from the original menu.
Signature: Buttermilk fried chicken, Half-smoke platter
Order: The buttermilk fried chicken with mac and collards; the room's most-ordered single dish.
Tip: The bar runs late on weekends and is the better seat for a single diner; brunch fills up by 11:30.
Matchbox in Washington DC is the original Penn Quarter pizza-and-burger room on H Street since 2003, a wood-fired oven kitchen on Chinatown's western edge with a deep cocktail list.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Mini burger trio
Order: The mini burger trio with thin onion rings; the room's most-ordered appetiser.
Tip: The upstairs dining room is quieter than the busy ground-floor bar; ask for it at booking.
Pizzeria Paradiso in Washington DC is Ruth Gresser's Dupont Circle wood-fired pizza room on P Street since 1991, a thin-crust Italian pizzeria with a Birreria beer cellar downstairs.
Signature: Margherita pizza, Atomica with salami and pepper
Order: The Atomica with hot salami, black olives and red pepper flakes; the menu since 1991.
Tip: The Birreria downstairs runs over 150 beers; ask for the Italian craft tasting flight at the bar.
Etete in Washington DC is the canonical Little Ethiopia dining room on 9th Street since 2004, with doro wat, vegetarian combos and the spongy injera served on a shared round platter.
Signature: Doro wat, Vegetarian combination
Order: The doro wat with hard-boiled egg, eaten by hand from the shared injera platter.
Tip: Ask for the vegetarian combination if there are non-meat eaters; it is the more visually photographed plate.
