The May Hit List: St. Vincent, Annabelle, Las Gemelas, and More

Spending sunny afternoons into sunset at Parkview’s St. Vincent winegarden is what we’ve been waiting for all through the winter. Fred Uku (by way of the Red Hen) runs the wine program, that spans a range of Los Bermejos’ entrancing Canary Islands rosé, to the savory frappato of Sicily’s COS, and magnums of “Splash,” Château Barouillet’s pét-nat from east of Bordeaux. Beyond their cheese & charcuterie selections, Chef Sam Molavi (previously at Compass Rose), has  the kitchen firing a delectable series of new dishes: Think duck confit croquettes, king crab bucatini, and amchur-spiced fried chicken.

Fortunately, between their expansive backyard, filled with gravel, planted with elm and cherry trees, and festooned with string lights (all an homage to Bacchanal in New Orleans, of course), and the antique brick, wood and damask coverings inside, with vintage Tiffany lamps setting the mood, there isn’t bad seat in the house. Inside or out.

Dining status: Rear garden, indoor, and balcony dining are open for reservations. And all wines are available to go at 25% off list price.

Wood-grilled kebabs, vibrantly spiced vegetable dishes, and even bottomless brunch, have us craving chef Ryan Moore’s modern Isreali cuisine. Among their small plates, the roasted halloumi with charred lemon, dates and honey; the charred eggplant with herbed labneh, pomegranate and pistachio; as well as their kushari are essential.

Kebabs are served with aromatic Hawaiji spiced rice, and roasted chilies. And consider an order of grilled romaine lettuce with za’atar spiced tomatoes, olives and sumac pickled onions as ideal companions to the skewers. Enjoy housemade Jerusalem bagel sandwiches at brunch (think smoked trout & muhammara), as well as their signature riffs on eggs Benedict, like schmaltz braised lamb with harissa poached egg and Hollandaise over a potato latke.

Dining status: Indoor dining is open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

After its glamorous midcentury modern renovation of the former Restaurant Nora space, restaurateur Ashok Bajoj recruited heralded chef Frank Ruta, the White House chef during the Carter, Reagan and H.W. administrations — and now a new generation of Washingtonians gets to experience finesse and refinement of Ruta’s modern American cuisine.

Recent highlights include the crudo of Ōra King salmon, served with charred scallion shoyu broth, crispy seaweed and radish, and a second course of “Bacon and Eggs” — a decadent goose egg ravioli with house-cured, smoked and braised pork belly. Their wine list features plenty of trophy bottles for celebratory occasions, as well as such highly coveted selections as Domaine de Trevallon from Provence and Ceritas chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

The Copycat Co. team has come to Northwest to set up this outpost for Sichuan food and classic cocktails. The intimate space recalls the splendor of old New York hotel bars, and service here eschews the tropes and pomp of mixology, in favor of focusing on the guest’s tastes and letting good craft speak for itself. Aged Rum daiquiris and painkillers are our go-tos, although their old fashioneds —  served over immaculate, hand-cut ice cubes — and bracingly chilled martinis further complicate decisions.

On their food menu you’ll find classic Chinese American crowd pleasers, like fried shrimp with candied walnut sauce, and sweet and sour ribs, as well as proper dan dan noodles — made with ground pork, pickled mustard greens, and sa xi bei gun noodles, all fried in pork fat — and the water boiled beef, a hot and numbing soup with beef tri-tip poached in hot chile oil, with collard greens.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

Trust Sacrificial Lamb for soulful Indian and Pakistani cuisine, served daily from midday to late night. Their heavenly naans (especially the paneer and kashmiri naan with cashews and dried fruit), with a spread of vegetable pakoras and daal makhani alone, would make an exceptional meal. But we insist on trying it all, with a healthy appreciation for abundance (and leftovers). Among their curries, the velvety lamb rogan josh, and lamb bhoona punjabi — its spicy gravy seasoned with garam masala and dried fenugreek — are superlative choices. And for a hungry family meal, you won’t regret ordering their tremendous Sacrificial Lamb special biryani, made with goat, lamb and chicken with fragrant whole spices.

Dining status: Open for carryout and delivery. Call 202-797-2736, and find more info here.

There’s growing consensus that for bona fide New York style pizza in D.C., its Andy’s or bust. So when news came that this Shaw beer garden, which serves Andy’s pizzas from their kitchen next door, had reopened, we had to pinch ourselves. After perhaps a year of lockdowns, it’s hard to beat the satisfaction of whole pizzas fresh out of the oven (mushroom and onion or the diavolo are strong moves) with Old Bay fries, frosty kölsch beers and cannolis, enjoyed with friends on Echo Park’s back patio.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations.

With its distinctive vibes — sort of Rive Gauche,  sort of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette dining room — pluslush patio accommodations, eclectic French bistro fare, and natural wines to match, Primrose is a sure bet for date night or brunch.

For brunch, we’re keen on chef Antonia Vierra’s crispy chicken and potato hash with tomatillo salsa, poached eggs and Hollandaise, as well as the Chesapeake crab omelette, with sides of thick house-cured bacon. Throw in a liter bottle of Loire Valley gamay rosé. For dinner, their duck liver mousse with cherry compote is always necessary, and Vierra’s branzino with romesco, eggplant puree, shaved fennel, and vegetable tart, has us craving the chilled Napa valdigué from Cruse Wine Co. Although it never hurts to ask sommelier and owner Sebastian Zutant what’s hiding off menu.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

For Lao food with unapologetic heat and pungency, head to Columbia Heights, and the OGs of the Lao food renaissance in the District: mother and son team Seng Luangrath and Boby Pradachith. Start with salads, either the green papaya or crispy pig ear’s, both of which reach next-level complexity in part from their Lao-style house fermented padaek (fish sauce). Then order  the ping kaw muu,  grilled pork neck seasoned with lemongrass, ginger and padaek; moak, salmon filet steamed in banana leaves, with herbs, coconut paste, wood-ear mushrooms and dill. Of course, don’t sleep on their cocktail program, directed by Al Thompson, formerly of Barmini: Consider the Mr. Vorachith Goes to Paris, made with pineapple rum, mint, dill, pineau des Charentes, and Benedectine, for something that’s brilliant on its own, yet also dialed into the complex flavors of Lao cuisine.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations; call 202-387-5426. Carryout and delivery is also available.

Kelly Philips and the team behind Shaw’s Espita mezcaleria, along with new partners Yesenia Neri Diaz and Rogelio Martinez, have brought  Las Gemelas taqueria as one of the latest additions to La Cosecha marketplace. Neri Diaz, who has been making tortillas by hand since she was 7, is in charge of their masa and tortilla production, made from heirloom Oaxacan blue corn, and nixtamalized in house. Martinez, a former butcher from Mexico City, handles the meats, like spit-roasted pork al pastor, and has developed ingenious methods for hacking ancestral cooking methods to suit a modern kitchen — as with their smoked and braised lamb barbacoa. Their lengua y chatetes, with beef tongue and cheek plus fresh onion and salsa verde, is becoming our desert-island taco. Then there are the $10 draft mezcal margaritas, and we’re not mad about that one bit.

Dining status: Patio and indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

The past year’s dining bans forced the Columbia Room into a swift pivot towards a ghost kitchen deli with takeout cocktails. But who could have foreseen that partner and beverage manager Paul Taylor would emerge as one of the preeminent sandwich artists of our time? Fried chicken cutlet sandwiches are among their strong suits, like the Chicky Pep (a pepperoni & chicken Parm). But don’t sleep on Tayloyr’s Return of the Mack, essentially a house-made McChicken patty, with all accoutrements of a Big Mac, served on a Martin’s sesame seed bun. The TBAR, one of Taylor’s seasonal additions dazzles in the same way: pickled, brined roast turkey, bacon, and avocado, seasoned with everything bagel seasoning, and dressed with pickled ramp ranch dressing.

Dining status: Open for carryout and delivery. Call 202-316-9396 for more info.