The January Hit List: Bammy’s, Queen’s English, Bombay Club, and More

Perhaps your winter travel plans got cancelled this year, but you still need some respite from it all. If so, Jamaican rum painkillers and jerk chicken at Bammy’s is our suggested consolation prize. Conch fritters and stir-fried chow mein egg noodles with pork belly is the opening play here. If you’re craving heat, look no further than pepper shrimp with Scotch bonnets, scallions, and garlic, or the fried snapper escovitch dressed with pickled scotch bonnets and carrots. Alongside your main dish, the chile-coconut milk-enriched collard greens are a must, plus an order of Bammys (Jamaican cassava flatbread) for soaking up all the sauces. And whether or not you saved room for dessert, you’re ordering a frozen strawberry daiquiri/piña colada swirl.

A reminder: It’s a great time to wear any of the chunky knit sweaters you’ve acquired over the holidays, to eat pasta, and to take in the candle-lit Italian farmhouse vibes at the Red Hen. Consider starting with the roast pork, black truffle, hazelnut, and cherry Pate di Campagna, and the ravishing-as-ever grilled Spanish octopus with salsa verde. Among their pastas, the spinach-laced garganelli verde, served with a duck leg, tomato, prosciutto, and red wine Bolognese is spot-on for the season, and fortunately the squid ink linguini with calamari isn’t going anywhere. Of course, their caramelized scallops served over squash crema and toasted fregola, and the pork chop Milanese with green apple, frisee, and arugula salad are also worth a try.

What could be cozier than having legit Swiss fondue and kirsch schnapps at one of Stable’s “chalets” right now? And when we are not mainlining melted Alpine cheeses here, their massive and crunchy potato rösties are a must, preferably with grilled veal bratwurst and onion gravy. Also consider Alpine specialties like seared venison loin with spaetzle, braised red cabbage, and caramelized chestnut. And be sure to take home extra housemade Berliner donuts with fillings like vanilla cream and praline, or Toblerone mousse.

At Queen’s English, Hong Kong native chef Henji Cheung’s fearless take on Cantonese cuisine has been the talk of town. Co-owner Sarah Thompson’s provocative, low-intervention wine program completes the experience. Dishes like daikon fritters with baby shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and pork floss; Peking-style five-spiced dry-aged squab with persimmon; or the divine foie gras and chicken shumai are no-brainers. But don’t sleep on the dry-aged steak tartare under a honeycomb-like chile garlic cracker with sour plum and saffron egg yolk, or the beef tongue with spicy jellyfish. All the better with perhaps a bottle of Alsatian skin-contact pinot gris, which Thompson describes as “red plum fruit leather, crunchy leaves, and fresh tobacco.”

If you’re going to get in line for a bowl of ramen, as we predictably do in the winter months, make it count — Menya Hosaki is among the top seeds in our bracket. The depth and richness of chef/owner Eric Yoo’s broths, with slabs of luscious roasted and seared pork belly, and fresh housemade noodles that best the finest Japanese imports, have put the competition on notice. If you’re torn between the more purist shoyu, or the more hedonist tonkotsu broth, trust on the Triple Threat — which harmoniously blends clear chicken chintan, dashi, and tonkotsu broths.

Call 301-818-7650 for the waitlist.

Delayed gratification and restraint feels so pre-pandemic these days, so going all-in on southern comfort food at Pennyroyal Station is very much us right now. You might start with fried green tomato with shrimp and rémoulade and duck rillettes on johnnycakes. Follow with braised pork shank, and a side of smoked brisket and marrow mac ‘n’ cheese. And don’t miss out on their “Penny Saver” menu at happy hour (served at both their lovely bar and patio) serving $7 cocktails, $8 radler and Tequila combos, western fries with ramp ranch, crab deviled eggs, and more.

D.C.’s pioneering Indian fine-dining institution received a contemporary revamp over the summer, but rest assured, you’ll still be greeted with enchanting sonatas played on the white grand piano, and classic thali meals served on silver platters have remained. One could easily make a whole meal from the first courses, ranging from the butternut squash samosas and crisp fried kale chaat with date-tamarind chutney and yogurt, to shrimp amritsari with pickled chiles and mango. Among their regional classics, look to the radiant halibut korma in a creamy coconut and green chile sauce. Among favorites over the years, the adraki lamb chops marinated in tamarind, black pepper, and ginger should be on the short list for your main course.

Call 202-659-3727 for reservations.

With its sceney vibe and eclectic food and clientele, think of Maydan as the 2022 answer to dinner at Espace — less industrial chic and more Turkish bazaar chic, with the soundtrack of a Beiruti nightclub, and food that spans North African, Middle Eastern, and Balkan cuisines, all cooked over a colossal wood-burning hearth. Their three-course menu offers a complete range of spreads, accoutrements, kebabs, and a main dish to share family-style for the table. Think zucchini baba ganoush, chicken shish kebab with fenugreek and pomegranate molasses, and a hearth-roasted, Syrian seven-spiced lamb shoulder served with toum and chermoula sauces, plus stacks of pita fresh out of the fire.

Drinking hot spiced chai-der and pours of whisk(e)y in all its forms at Jack Rose’s iconic all-season roof terrace (well-heated under a retractable glass moonroof for inclement weather) remains a very necessary part of winters in D.C. Choose from over 100 bottles of bourbon, rye, Scotch, Irish, and Japanese whiskies available by the ounce on the terrace (or literally thousands more served downstairs in their main dining room and whisky library). Of course, pours are best enjoyed with all the snacks — think chicken skin crisps with green goddess sauce, merguez sliders, pork rillette deviled eggs, jalapeño hushpuppies, and Cajun spice-rubbed wings. And for anyone missing the pre-pandemic days of smoking cigars on the rooftop, their outdoor streetery is here for that.

D.C.’s quintessential Victorian era saloon drips with wrought iron, polished mahogany, gas chandeliers, tufted green velvet banquettes, paintings of Chesapeake game hunting scenes, and vintage taxidermy (like the walrus head reputedly bagged by Teddy Roosevelt). We’re here, as always, for their first-class raw bar (especially for late night happy hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.!), along with bracingly cold martinis shaken tableside. They also sport the strongest tinned fish game in the city, with rare selections including local osetra caviar from Marshallberg, North Carolina, and Güeyu Mar’s grilled razor clams from Asturias, Spain. And you can’t go wrong with longtime classics like their crab and artichoke dip, oysters Rockefeller, and golden fried trout Parmesan with hollandaise sauce.

Call 202-347-4800 for reservations.