What to get: Gougères, light-as-air cheese puffs; salmon tartare; rich chestnut soup; 72-hour braised short ribs; fried chicken with mustard sauce; roast salmon with lentils and shallot dressing.
This Mexican playground from creator Jose Andres is a trailblazer. Thanks to recent expansion next door, it's also more comfortable than ever.
The letters stand for Golden Brown Delicious, three words that apply to two hot dishes here: fried chicken and doughnuts.
Pepperoni + Jalapenos = The Hottie. Wash it down with some Allagash White. Read more.
Here they ask for orders in stages to ensure complete customization. Choose a beef, chicken or fish burger and add toppings like mango-black bean salsa, fried egg, and grilled pineapple. Not at once. Read more.
Here it's more about seasonings than toppings. Burgers are cooked "pink or no pink" and standouts include No Burger, No Cry (habanero); Curried Away (curry, of course); Pardon My French (truffle oil). Read more.
You might have to wait in a long line, but this sufficiently juicy patty tucked into the lightly crisped bun is (fairly) fast food that pays a compliment to the genre. For dessert, pick the Monu-Mint. Read more.
Pulled pork is by far their biggest hit, but don't overlook the burgers. The Costanza combines ground beef with smoked pastrami, while the Vandelay enhances fresh ground Angus with smoked Angus. Read more.
The strong suit at Ray's is the hand-trimmed beef blend and the way it's cooked. Sides of watermelon and corn on the cob are built into even the basic $6.95 hamburger. Read more.
Burgers with "mojo sauce" and sweet potato fries are worth the wait. Also try the Greek, a lamb burger with tzatziki sauce and feta. Read more.
The thick, charred steaks, platters mounded with great fried food, and creamy milkshakes are powerful enticements in a time of tightening wallets.
The ultimate indulgence is Table 21 in the kitchen, where Voltaggio crafts a 21-course meal as up to eight diners watch.
After a long day, we sometimes pine for the downstairs bar. The barmen exude old-school charm & can whip up any drink in the book. The oysters are well sourced and cleanly shucked.
Midday is especially busy, with lawyers and lobbyists sinking into the pale-suede banquettes, but at night the action shifts to the raw bar, where oysters, shrimp, & lobsters glisten in mounds of ice.
In summer, don’t miss the barbecue crabs served on the patio, accompanied by live jazz.
New additions to the Wheaton menu are tamales and chicken empanadas, but they’re both forgettable.
A trip here is incomplete without a sampling of pupusas—crispy corn cakes oozing fillings such as bean-and-cheese or cheese-and-zucchini and served with a crunchy cabbage slaw.
The best of the tacos, the al pastor, features glistening, spice-rubbed pork sliced from a spit and piled into a nubby, two-ply corn tortilla.
The best dishes, such as the ground-beef-and-potato-hash picadillo, the warm, crunchy ham croquetas, and the chicken soup with rough-cut veggies and hunks of meat, have a soulful simplicity.
Kids can order spaghetti and meatballs while adults supplement the wood-fired pizzas with interesting salads such as one with arugula, pears, and Gorgonzola.
Here you can get the sandwiches with cool lemony mayo or warm butter (not as good as the cold ones). Lobsters also show up in a tasty bisque-like stew and folded into mashed potatoes.
