Throwing Open the Dining Awards’ Floodgates

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

(Image: Zazzle)

Fellow food scribe Tim Carman wonders whether anyone will be genuinely surprised by the Washington City Paper’s forthcoming “Best of D.C.” picks, particularly as they pertain to the coveted Best Restaurant tag:

Carman suggests that he’s much more jazzed about the Best New Restaurant battle, laundry listing the 25 contenders–roughly 1/3 are from Virginia, including still green properties like Eventide and BRABO–and urging readers to weigh in on the recent hospitality boom.

Having recently sewn up our Best New Restaurants coverage (appearing in our May issue), I was intrigued to see whom Carman et al. are eyeing from across the Potomac. Conversely, his post also reminded me that I desperately need to increase the frequency of my exploratory trips into Hot Chocolate City, lest I lose further touch with the District dining heavies.

Of course, we’ll all be hearing LOADS about the “BEST NEW” this-and-that for weeks to come, as awards season is now in full swing.

Yesterday, the James Beard Foundation nominees were handed down (gala slated for May 4 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall).

Tonight, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington will make known the candidates for the 2009 RAMMY Awards (gala slated for June 7 at the Omni Shoreham).

Thursday, the City Paper releases its readers takes’ on local toques.

And our round up of the most interesting newcomers to the restaurant landscape should be revealed the week of April 23 (you can reflect on our 2007 list here).

So, all you armchair food critics and amateur dining sleuths might want to skip on over to your favorite “undiscovered gem” one last time.

Because it’s unlikely to remain that way for much longer–especially if us awards-flinging media types have our way.

–Warren Rojas

Tags: Best New Restaurants, Best of DC, BRABO, Eventide, gala, Gut Check, James Beard Foundation Awards, Northern Virginia Magazine, RAMMY Awards, readers polls, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, Tim Carman, Warren Rojas, Washington City Paper