BEST NEW RESTAURANT
Pineapple and Pearls, Washington, D. C. No surprise here— the swooning around this luxe establishment on Barracks Row has been non-stop since opening last year. Chef Aaron Silverman offers a thirteen-course array of small plates, wine and luxury cocktails with two seatings nightly, for one all-inclusive price. With legendary attention to detail, elegance, hospitality and playfulness, each meal is a sumptuous performance.
BEST CHEF, MID-ATLANTIC
AMY BRANDWEIN Centrolina, Washington, D. C. Combine the appeal of a classic-yet-contemporary Italian restaurant with the lure of an adjacent specialty market and you’ ve got Centrolina, a hybrid serving comfort cuisine with Euro flair. Chef / owner Brandwein, a veteran of the Washington dining scene, presides over the open kitchen and its wood-fired oven, rendering simple and succulent takes on fresh seafood, meats and poultry. Her forte, however, is the handmade pasta, which takes a starring role in a variety of forms.
TOM CUNANAN Bad Saint, Washington, D. C. A no-reservations policy hasn’ t diminished the appeal of this acclaimed Columbia Heights eatery, renowned for its nouveau Filipino fare. Cunanan’ s creations are catnip for adventurous diners, and the room’ s twenty seats are never empty. Patrons happily queue for hours for the chance to experience his exhilarating flavor combinations: inventive seafood, pork and noodle dishes wafting clouds of garlic and spices. An excited buzz, aided and abetted by creative cocktails, permeates the space, and the wait staff provides exceptional attention.
CINDY WOLF Charleston, Baltimore Wolf is now a six-time finalist for JBF’ s Best Chef award, which alone merits the trip north to Baltimore’ s Harbor East. Her topranked Charleston is a refined place of pilgrimage, melding the flavors of South Carolina’ s Low Country with a French sensibility. The menu changes daily, with options for one to seven courses starring favorites like oysters, shrimp, duck, lamb and beef. Another outstanding chef who’ s surmounted traditional gender barriers, Wolf has given Charm City a first-class dining destination.
OUTSTANDING BAKER
MARK FURSTENBERG Bread Furst, Washington, D. C. Furstenberg, long celebrated as a champion of traditional European breads, delivers the real deal in his Connecticut Avenue bakery and cafe. Dark-crusted artisanal loaves and baguettes shine alongside American-style pastries and savory specialty items to take away. The fragrant VanNess spot, which the 78-year-old Furstenberg says is“ both my latest food venture and my last,” has become a neighborhood hub, confirming his reputation as a standard-bearer for the staff of life.
Spaghetti Alla Chitarra from Centrolina
OUTSTANDING WINE, SPIRITS, OR BEER PROFESSIONAL
SAM CALAGIONE Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE Calagione has made the Delaware shore a hub of the region’ s craft beer movement. His family-operated business is a destination for casual tasters and true believers alike, encompassing not just a brewery but also a distillery, restaurants and a nearby inn. Skillfully blended IPAs like 60 and 90 Minute and Flesh and Blood are the Dogfish Head calling card, but dozens of occasional and seasonal specialties beckon. Headliners like the Festina Peche, a neo- Berliner Weisse, and the best-selling World Wide Stout illustrate the range of sophisticated quaffs.
DIANE FLYNT Foggy Ridge Cider, Dugspur, VA Acres of orchards in the Blue Ridge Mountains provide the ingredients for apple alchemist Diane Flynt’ s Foggy Ridge Cider. Flynt, founder of the South’ s first cidery and a first-time JBF finalist, combines heirloom American varieties with traditional English and French cider apples, producing four sparkling ciders and two dessert apple ports. Aged for 18 months with no added flavoring, the authentic beverages have been hailed as refreshing, complex and rich, and their historic pedigree— cider was a favorite drink of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington— adds to their appeal.
SUMMER 2017 53 FLYWASHINGTON. COM