Best DC Tasting Rooms

Someone recently asked me what the best tasting rooms in the city are right now. I gotta admit, the Life Concierge is watching his pennies these days so the tasting room scene (a.k.a. the most expensive way to go) is often not an option, but here are the hottest dinings rooms for these multi-course menus.

Tasting rooms are usually 5 to 9 courses, that feature the very best the chef has to offer and often change most frequently. Even if you get a 5 course, there are often quite a few amuse tastings before your actual courses start - in other words its a lot of food. In all cases, wine pairings are available for an additional cost.

1. Komi - Everyone from Tom Sietsema to Todd Kliman, to average people who just like food are raving about Komi these days. Chef Johnny Monis has steadily improved since taking over this small Dupont circle dining room, but is only 29 and this shows in his food (in a good way). His food is playful and relaxed (just like the ambience), but is still worth all of the $125 for the degustation menu.

2. Cityzen - Eric Zeibold made himself at Thomas Keller's landmark French Laundry in California, and now brings that amazing training and skill set to the Mandarin Oriental's Cityzen. The Mandarin caters to the high class and expense accounts, and this restaurant is no exception - the 6 course tasting menu is $110. The cheese tray is famous and the sommelier is a closet-grunge rocker in his off hours, so the wine pairings can be non-traditional (But are supposedly spot-on). Note to the budget concious - there is a MUCH cheaper 3-course bar menu available in the bar area.

3. Restaurant Eve - The flagship restaurant of Cathal and Michel Armstrong's restaurant business (which also includes the PX, Majestic, and their fish and chips joint) has been around Old Town for a few years and has firmly established itself as a go-to for the chef's menu. 5-courses are $105 and 9-courses are $145 - I'm told trying to get through the nine course is a bit like trying to eat the 76-ounce steak at Bob's Roadhouse, so you may want to save your extra pennies. Cathal is a huge proponent of local markets, so you usually get the freshest ingredients. He also tends to like... organ meats. Hey, people wouldn't keep paying this much money if they didn't taste good.

4. Minibar, Cafe Atlantico. This one gets points just for originality, but is also probably the hardest reservation to get in town with just 6 seats. Jose Andres, the Exec Chef, hates the term Gastronomy, but I'm not sure how else to describe this. The bites are very small, but there are a lot of them and each one is probably something you've never had before. Think: tumbleweed of beet, cotton candy foie gras, smoked oyster and apples, etc. The price is now at $120, reservations are accepted 1 month out - call the second they open to get a slot.

Citronelle no longer makes the list. Tom Sietsema is just the latest to call BS on Michel Richard's landmark restaurant in Georgetown. Complaints about the ambience have been around for awhile now, but complaints about the service are reaching new levels. Reportedly after Seitsema knocked them down a full star level from his rating for inexcusable service, Richard lowered the boom in the dining room. For these prices, I'd let some other folks be the guinea pig to see if the changes stick.