The Best New Restaurants In Washington DC - Washington DC - The Infatuation
"Originally opened in 1906 a stone’s throw from the White House, generations of presidents, senators, and journalists have flocked to The Occidental to make history, or drink their way out of it. Now, after a century of grandeur interspersed with bouts of irrelevance, Stephen Starr has stepped in and dusted off the red velvet. The midcentury menu revives dishes that haven’t been on-trend since the Eisenhower administration, and does them so spectacularly you’ll wonder how exactly they went out of style in the first place. You’ll find the requisite raw bar with oysters and cold king crab legs, but also a nod to Soviet dining in the herring under a fur coat. There’s caviar and crab cakes, of course, but also pigs in a blanket, made from Hebrew National hot dogs wrapped in the Occidental’s soon-to-be-legendary biscuits. The Occidental is a loving homage—and an assertive return—to power dining with a wink and a flourish, where you can eat like a Kennedy and drink like a Cold War diplomat." - omnia saed, madeline weinfield, jonathan smith, mekita rivas, allison robicelli, omnia saed, kym backer
