10 Restaurants to Try This Summer

High praise continues to pour in for Crane & Turtle, making it critical to get in for a meal before word of the Petworth gem slips out. With fewer seats than a school bus, space is at a premium. Diners are treated to dishes touched by unique techniques like hay-smoked hamachi tataki served with radish sprout, garlic chips, miso-cured egg yolk, and nuta dressing (pictured). Chef Makoto Hamamura does all his smoking in house and goes through 20 pounds of hay per month. Also try the seared scallops served with chorizo tapioca dumplings and Makoto's interpretation of pork cheek ramen.

Better up that date night reservation to a party of three, because Mother Nature is an honored guest at every table at Patowmack Farm. With time a little easier to come by in the summer, a hiccup of a voyage to Lovettsville, Va. to experience Chef Tarver King's playground of produce is definitely doable. There are three main menus: grown, raised, and found. Found is the most intriguing, as it refers to ingredients foraged from the ungroomed areas (like the forest) of the 40-acre farm. Tarver is most excited about cooking with cardoons—they're new to the property and akin to artichokes.

The nautically appointed Georgetown restaurant from Fabio and Maria Trabocchi is the perfect respite from summer heat and heavy food. Decadent seafood fresh from 60 purveyors around the world is at your fingertips at Fiola Mare (literally, you can walk up and use your pointer finger to select your entrée). Enjoy waterfront views as you tackle a bountiful frutti di mare selection with treasures like Catalina Island sea urchin, Blue Bay mussels and mangrove cockles.

Ripple brought home RAMMYs for upscale casual restaurant of the year and for wine program of the year, deeming right now the time to make a reservation to sip something fantastic. Kudos go to Wine Director Danny Fisher, who is also responsible for Ripple being named a Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wine Restaurant. For the remainder of the summer, passersby in Cleveland Park will find Danny pouring his favorite wines from the front window as a part of “Friday Night Flights.” Inside the restaurant, diners can order special $20 flights featuring wine from a particular region. 

Brabo Chef de Cuisine Harper McClure has elevated the Alexandria dining room to a new level, and there's no better time than summer to try his menu. A la carte is available, but Harper's cuisine shines the brightest on his five-course tasting menu ($75). Whimsical plating and artfully combined ingredients stand out in dishes like ricotta gnudi with beech mushrooms, lemon chips, and watercress bubbles. Sweet treats from Pastry Chef Erin Reed round out the dining experience.

DC loves ‘cue and just about anything new. Fat Pete's Barbecue in Cleveland Park satisfies both, and nothing says summer more than smoke and grill marks. The most important ingredient on the menu though is time. Their brisket, for example, cooks for 12-18 hours—that's longer than a season of House of Cards. The Pitmaster, Brendan Woody, formerly of Hill Country BBQ, doesn't discriminate—nearly all styles of BBQ are represented under one roof, a rarity. Another rarity? This BBQ joint is vegetarian friendly.

Bourbon Steak is also benefiting from a new chef. Executive Chef Joe Palma recently returned to DC from Charleston, SC, to helm the kitchen at the Michael Mina Georgetown restaurant. Proof of his Southern stint can be found in the his addictive funnel cake-like hushpuppies. “We go high and low here,” Joe jokes. He's referring to the fact that you can have a foie gras studded meal or a burger and fries. What surprises on Palma's menu are the seafood dishes. Joe attributes his techniques in this department to time spent at Le Bernandin in New York.