50 Best Restaurants 2011

Northern Virginia Magazine: Executive chef Bertrand Chemel branches out from their signature prix-fixe format, weaving tapas-sized snacks into a carte already abounding with international flare. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: King’s riff on deli standards ingenuously weaves together house-cured pork jowl pastrami, caper-studded Thousand Island dressing and pickled Kohlrabi. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A mound of creamy, chilled goat cheese drizzled with charming basil oil, sea salt-studded melons and vinaigrette-drenched micro greens sum up summer deliciously. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A ginormous housemade pretzel—each salt-studded section thicker than a garden hose—is the kind you only dream of getting at the ball park. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Smoked chicken gets top billing in a savory cannellini. But it’s the triple cheesing—goat cheese, browned mozzarella above and ground Parmesa—that made us swoon. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Squid ink-soaked rapini give seared scallops a run for their money. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Great American’s servers are trained to kill their patrons with kindness— standing orders that help turn out happy customers from open to close. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Housemade biryani tosses juicy goat meat into a fiery rice blend padded with carrots, ginger, garlic and aromatics. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: The drunken lobster is delicious—the sweet meat accompanied by Thai basil-topped noodles, bean sprouts and underlying hot peppers. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Pan-roasted duck escorted by pungent turnip greens and sweet corn veloute was well balanced if not particularly ballsy. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: The main dining room is often packed with jovial groups and nuclear families dutifully working their collective way through shellfish-laden, saffron-laced paella pans. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Mushroom sausage, prepared from pureed portabellos, hen of the woods and shiitakes, pals around with fabulously crunchy, ginger-spiked couscous. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: The Barcelona roll marries zesty chorizo, extra chunky black olive salad and molten mozzarella in oven-baked bliss. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Daily specials run the gamut from baked brie with black olive-roasted red pepper spread to sweet-and-sour shrimp married to tamarind pork belly. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Lasagna sports layers of wild mushrooms, sweet peppers, carrots, zucchini and herb-laced mozzarella, all surrounded by San Marzano tomato sauce. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A locally inspired burger incorporated roasted shallots, sharp cheddar and salty Virginia ham into a feast of juice-dribbling beef and garlic-swabbed brioche. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Chef/owner Jamie Leeds continues to challenge the seafood status quo, interweaving wide ranging and typically substantive specials. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Executive chef Thomas Elder packs a garden’s worth of vegetables—including savory squash, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and spinach—into an egg-filled, pastry-bound quiche. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Beef lovers should skip the filet-shrimp skewers and go right for the carnivore jugular: cooked-to-order NY strip buried beneath boulders of ravishing blue cheese. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: The kitchen continues to mix things up, playing to its wine-centric strengths while also keeping things simple enough for even a casual observer to enjoy. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A bowl of Salmoreja rewards soup lovers with creamy tomato stock, salty Serrano ham, a shimmering, submersible egg and a splash of bracing vinegar. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Peppery steak veers into the sublime after promenading through a captivating mustard-shallot reduction. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Frisee wraps its curly, vinaigrette-soaked tendrils around smoked duck, fat-packed gizzards, blue cheese and candied walnuts. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Housemade noodles encircle chewy crawfish tails, sun-dried tomatoes and potent slices of sparingly cooked garlic. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: The family-run empire excels at piling multitudes of plates around each table, encouraging guests to sample freely and frequently rather than pushing pricey entrees. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Back in the kitchen, chef/owner Ingrid Gustavson remains a little bit country and a little bit wok ‘n’ roll, peppering her picnic-perfect carte with Asian offerings. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Old fashioned chocolate cake enjoys new life courtesy of cream cheese frosting, sea salt and ground coffee. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Loved the rainbow of funky housemade donuts—ranging from plain chocolate to passion fruit-cracked peppercorn glaze—the kitchen trots out for brunch. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Hot wings fly to the Far East after a rubdown in fiery Korean chili paste, with craime fraiche supplanting blue cheese as the cooling agent du jour. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Ricotta dumplings take very kindly to meaty, sage-covered mushrooms, summer corn and brown butter-tinged onions. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Roast trout revels in a river of ghee, the meal completed by corn-studded grits and spirited peppadew relish. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Golden fries are enrobed in aromatic thyme; request the housemade roasted tomato “hot” sauce for an otherworldly dipping experience. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Wine-braised duck and buttery foie gras are galvanized by plum sauce drizzled atop fancy, festive dumplings. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Tyrokafteri channels pimento cheese, folding together crumbled feta, roasted red pepper, onion and plenty of cayenne, into a dangerously delicious spread. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Spice-crusted tilapia—moist, flaky meat—is baptized in frothy butter and pecans. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A novel blueberry-espresso reduction adorns seared scallops, while frisee tangles with crispy duck confit and spongy chanterelles. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Jumbo shrimp are caked with a sinus-clearing, chile pod-studded paste that left us begging for relief even as we devotedly returned to the source of our torment. - November issue 2011

Northern Virginia Magazine: A cooked-to-order top loin sirloin hits the table bloody as hell, it’s brazenly peppercorned crust further lavished in slow-melting shallot butter. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Olives, tomatoes and capers add poignancy to roast dorade. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Rustico has moved well beyond its artsy pizza and craft beer origin story into a mature, multi-talented dining operation. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Crab pasta featured lump meat basking in a mouthwatering ragout tempered by preserved lemon but largely fueled by myriad heating agents. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Meaty scallops rumble with tempeh crunchies in a multi-sensory-pleasing sushi roll. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Pan-seared grouper rides a raft of pungent mustard greens across a sea of creamy black-eyed peas and smoked ham-studded risotto. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Housemade “scrapple” consists of jamon Serrano ground with bread and piquillo peppers, wrapped in prosciutto and slow simmered until tender. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Cured ham, sharp cheddar and syrupy Madeira collectively inform a wondrous pork chop platter. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A handsome Parmesan crisp exposes a featherlight crepe filled with wine-braised, sausage-stuffed cabbage, magnified by a red onion-sour cherry reduction. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Shaved squid becomes calamari “noodles,” each reshaped tentacle now grappling with zesty tomato sauce, briny olives and sweet peas. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Local crab visits Asia as jumbo lump cakes are battered and deep fried, and surrounded by crisp edamame and festive Mandarin oranges. - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: Cracked black pepper and tangy blue cheese put an entirely different spin on chilled cherry soup (bravo). - November 2011 issue

Northern Virginia Magazine: A Nicoise salad harbors “eggs” fashioned from milky mozzarella embedded with yellow cherry tomato mousse. - November 2011 issue