Brightest Young Things

Have you ever thrown a party at the last minute, not done a ton of planning and had few expectations, only to have the best group of people show up, have the best conversation and be the most fun ever? Well, this post is a little like that.

For our first annual foodie wrap up, we reached out to our favorite food writers and foodies in general and asked them what left a lasting epicurean impression on them in 2009. in DC.

The consensus? People are so over cupcakes and celebrity chefs, waited a long time for Ris and Churchkey/Birch & Barley to open, aren't all that stoked on the W and love Chef Peter Smith. As for the rest of what people don't like. You have to read below.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who contributed to this. I was overwhelmed by the response and loved everyone's comments. The DC food scene is awesome and I'm so happy we could bring it together for a look back at this year.  Thank you all!

-Alex

Now, in alphabetical order... The BYT 2009 Foodie Wrap Up...

The most anticipated or best DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
Most Anticipated has to go to Ris - it's been on our radar for YEARS - but ChurchKey / Birch & Barley was a close second.

Kora didn't quite live up to the hype.  It wasn't the great dining experience we had come to expect from Farrah Olivia.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?

The Baltimore Bomb from Dangerously Delicious Pies is fantastic...who can say no to cookie-pie? Bacon-roasted almonds at Blue Ridge should have been a home run, but they were salty on top of salty with only a hint of bacony goodness.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
Wish for: Really good barbecue in the DC metro area

Stay away: Any more celebrity chefs whose brilliant concept for DC is a steak place

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant?

Our favorite chef is still Teddy Folkman of Granville Moore's, Next Food Network Star or not.
Favorite restaurant for a special occasion is Komi; for everyday comfort food (sushi) it's Momoyama.

Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Other than Capital Spice?  Blog: Endless Simmer; Web Site: UrbanSpoon; Column: Young & Hungry in the Washington City Paper

Tim Carman - Washington City Paper

The best food trend of 2009/The worst?
Best trend: Smaller portions. The crappy economy has driven this trend, but I hope it stays around even when times get better.

Worst trend: Gourmet cupcakes. Do we really need so many shops devoted to cute miniature cakes?

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
Most anticipated was, without much doubt, the long-overdue opening of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey. RIS and Inox probably come in a somewhat distance second and third.

The most disappointing new place has to be G Street Food, which didn't fully deliver on its promise to offer international street foods and has now lost its opening chef, Mark Furstenberg.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
I had way, way too many good dishes to remember the best. But a few good memories include the bison carpaccio at Eventide, the roast chicken at Palena Cafe (for the umpteenth time and for the umpteenth time it was perfection on a plate), the tasting menu at Obelisk, the chef's table at Teatro Goldoni, the hog snapper at Vidalia, the butter chicken at Masala Art, the tacos al pastor at La Placita, barramundi with broccoli and soft polenta at Hook, the list goes on and on.

The worst? The crawfish beignets at Social.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
More good street carts, less celebrity chefs.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
I'd prefer not list a favorite chef or restaurant, but I love reading Carol Blymire's Alinea at Home blog for pure enjoyment and make frequent visits to Serious Eats, Atlantic Food Channel, Epicurious, and Chow.com, which all do a good job covering food and drink. There are many others, and if I were a nicer guy, I'd give them a shout-out.

Amy Cavanaugh - Freelance Food Writer

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?

I think the most anticipated opening was Birch and Barley — I was writing about it in last year's restaurant previews, and it got so much buzz when it opened. I had the pleasure of eating there this week and the crispy duck egg with seared pork belly is delicious. Tiffany MacIsaac's desserts are also terrific. Another one of my favorite new spots to open this year is SeventhHill Pizza in Eastern Market — I've really liked every pizza I've had there, and it's such a cozy little spot.

The best food trend of 2009/The worst?

I was a great champion of the cupcake when it first came to D.C. but now I'm tired of it. I'd be happy if no new cupcake shop opened in 2010.

•I live in Columbia Heights and I wish more restaurants would open up around here. Things have gotten a lot better since I moved in, but we still have a long way to go. I'd love a few more places like Room 11 to come.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?

Picking the best dish I ate in 2009 is a hard one, but favorites have been Terri Cutrino's take on clam chowder at Café Atlantico's Friday night market dinner, and the pan-seared red snapper in ginger-lemongrass bouillon at Inox. On the dessert end, Heather Chittum's apple tart at Hook is a masterpiece.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?

I've often told friends that Peter Smith of PS7's is the D.C. chef I wish I could hire as my personal chef. PS7's is also one of the top happy hour spots in the city — half off flatbreads, $4 glasses of cava and Gina Chersevani's drinks is a killer combination.

Missy Frederick - Restaurants reporter and Top Shelf columnist, Washington Business Journal

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
Best - I love how craft cocktails have totally taken over here. It’s also been a great year to see more obscure liquors move further into the mainstream, like St. Germain’s, Crème de Violette, etc.

Worst – Fro-yo and cupcakes are too obvious, so I’ll go with the misuse of the term "local" on area menus. I sympathize with the challenge of serving quality local ingredients year-round, but don't classify something as local if it's merely from the Americas.

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
Best - I'm a business reporter, not a food critic, so my own recommendations can be taken with a grain of salt. Regardless, I love the fact Kellari Taverna is bringing us a kind of Greek cuisine we really haven’t experienced before, admire the commitment to beer over at Birch & Barley, and appreciate the transporting atmosphere at Plume. But overall, I think one of the more underrated openings was Inox in McLean, which impresses me a little more each visit.

Letdown - While I love the space's new look, and you can't beat the view, the super-exclusive atmosphere surrounding the Point of View bar on top of the Hotel Washington (two words: velvet rope) doesn't seem a natural fit with D.C. right now, where the neighborhood restaurant, or at least those aspiring to be, is king. Great Dark & Stormys, though.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best: I dream about the "Smoky Petal" clams-based appetizer dish at Present. I also love Cork's avocado bread more than should be allowed, given its humble ingredients. And octopus was my dish of choice this year – I found great versions everywhere from Liberty Tavern to Masa 14.

Worst: No main offender sticks out in my mind, but I'm pretty tired of dressed-up American comfort food, Arctic char and sunchokes. I probably SHOULD be tired of pork belly, but I don't think that is ever happening.

What do you wish for DC in 2010?
The return of Dr. Dremo’s.

What do you hope stays away?
I'll have my fingers crossed that the economy doesn't bring a bunch of undeserved restaurant closures.

Favorites?
Jose Andres' Iberico ham obsession, Bourbon’s Manhattans, Falls Church's Vietnamese restaurants, PS7's and Tom Brown's cocktails, Ashok Bajaj's hospitality, The Source's lounge, Piola's happy hour, Liberty Tavern's upstairs dining room and the reporting of Amanda McClements, Tim Carman and Warren Rojas all helped make 2009 a little bit brighter.

Stefanie Gans - Endless Simmer (Image: Chris Leaman for Washingtonian)

The best food trend of 2009?
Farm to table dining.

The worst?
Lying about farm to table dining (I'm looking at you Founding Farmers).

The most anticipated or (best DC) restaurant opening in 2009?
Churchkey and Birch and Barley. The world of beer has become much more exciting than cocktails.

The one that didn’t quite live up?
Blue Ridge. Barton isn't always perfect and how the hell do I get to Glover Park.

The best dish you ate in 2009?
Inox: Red snapper in a lively ginger-lemongrass curry bouillon which also featured beautiful indigo-hued basil seeds floating in the broth. It was stunning.

The one you wish you hadn’t?
Pizza at Comet Ping Pong. I want a pizza I can hold, not something to be eaten with a knife and fork.

What you wish for DC in 2010?
More seasonal and thoughtful vegetarian entrees.

What you hope stays away?
Big name chefs that drop a restaurant in the District and never plan on working there.

Favorite Chef?
Mike Isabella from Zaytinya. He came off as a sexist fuck on Top Chef but he's actually just a dude from Jersey. Now I totally get it. And appreciate it. (Says Jersey girl.)

Favorite Restaurant?
Himalayan Heritage. Say yes to cashew cream sauce (Malai Kofta).

Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Anything from WaPo's Jane Black.

Erin Hartigan - Daily Candy DC

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best: Spaghetti al Nero with Crab at Bibiana
Worst: Yellow sludge wrapped in a banana leaf in Hoi An, Vietnam

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
Yes: More lunch spots (preferably with patios and/or sushi)
No: More $40 entrees.

Anita Hattiangadi - Greg’s List DC

The best food trend of 2009?
Pork belly--what's not to love?

The worst food trend of 2009
Too many frozen yogurt stores!

The most anticipated (or best DC) restaurant opening in 2009?
Ris.

The best dish you ate in 2009?
Oya's Chilean Sea Bass with miso, edamame, beurre monte, and braised short rib

The one you wish you hadn't?
I love chef Bryan Voltaggio, but didn't love his beet and foie gras macarons...

What you wish for DC in 2010?
A true New York-style deli

What you hope stays away?
Large chain restaurants.

Favorite Chef?
Nicholas Stefanelli (Bibiana) --He's a terrific chef and easy on the eyes too!

Favorite Restaurant?
Zaytinya--reliably tasty food at great prices.

Favorite food blog, web site or column?
GregsListDC.com--of course!

Ashley May - Foodie, Artist, Drink Slinger

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
Best food trend being food itself. DC has always been a popular restaurant destination but it finally stopped being stuffy in 2009 and became about FOOD.
Worst trend-I love cupcakes as much as the next person but if we have to keep hearing about them they are going to end up with a very negative and undeserved association. Like tequila.

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?
Most anticipated opening for me was actually Room 11, because forget 4-star restaurants, we were doing the pee pee dance for a place with good wine and food that was close to us. And for the record, it goes above and beyond meeting the neighborhood wine bar requirements of a Philly girl. Ris was also a pretty big deal.

Didn’t live up- I’m gonna have to go w Sushi Taro. I cried all the way home.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best dish- In all honesty, probably something at Bar Pilar. Sweetbreads, lamb, hamachi... But the best bite I’ve had in ages was a perfect little deviled quail egg at Restaurant Eve. I forgot myself and my manners completely.

Worst dish- A panna cotta at Mio.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
DC wish- A REAL deli. How ‘bout 20. Thanks.

Can’t think of anything I really want to have stay away. We can probably survive without more FroYo.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Fave chefs- Justin Bittner and Eric Ziebold
Fave bloggers/food writers- Gee that’s tough. This ho Alex Nicholson.

And Amanda from Metrocurean. She's basically the reason I don’t have a food blog as she eats what I eat and plugs everything I’d plug.

Ali McSherry - Writer of Hot Plate and Mug Shots for Roll Call (Image: Tom Williams for Roll Call)

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
I think the most anticipated opening of the year was the W Hotel and all that came along with it.  In the end the hotel, J&G and the various bars were a mixed bag.  I like J&G, despite it being ANOTHER steakhouse in D.C., but I had a hard time getting past the hotel’s pretension. Checking in with two clipboards before even getting to the host stand is too much for me.  That being said, the Jean Georges food is delicious and the restaurant has a lot more on the menu than just steak.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
This is a hard one!  I’ve eaten a lot of fantastic food this year.  I had this divine butter poached lobster at Citronelle that was served with pearl pasta and squid ink.  It was served in a can and looked like caviar.  I could have eaten a dozen more servings of it!

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
I’m really hoping to see a fantastic Italian restaurant open in 2010.  I grew up outside of New York City and I’m used to being surrounded by great red sauce restaurants - something that D.C. lacks.  Sure, there are a handful that are good, but I’d like to see one that really blows me away.

I’m sure I’m going to get flack for this, but I’m hoping for less pork in the New Year.  I love swine just as much as the next gal, but pork has been everywhere and I could use a break. Oh and I’d also like to see less steakhouses, but that’s a given.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
It’s so hard to pick favorites!  Brasserie Beck and Central have been consistently good and are two restaurants I’ll go to when I’m off the clock.

As far as reading goes, I’m a big fan of Metrocurean and Capital Spice.  I also keep an eye on Missy Frederick over at the Washington Business Journal.  She breaks a lot of openings and changes.

Nycci Nellis - The List Are You On It

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?
The two top openings of 2009 that lived up to their expectations were Bibiana and Birch & Barely/Churchkey. Two other openings that are just as exciting and look promising are Cork Market & Ris.

The one restaurant I was wrong about was Kellari. I was distrustful of the NY transplant prior to it’s opening.  Many out of town concepts do not take DC seriously and I suspected that Kellari was one of them. WRONG.  The owners took a “jinxed” space. Gave it a proper gutting. And are serving fresh seafood and tasty Greek cuisine.

The best food trend of 2009?
The food trend that speaks to me the most right now is the explosion of farmer’s markets and neighborhood markets opening up in and around the area. From the new Capital Harvest on the Plaza Farmer's Market to Taylors and Sub*Urban selling fresh eggs and Trickling Springs milk.  We can thank many area chefs for this trickle-down effect.  Todd Gray, Rob Weland, Eric Ziebold and Nate Anda are just a sampling of locals who are either creating their own artisanal charcuterie, growing their own veggies/herbs or reaching out to multiple local farmers and vendors to provide organic produce and humanely treated livestock. The good news is that this is a trend that is quickly evolving into the norm.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Favorite Chef: A Tie: Scott Drewno (The Source) & Vikram Sunderam (Rasika)
Favorite Column: Gut Check by Ezra Klein in WaPo
Favorite Food Website: TheListAreYouOnIt.com (duh?!)

Alex Nicholson - Brightest Young Things

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
I love street food. I love Bahn Mi sandwiches. I love that offal is finally getting it's day.

I fucking hate restaurants that don't take reservations but have $20 entrees and $12 cocktails. Not taking reservations doesn't make you exclusive, it makes you difficult.

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?
As a huge Colorado Kitchen fan, I waited and waited for the General Store and Post Office Tavern to open. I wish it was closer.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
The best dish I had this year was Bluefish with gnocchi, green beans, anchovies and olives at Hook.

The worst was a linguine with clam sauce from Mezzo Mare in Hull, Mass. I thought my kidneys were failing after I ate it.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
I hope that the media companies that hire food and lifestyle reporters realize their value. I hope good people just trying to run their businesses can continue to do so. I hope to see more businesses that respect people's pocketbooks open. Oh yeah, and can Top CHef please come to DC?!?

I hope we don't get any more resto-lounges, or places that don't take reservations.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
It's hard to have a favorite chef when I love most of them. But my favorite restaurants are Obelisk and Vidalia. Who do I like to read? I think the list is well represented here.

Josh Novikoff - DCist

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
Best  trend: Local chefs with food TV success
Worst trend: Fetishism of cupcakes

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?

Most anticipated: Ris

Didn't live up: Capitol Lounge

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best dish: Zuchhini seed soup, Minibar

Worst dish: Sweet and sour soup, Chinatown Express

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Fave chef:  Scott Drewno, The Source

Fave resto: Ray's the Steaks

Fave food media: WaPo Chats

Casey Taylor Patten - Taylor Gourmet (Photo: Kris Tripplaar for Express)

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
Best - Street Vending/Lunch Trucks
Worst - Cereal (breakfast) Restaurants

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?
Best  - SEI
Didn't live up - Ping Pong Dim Sum

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best Dish - Truffle Macaroni and Cheese at Matchbox by Chef Jacob.
Worst Dish (I didn't even have to think) - JJ's Famous Cheesesteaks

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
Wish for 2010 - More Taylor Gourmets
Stays away - the 8 billion burger joints slated to open

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Peter Smith (PS7)
Pasta Mia
eater.com remodelista.com

Pete’s New Haven

In Honor Of Pete's New Haven's Mascot Hattie, 1997-12/11/2009

The best food trend of 2009?
Sharp rise in availability of high-quality burger joints (BGR, Ray's Hell, etc).

The worst?
Exaggeration of "green" in food marketing (green as a marketing ploy not a guiding principle)

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009?
Best: Blue Ridge on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park - Excellent menu, solid guiding principles, some of the best service we've had in a long time (friendly, fast), beautiful dining room, beautiful bar, beautiful rear outdoor terrace.

The one that didn’t quite live up?
Kitchen 2404 on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park.  A restaurant that looks great and has such an appealing menu, but the food is very disappointing.  Has burned through several chefs this year.  Ought to be better than the cafeterias at Georgetown University, but that was my impression coming away from several visits.

The best dish you ate in 2009?
We go back over and over and over and over again for Blue Ridge's Burger with smoked bacon and goat cheese, served with good cole slaw and great thin, salty fries.  Over and over and over and over again.

The one you wish you hadn’t?
We wish we hadn't missed our chance to dine at Taylor's Gourmet Deli on H Street NE, but we probably will not make it over there in 2009.  Boo.

What you wish for DC in 2010?
We wish for DC to welcome more locally-owned business enterprises, including restaurants, in 2010, and we wish the local banks success in lending to local businesses to create job opportunities and inject personality into our great neighborhoods.

What you hope stays away?
We hope, after the financial disaster that was 2009, that our economy begins to reverse the rush to commoditize everything, which we think has had the effect of blanketing our commercial corridors with national brand retailers and our residential neighborhoods with robotically manufactured homes and condominiums. Cities are all beginning to look the same. The rush to commoditize also has the effect of numbing and dumbing what goes into products and services in the interest of showing year-on-year improvements in the numbers on the quarterly conference calls with Wall Street analysts and the media. The numbers might look good, but at what cost?

Favorite Chef?
Douglas Singer, who launched the menu at Cafe St. Ex a few years ago, then moved into kitchen and menu consulting for a bunch of local dive bars (on H Street, 11th Street in Columbia Heights, Georgia Avenue in Petworth), bringing a foodie sensibility to some of the most unexpected places. Unfortunately, not all of the restaurants keep the quality up after the consulting is over.  Singer is now managing partner of Diamond District Seafood Company, slated to open on 14th St NW near Logan Circle in 2010, and is currently helping Room 11 on 11th Street in Columbia Heights to develop menu items that work well with the restaurant's many fine wines.

Favorite Restaurant?
We enjoy going to RedRocks to get a break from pizza and beer (laughing).  As noted above, we also love Blue Ridge.

Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Washingtonian has been very good to us.  We enjoy their BestBites Blog.  We also appreciate all the restaurant features and entertaining reader participation on PrinceofPetworth.com.

Lorena Sander - DC Gastronome

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
Best: Macarons slowly but surely making way in DC. My favorites are the ones at Adour.
Worst: Local-only wine lists.

The most anticipated or best DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
My most anticipated for purely self-serving reasons (gelato walking distance from the office): Potenza.
The one that didn't live up was P.O.V.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Best: Soft Shell crab at CityZen
Wish I hadn't: The short ribs at Darlington House.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
I wish for good soup dumplings and great Pho within city limits.
I hope mandatory calorie-counts stay away. JFK airport has never been the same.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
Favorite Chef: I can't choose so I'll give you my favorite locals: Dennis Marron, Robert Weidmaier, Michel Richard.
Favorite Restaurant: Central.
Favorite food website: TastingTable.

Katie Test - We Love DC

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
It may be cliche, overdone, and a bit commercialized, but nevertheless, I adore the locovore and farm fresh food movement.  Farmwash aside, I appreciate the fact that chefs are actively thinking about where they source their meats and produce. It seems to me that farm-to-table has become second-nature at some of DC's best eat places, the DC dining public has become more savvy about what they demand on their plates because of it.

If I may, the second best food trend in my mind is the more affordable food. I'm loving the prix-fixe menus, badass happy hour specials and other random money-savers like the middle plates Ardeo is doing. In some ways, thank God for the recession, because it made dining out accessible again.

As for the worst? I'm over burgers. SORRY, I just am. Same goes for cupcakes. Over it, moving on, ready for macarons or crepes. (Well, unless you're Curbside Cupcakes and then you're bringing them to my door. I won't complain about that.)

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
The most anticipated opening in 2009? Hm, I mean it had to be Ris right? That one was like, "Gonna open! JUST KIDDING. Ok, now! Nope, not really. Ok, really really, we promise. Nahhhhh." Don't toy with me like that!

The place that pleasantly surprised me? Againn. I was not expecting to like it much, but I do! I really do! I food dream about Againn all the time, and that sticky toffee pudding is the best dessert in town.

As for not living up, I think the W Hotel was hyped way beyond what it's worth. I still hear nightmare stories of lines to get up on the deck and it is COLD OUTSIDE, people! As much as I love that view, no place can live up to the amount of buzz POV got when it opened.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
Ugh - the best dish of 2009? I mean - I've had some fabulous food. A filet with blue cheese sauce from Ray's the Steaks is the definition of perfection. The veal and foie gras dish at Inox keeps me up at night and the fish and chips roll from SEI is genius. The risotto at Tosca was unbelievable, I wanted to lick the bowl, and everything at 1789 was executed with classic sophistication. Can you see my problem?

On the flip side, I think we all know how I feel about the bacon at Belga Cafe. (Shudders.)

What you wish for DC in 2010?/ What you hope stays away?
I hope that DC's talent really gets recognized. We're well on our way, but we have some hugely under-recognized chefs in our midst that are doing some unique, new things and I love this city for that.

Conversely, if we get one more celebrity-driven steakhouse or burger joint I will throw my fork. DC is better than that. We deserve more.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
I have a lot of chefs that I like - all the Neighborhood Restaurant Group chefs are insanely talented. Will Artley is hilarious and does things with carrots that would make a grown man cry. I actually start to miss the guys in the kitchen at Westend Bistro if I don't see them for a few weeks, and  Kaz Okochi earnest love for his food is totally endearing.

And since it's so obvious that I'm good at picking just one favorite, I'd say my favorite restaurant at the moment is Et Voila! in the Palisades, but previously this year it's been Charlie Palmer Steak, Westend Bistro and Rustico. You can never go wrong with Zaytinya. I also have a soft spot for Taqueria Nacionale. Yucca, is all I'm saying.

For keeping up with food news, OBVIOUSLY, I love Alex's food round-up at BYT, but aside from that, I regularly turn to Tim Carman's Young and Hungry, Metrocurean deserves a shout-out, and Endless Simmer always makes me laugh.

Russell Warnick - Endless Simmer

The best food trend on 2009/The worst?
I think I only have one. The worst food trend, not sure if it’s a trend but I'm sick of all these free cupcake days, free "fro-yo" days and ice cream days or donut days... Yeah, where the hell is free salad day, AMERICA YOU ARE FAT. It’s not even worth it, lining up for half an hour to get a semi worth it dessert with fat people on skinny sidewalk. No.

Oh, but I guess Obama would be the best food trend I can think of, WH farmers market, Michelle cultivating food, the first couple eating out more. Love it.

What you wish for DC in 2010?/What you hope stays away.
My wish for DC in 2010 like every other unimaginative person, for Padma to come and show some baby love to the District, oh yeah. I'd love to see Tom Colicchio dining on 17th St., the bears would eat him alive. Now that would be awesome.

Mystery Angry/Sexy Chef (No telling, ever)

The best food trend on 2009?
The best food trend I believe would be the continuance of sous vide foods, I think the whole deconstructed plates are definitely going out of style. That and I like how all chefs are thinking about costs due to the economy and playing with comfort foods and tweaking them out.

The most anticipated (or best) DC restaurant opening in 2009/The one that didn’t quite live up?
Most anticipated would probably be JG in the W hotel, as well as not living up to its hype. I had one of the worst meals of the year there. I left wondering why I spent that much money for food. I never think that.

The best dish you ate in 2009?/ The one you wish you hadn’t?
I can’t pick one particular plate as my favorite. I can pick a meal though. I think my most memorable of the year would have to be at Komi. Johnny Monis continues to put out good food every day. I was giddy with every course and excited to see what he was sending me next. I was like a little kid, anticipating what I was going to get for my next gift. All said and done it was 23 courses, and the wine. Thts was just as amazing. Well worth the wait, and the money in my eyes.

I think my biggest regret was the pizza at Pi in Adams-Morgan. I am the last one to complain about food, but it was atrocious. I was with two friends and we each got a pizza. They all came out cool, and undercooked. I realized quickly why there were only two other tables in the place at 8 o'clock on a Friday evening.

Favorite Chef? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite food blog, web site or column?
I can’t really pick a favorite chef, I have quite a few that I respect greatly. Among those I would have to say Jon from Cashion’s, Johnny Monis, Cathal Armstrong (Eve), David Varley (Bourbon Steak), Peter Smith (PS7), and Pierre Chauvet (La Fourchette). Pierre has been in the city forever and is an encyclopedia of traditional French food.

My personal favorite restaurant is Cashion’s in Adams-Morgan. They are the most gracious hosts and always are doing good solid food. It is like walking into someone's house and being greeted by friends. I also like how they constantly support small local farms and base the menu on what they have coming from these locals.

Favorite food blog, hmmm. I have to be honest I really try not to pay much attention to food blogs. It seems like everyone these days is a critic. I do enjoy Metrocurean. Amanda always is fun to read. I like Nycci Nellis's site as well. She seems very in tune with what's going on and really enjoys food. Not for nothing but I miss reading your blog Culocho. (Ed note: That’s my old food blog – it was awesome).

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So you heard from these amazing people, now tell us what you think? And happy eating!

Always, send news, tip and questions to us at eatdrink (at) brightestyoungthings.com.