"50 Favorite Restaurants"

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

No matter how many people I'm dining with at this venerable Washington restaurant, I always wish there were more. Extra companions would reduce the number of difficult decisions and allow a wider sampling of chef Paul Pelt's handiwork (well, provided someone eventually takes your order). At lunch not long ago, his entree choices stretched to almost 20 selections. It was a diverse and tempting group, too: seafood gumbo, catfish tacos, hanger steak, vegetarian risotto, plus a house-made pork and smoked shrimp sausage po' boy with sweet potato fries. The cool thing is, no matter where you travel on the menu, you're apt to eat well. Oysters on the half shell are so sweet and briny, they need no enhancements. Squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and fried in tempura batter deftly bridge Italy and Japan. Pappardelle strewn with lamb ragu and raisin-sweetened lamb meatballs takes on a delicious edge with black olives and orange gremolata. Those fish tacos, meanwhile, come with tortillas made by hand and salsa as lively as the dance itself. Reached via a dark lounge that always feels like midnight, the black-and-white tiled main dining room is cozy but clattery; Tabard's charming brick-walled garden is where you want to dine when the weather allows (if it's fall or winter, try for one of the couches near the fire in the lounge). Warm doughnuts with vanilla-scented whipped cream, or banana cream pie tinted with milk chocolate? Get both, diet later.