There are a few dishes at Beuchert's Saloon that don't look like the rest, the whole menu is worth eating but there are a couple of stand out dishes that are, well, outstanding. The Rock Shrimp Okonomiyaki is one, I've been telling everyone about it since having it last weekend. A Japanese pancake topped with watermelon radish, sorrel, toasted shallots and a sweet soy sauce, and a drizzle of lemon cream which adds just a touch of fun to what is otherwise a pretty serious dish.
Dining: Peking Gourmet Inn
There are plenty of ways to prove you've lived in the DMV to call it home, but unless you've eaten at Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church I think you need to pass the baton. In a nondescript strip-mall off of Leesburg Pike, with its red and yellow signage, Peking Gourmet looks like any other Chinese restaurant. Except the people waiting outside., there are always people waiting outside. Forget Rose's Luxury, this is the original restaurant people waited in line for.
Peking Gourmet is a machine like operation, it's larger than it looks and its walls are adorned with photos of famous people who have eaten there, above the doorway is both Presidents Bush and family, including Jeb! The restaurant churns over tables with amazing efficiency, but not pushy were the waiters are standing over you with a check. In fact, it's the house specialty that actually takes time, fine tuned to precision - the Peking Duck.
Read MoreDish: Pizza Marinara
Marinara, Ghibellina
I've started to cut out dairy from my diet, at least to the best that I can. Coffee at home it's coconut creamer, if I'm craving a burger I'll skip the cheese. These are easy maneuvers. I still however crave a slice of pizza from time to time, I'm not talking your Papa John's or Pizza Hut, I don't need to break my no dairy rule for those, even after a drink or two I'm well behaved. Rarely can I eat a whole pizza, nor do I want to. It's a sharing dish, but it's not easy finding someone who will be happy to share a pizza sans cheese, at Ghibellina I think I've found the slice.
The Marinara at Ghibellina is worthy of a mention. I think we can all agree that the pizzas here are amongst the best in the city - brick oven roasted, slightly burnt crust, topped with razor-thin slices of garlic and fresh basil in a sea of rich tomato sauce. Delicious. More notably, during their happy hour which runs daily from 4-6:30, at $6.50 a pizza paired with a $5 glass of wine it's perhaps one of the best deals around.
If I made good choices we wouldn't be having this conversation, but I don't.
Ghibellina, 1610 14th Street NW, Washington, DC (closest metro: U Street)