2022 was still not a normal year, but I (sometimes, we) did eat in restaurants more than we did in 2020 or 2021. I tried this year to keep a record of where I (we) ate and what I thought of the restaurant. I graded them A through D, and was surprised to find that I had labeled 37 meals with an A. How generous I am. I was also surprised that of the 37 A meals, 21 were lunches and 3 were brunches, leaving 13 dinners. Of the 14 dinners, 11 were in the greater Washington area and 3 out of town. Of the 37 A meals, 24 were in the Washington area and 13 on one of our three trips out of town.

TMI? Of course…….but what do I care?

A few more points before I get to the nitty gritty. First, we didn’t really go trendy this year, so all those articles you see about popular new restaurants are irrelevant to our eating. And, you will see little correlation between ratings and price, or ratings and atmosphere, although both price and atmosphere (as well as location) are important to make a choice of where to go. Finally, it is possible to have an A meal at at restaurant and go again and have a very different experience – but you know that.

Our local A experiences for dinner:

1. I’m Eddie Cano – our neighborhood Italian restaurant 3 blocks from our house. We ate there or carried out numerous times – they get an A, especially for their eggplant parmesan, their fish stew, and their broccoli rabe.
2. Corazon DC – a casual Mexican restaurant on 14th Street near Randolph, with good food and even better margheritas.
3. Jetties – an even more casual place on upper Connecticut Ave in DC which has very fresh and tasty salads. The A is based on carrying out – not eating in.
4. Busboys and Poets – this local chain of restaurants can be inconsistent, but we had a very good meal in the Brookland branch one evening.
5. Capitol Grille, Friendship Heights – another chain, much more upscale; our good meal came at a 90th birthday party for a former law partner.
6. Oaxaca – a very casual Mexican restaurant in Bethesda. We ate there a second time, and thought it was awful.
7. Melina – a Greek restaurant in the Rose Pike section off the Rockville Pike. The food was excellent, but the prices so high that your digestion still suffered.
8. Sheba – an Ethiopian restaurant in Rockville, where you have ten choices of vegetarian dishes and can get them all with two mixed vegetarian meals.
9. Cafe of India – the closest Indian restaurant to our house; it’s always good but sometimes better than others, depending on what you order.
10. Muchas Gracias DC – our neighborhood Mexican restaurant across the street from I’m Eddie Cano – try the fish tacos.
11. Estadio – 14th and Church, DC – Spanish and always excellent – we had my birthday dinner here.

My local A experiences for lunch:

Tokyo-Taipei (Chinese/Japanese in Rockville); Parkway Deli (Deli in Chevy Chase); Spring Garden (Chinese on Wisconsin Ave in DC); Clydes (Friendship Heights); Kenny’s (Chinese carryout in Wheaton); Full Key (Chinese in Wheaton); Bistro Aricosia (Afghan on MacArthur in DC); Siam House (Thai in Cleveland Park); Neramitra (Thai in Arlington); First Watch (national chain in Bowie); and Maggiano’s (Italian in Friendship Height; s, where you overpay for lunch but get a full $5 pasta to take home); Curry House (White Oak MD).

Our only local A brunch: Rosemary Bistro, right next to I’m Eddie Cano, three blocks from home.

As to our out of town A meals (some lunch, some dinner), here goes (for what it may be worth): Mama’s Kitchen in Webster MA; Allison’s in Kennebunkport ME; Rochester Cafe in Rochester VT; Camp Fire in Saranac Lake NY; Mesa Grande Taqueria in Auburn NY; Mama di Roma in Fairmount WV; Guadalajara in Grayville IL; Santa Fe Bistro in Creve Coeur MO; Kingside Diner (Clayton MO); Sugo’s (Frontenac MO); Main Street Diner (Frankfort KY); and Princess Diner (Frostburg MD).

A motley assortment? Yup, I guess so.