Best of DC Metropolitan Area (2011)

Inspired by the Washingtonian's "Best Of" issue, but interested in the opinions of my friends and family, I sent around an email requesting people to provide me their favorite restaurants for several categories of food.

The following list represents the results of this study. In some categories, only the winning restaurant received multiple nominations. In other categories, a number of restaurants received multiple nominations. When a restaurant received multiple nominations for "Best Of," but neither won nor finished as a runner up, that restaurant received an honorable mention commendation.

1. Best Deli/Sandwich: Italian Store (Runners Up: Wisemiller's and Chutzpah's (tie))
2. Best Diner: Metro 29 (Runner Up: Amphora; Honorable Mentions: The Diner, Steak and Egg, Tastee Diner, Tune Inn)
   
3. Best Brunch: Boulevard Woodgrill (Runner Up: Tabard Inn; Honorable Mentions: Birch & Barley, Blue Duck Tavern, Carlyle, Belga, Brasserie Beck)
   
4. Best Burger: Ray's Hell Burger (Runner Up: Central; Honorable Mentions: Good Stuff Eatery, Five Guys, Morton's)
   
5. Best Sports Bar: Crystal City Sports Pub and Carpool (tie) (Honorable Mentions: Four Courts and Cleveland Park Bar and Grill)
6. Best Outdoor Bar: Sequoia (Runner Up: Cantina Marina; Honorable Mentions: Poste and Cleveland Park Bar & Grill)
   
7. Best Cocktails: The Gibson (Runner Up: PX; Honorable Mentions: Columbia Room and The Majestic)
   
8. Best Quintessential Bar Food: Carpool and Jay's Saloon (tie) (Honorable Mention: Dogfish Head)
9. Best Food Cart: El Chilango
   
10. Best Wings: Hard Times (Runner Up: Glory Days; Honorable Mention: Buffalo Wild Wings)
    
11. Best Pizza: Italian Store (Runner Up: Two Amy's; Honorable Mentions: Matchbox, Fairlington Pizza, and Pizzeria Orso)
    
12. Best Sushi: Kaz Sushi Bistro and Sushi Taro (tie) (Honorable Mentions: Sushi Ko and Tachibana)
    
13. Best Steak: Ray's the Steaks (Runner Up: Morton's; Honorable Mentions: Acqua al 2 and Flemings)
    
14. Best Mexican/Tex-Mex: Guajillo (Runners Up: Rio Grande, Picante and Guapo's (tie))
    
15. Best Chinese: Peking Gourmet Inn
    
16. Best Indian: Rasika and Tandoori Nights (tie) (Honorable Mentions: Sangam Restaurant and Jaipur (tie))
    
17. Best Thai: Thai Square, Rein Tong, and Sawatdee (tie)
    
18. Best Vietnamese: Pho 75, Four Sisters, and Mihn's (tie)
    
19. Best Italian: Ristorante Tosca (Runners Up: Da Domenico, Filomena, and Dolce Vita)
    
20. Best Seafood: BlackSalt (Runners Up: Hank's Oyster Bar and Kinkead's; Honorable Mention: Passionfish)
    
21. Best Restaurant (Overall): Komi, Rasika, Chez Francois, Restaurant Eve, Tosca, and Central (tie)
    

Several people voiced great passion for lesser known places -- Loeb's Deli and A. Litteri for Best Deli; Il Canale for Best Pizza, and Super Taco and Bakery for Best Mexican/Tex-Mex -- which did not receive multiple votes (and, thus, did not receive honorable mention in this study).

I look forward to checking out the restaurants nominated and expect to post my thoughts on those experiences on this blog. If (and when) my favorites for these categories change, I will update the same in the column on the right.