The fluid nature of restaurants should be kept in mind as you use this book, too. The most I, as a critic, can hope to do is predict what a restaurant might be like at some unknown future date, and what it might offer for an unknown group of diners. Take it not as a promise but as a suggestion.

Much of your dining satisfaction is in your own hands. If you pick an uncrowded time, reserve ahead, specify your preferences, arrive on time and order according to the season and the chef's capabilities, you enhance your chances of dining well. And when you find a restaurant you like, reward it with your loyalty. You're likely to be treated all the better as a familiar face.

This guide, then, is a place to start. It's an outline for you to color in with your experiences.

Phyllis C. Richman

Search by Restaurant Name

Or Search by Neighborhood, Cuisine or Price Range

District of Columbia Adams Morgan Capitol Hill Chevy Chase Chinatown Cleveland Park Downtown 16th Street East Downtown 16th Street West Dupont Circle Foggy Bottom/West End Georgetown Glover Park New U Northeast Maine Avenue Waterfront Palisades Shaw Tenlytown/Cathredral Upper Northwest/East of Rock Creek Woodley Park Maryland Annapolis Bethesda Bladensburg Cheverly Chevy Chase College Park Columbia/Towson Eastern Maryland Langley Park/Adelphi/Hyattsville Laurel Potomac Rockville/N. Bethesda/Gaithersburg Silver Spring/Wheaton/Takoma Virginia Alexandria Annandale/Springfield Arlington/Clarendon/Shirlington Crystal City Fairfax/Vienna Falls Church Great Falls McLean Reston/Herndon Rosslyn Shirlington Sterling Virginia Countryside

All Cuisines Afghan African American Barbecue Brazilian Caribbean Central/S. American Chicken Chinese Creole-Cajun Ethiopian French German Greek Indian Irish Italian Japanese Jewish Deli Korean Mediterranean Mexican Middle Eastern Moroccan Other Cuisines Pakistani Pan-Asian Seafood Southern Southwestern Spanish Steakhouse Thai Turkish Vietnamese

All Prices $10 or less Between $11 and $20 Between $21 and up