Winners For

Best Wine List

Just as the sign-less Plonk is a secret treasure here in Garden Oaks, so does its wine list feature hidden gems from the peerless mind of owner Scott Miller. Miller, the former wine director at Pappas Steakhouse, is smart enough to know his clientele on both ends of the wine spectrum and caters to them with aplomb. This means you'll find highly ...

Yes, when it comes to potent potables, Mike Shannon is best known for extolling the virtues of an ice-cold frosty one, but his namesake restaurant is a steak house first and foremost, and that means a lengthy list of wines. Expensive wines. Shannon's dulls the price-point sting by making it easy to navigate the selection. If you put stock in Win...

Vetri Restaurant Review: Chef Marc Vetri needs no more than this intimate 35-seater on Spruce Street to impress guests. From the cozy décor --- walls awash in flaxen gold, assorted wooden chairs and knick-knacks on the wall --- comes a family dining room feel. Tables are pushed close together so you get not only a whiff but also a bird's eye vie...

Amada Restaurant Review: Philly's own Iron Chef Jose Garces brings tapas to Philadelphia in a comfortable, rustic restaurant hung with hams and sausages. Start with a designer cocktail in the atmospheric bar, or sip house-made red and white sangría or a bottle of vin from Spain or Chile. Plates of tapas---think octopus, garlic shrimp, cured meat...

a.kitchen Restaurant Review: Chef Bryan Sikora (ex-Django and Talula's Table) is in the kitchen of this cozy 60-seat restaurant, adjacent to the AKA Rittenhouse Square hotel. In a modern, crisp space that includes a marble chef's counter (the best seats in the house) and a smattering of sidewalk seating, a.kitchen specializes in innovative small...

Marcel's Restaurant Review: Inventive chef Robert Wiedmaier cooks in the French style but with Flemish accents (think lots of shellfish). The problem is, the menu undergoes seasonal changes, and you may not find your favorites always listed. Roasted diver scallops and the coquilles St. Jacques make great beginnings. For entrées, one may find ten...

Central Michel Richard Restaurant Review: Michel Richard's casual American bistro attracts a constant state of hustle and bustle to its lively dining room. This Penn Quarter setting, with dishes prepared by executive chef Jason Maddens, exemplifies why Richard and all his restaurants continuously please. Of course, a handful of French-inspired d...

CityZen Restaurant Review: Power, money and fine dining converge into a single space inside the Mandarin Oriental's CityZen. Service rules, with a staff that cares about the correct placement of cutlery, the presentation of courses, and the speed with which all of this is carried out. The menu comes in three parts: a regular six-course tasting m...

Blue Duck Tavern Restaurant Review: Blue Duck Tavern takes on American farmland fare with a zeal that epicures will appreciate. The menu, under the direction of French chef Sebastien Archambault, even has Texan overtones: imagine fried chicken and waffles for breakfast in this classy setting. Indeed, the morning meal is a highlight, taken to new...

701 Restaurant Restaurant Review: A major shift in culinary focus turned this restaurant-as-nightclub-as-restaurant into one of DC’s must-go fine dining destinations, as chic as a New York nightclub in Manhattan’s heyday of high society. Chef Ed Witt specializes in creative adaptations of classics, giving patrons a chance to indulge in spirited ...

Equinox Restaurant Review: Chef-owner Todd Gray displays culinary momentum as this regional-centric restaurant adds more specialty dinners and continues its seasonal menu, one that Gray continually evolves with differing takes on local ingredients. Gray adds a new twist to at least one seafood dish: curing the Maine diver scallops at the table o...

The Oval Room Restaurant Review: Thanks to the creative energies of executive chef Tony Conte, a disciple of Jean-Georges and one of DC’s rising stars, the menu at this primo power place---so near the real Oval Room at the White House---attracts patrons like a magnet. Conte synchronizes his colorful plates with the collection of modern canvases ...

The Source by Wolfgang Puck Restaurant Review: The first thing you notice is the name: Wolfgang Puck. For Washington, it’s the original celebrity chef’s first fine-dining appearance in the nation’s capital. The Puck signature touches are everywhere: fresh regional ingredients abound. The wood-fired grill in the casual room downstairs stoke his f...

Fiola Restaurant Review: With great enthusiasm, DC’s dining public welcomes back to town Fabio Trabocchi, who made famous the now-closed Maestro in The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. After a stint in NYC, Trabocchi returned to Washington to launch his own upscale Northern Italian restaurant, where he creates the foods from his youth in Italy’s Le ...

Dino Restaurant Review: Cleveland Park’s classy Dino offers a neighborhood destination for topnotch, though slightly pricy, rustic Northern Italian specialties: this is no spaghetti-and-meatball eatery. (Nor does its name suggest a return of the Rat Pack.) Indeed, there is an effort to source local ingredients, to pair good wines with entrées, a...

The Dundee Bistro Restaurant Review: In the midst of Oregon's wine country---surrounded by the Ponzi wine tasting room and a gift shop carrying a wealth of Oregon food products---The Dundee Bistro serves quintessentially Pacific Northwest cuisine. This translates to plenty of wild mushrooms, fish from Oregon or Washington waters, seasonal berrie...

Jory Restaurant Review: As a unique restaurant of such a caliber in the Oregon wine country, Jory at The Allison Inn & Spa is a dining destination for both visitors and locals. Its name comes from the official state dirt, the nurturing soil that fosters its wine varietals. The gracious and comfortable dining room glows with muted colors and glea...

Andina Restaurant Review: This stylish Pearl District Peruvian restaurant offers a wide-ranging menu. Many diners concentrate on the “entradas”---a sort of Andean tapas offered in three sizes ideal for sharing. Don’t miss the vibrantly-red piquillo peppers stuffed with a mix of quinoa, cheese and ham, or the grilled octopus salad. Entrées highli...

Paley's Place Restaurant Review: Chef Vitaly Paley’s French cooking draws on the best of the Northwest bounty. Professional service with Paley’s charming wife Kimberly managing the front of the house, and comfortable surroundings in a fine, old Victorian home make this a lovely spot that hits all the right notes. The frequently changing menu is ...

Higgins Restaurant Review: At one of the first restaurants in town to celebrate Oregon bounty, chef-owner Greg Higgins uses the freshest, most seasonal and regional ingredients to be found, and stocks herbs and produce from his own garden. This downtown spot is really two places: a spirited bar serving the regular menu, plus a slightly more info...

The Heathman Restaurant & Bar Restaurant Review: Executive chef Michael Stanton has smoothly filled the large shoes left by Philippe Boulot, a seminal Portland chef with broad experience and impeccable culinary instincts who maintains a consulting role at this dining icon. The Heathman’s menu---striking renditions of classic French bistro dishes...

Wildwood Restaurant Review: Wildwood is one of Portland’s first restaurants to prominently promote the farm-to-table connection. The dining room and bar areas are simple and brightly lit, a good backdrop for regional fare that sizzles with local ingredients. Menu mainstays such as skillet-roasted mussels in garlic broth with grilled bread are of...

Tina's Restaurant Review: Less than an hour from downtown Portland, Tina’s pairs simple yet elegant cooking with regional wines in a romantic setting divided by a crackling fireplace. The seasonal menu always features primarily organic local bounty: roasted duck breast with walnut-cornbread and a rich chili sauce, or a grilled hanger steak with ...

The Painted Lady Restaurant Restaurant Review: A word of advice for visitors to this quaint Victorian house-turned-restaurant on a quiet lane just off Newberg’s vintage main drag: put yourself in the capable hands of chef Allen Routt. Each night he concocts multi-course tasting menus (with optional wine pairings) that explore the best of the are...

Joel Palmer House Restaurant Restaurant Review: This gracious Victorian mansion an hour's drive south of Portland serves a menu brimming with dishes that showcase mushrooms. Owner/mushroom guru Jack Czarnecki gathers the wild fungi himself and knows just where the great morels, lobster mushrooms, porcini, and matsutakes hide. His son Chris mans ...

A dimly lit basement may seem like an odd setting for a wine bar, but that hasn't stopped Clevelanders from declaring the wine list at this Coventry Village anchor the best in town. Maybe that's because it contains more than 70 by-the-glass offerings — many priced below $6. Combine that with flickering candlelight and the glow of the beer cooler...

The Ravenous Pig: An American GastroPub Restaurant Review: Just a stone’s throw from Park Avenue, this neighborhood favorite is a pleasant surprise among Winter Park’s mostly ho-hum dining choices. Inspired by London’s gastropubs that promise fine food along with alcohol, owners James and Julie Petrakis have crafted this cozy spot that keeps th...

Victoria & Albert's Restaurant Review: One of the most elegant dining experiences in Central Florida, Victoria & Albert's is tucked away on the second floor of the Grand Floridian. The formal dining room has just 20 tables, giving chef Scott Hunnel plenty of time to fuss over every entrée. He creates new menus every day, choosing what's freshest...

Christini's Ristorante Italiano Restaurant Review: For a splurge and old-fashioned professional service, Christini’s is a sure bet. Chris Christini has been greeting customers at his Southwest Orlando restaurant for more than four decades, and it’s consistently a top place to entertain upscale clients if you're on a business trip. Dark wood and ...

Morton's The Steakhouse Restaurant Review: This classic steakhouse has a loyal clientele, including locals who keep their own wine stash at the ready for dinner. Morton’s claim to fame is steaks. If price is no object to a good meal, you've found the place---which may be why it's usually packed with conventioneers and business associates, all he...

Del Frisco’s Prime Steak & Lobster Restaurant Review: On busy Lee Road next to gas stations and fast-food joints, step inside and leave behind the frenzy in this local offshoot of the popular Dallas eatery. Classic steakhouse décor includes dark wood, intimate booths and an amazing collection of malt Scotches lined up behind the expansive bar. T...

Having the longest list of wines by the glass in the state is only a start. There is also a champagne bar with more than two dozen varieties by the glass — clicking two flutes of bubbly can set you back as much as 600 bucks. But a trio of three-ounce samples of $15-a-glass wines is only $15. There's a very tasty tapas menu, too.

It could have been the stunning cocktail program at Root Down that made us overlook the wine list for years. But that changed last summer, when we spent a magical, wine-soaked evening on the patio falling head over heels in love with its delightfully eclectic vinous selections. What makes Root Down's list so bewitching? First, the variety. Root ...