1789

Georgetown’s 1789, site of countless graduation fêtes and anniversary dinners, is evocative of a Washington of old, when men wore ties and women smiled and nodded. These things still happen, of course, and the main dining room, with its antique-style china and gold-framed historical prints, is an appropriate setting for them. The menu stresses local provenance—rockfish from Kent Island, Maryland, say, with celery root purée, braised escarole with citrus and black trumpet mushrooms, or Shenandoah Valley lamb with arugula, potatoes and roast garlic. The food is exceptional; the service, as might be expected, impeccable.