Washington’s oldest restaurant is ready for the summer season. Come in, enjoy the experience and don’t forget to take it all in.

If you’re ever near the new convention center (yes, I realize I should stop refering to it as the “new” convention center) and you find yourself craving a delicious microbrew, pop in to the first of several Old Dominion franchises slated to open in the DC area.

I try not making snap judgements, particularly when there’s a new restaurant involved. I like to bide my time and see if a newcomer to the evening dining scene is worthwhile. Of course, in this city if you take too long you’re bound to miss out. I think in this case, should Viridian bow out of the restaurant landscape, it won’t be missed.

While I’ve only tried a handful of Ethiopian restaurants in DC, one thing they’ve all had in common aside from cheap, good food seemed a mild disregard for decor. Then along comes Etete…

Tucked away in an otherwise nondescript office block in midtown DC is one of the more remarkable Italian restaurants I’ve been to in the District.

Our intrepid editor and friends venture outside of the city limits for a feast of Old Bay-encrusted crabs, hush puppies, and some homemade root beer.

A day-time drive-by may leave you confused as to why, in that too-far-north-of-the-Metro-to-really-be-Van-Ness neighborhood that houses Politics and Prose, anyone would open a camping goods store. At night, though, candles and hanging lamps light the windows from the inside, giving passers-by a view of a bar, making apparent a new restaurant reincarnation in the space that used to be Greenwood Restaurant.

I was enthralled by the Reef upon my first visit back in May, and immediately wanted to share my thoughts with the world at large. However, I convinced myself that more in-depth research was necessary, and so I’ve spent the last several months speaking with the owners, the chef, the waitresses, and the bartenders (mostly the bartenders) as well as touring the Reef’s menu offerings, from exotic beverages to organic appetizers and entrees. The things I do for you people.