‘Day 251: Bibiana’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
Esquire has released their list of the 20 best new restaurants of 2010, and D.C. has made it with downtown Italian eatery Bibiana. Mentioned alongside heavy hitters like Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen in New York and Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 in Los Angeles, Bibiana is the only representation from our nation’s capital.

Though they use the standard criteria of good food, friendly servers and boozy cocktails, this year Esquire also judged restaurants on the somewhat amorphous criteria of if the customers were “having fun” during their meal. One might claim that the level of fun is tied to the aforementioned boozy cocktails, but according to Esquire, fun means communal tables, day-of-the-week dinners, and Grandma-inspired Sunday suppers.

So does Bibiana deserve this high fun rating? And is it one of the best new restaurants in the country?

Eater has the full list here.

Ashley Messick

Ashley is a born and bred Washingtonian who left for college but came running back to the District as fast as her little legs could carry her. By day she is a Capitol Hill brat, but by night she is a lean, mean, eating machine. It’s her goal in life to steal Anthony Bourdain’s job…by whatever means necessary. Contact her at Ashley (at) welovedc (dot) com or follow her on Twitter.