In the Where to Eat: 25 Best series, we’re highlighting our favorite restaurants in cities across the United States. These lists will be updated as restaurants close and open, and as we find new gems to recommend. As always, we pay for all of our meals and don’t accept free dishes.
Riverdale Park | Barbecue, Salvadoran
As at any good barbecue restaurant, the smell of wood smoke announces 2Fifty Barbecue before you enter the doors to the casual dining room. The owners, Debby Portillo and Fernando González, moved from El Salvador to Maryland with a custom smoker in 2018, selling plates of barbecue at farmers’ markets before opening this location and one in Washington, D.C., proper. Fans order ahead for plates of tangy, South American-inflected Texas barbecue that often sells out before the day is through. Don’t miss the tender prime brisket, smoky ribs or chicken quarters, all with a side of craveable macaroni and cheese. It’s a perfect spread to take to nearby Riverdale Park on a nice day. KORSHA WILSON
4700 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, Md.; 240-764-8763; 2fiftybbq.com
Navy Yard | Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Albi, which means “heart” in Arabic, is the chef Michael Rafidi’s love letter to the foods of his Palestinian American childhood. The kitchen is dominated by a coal-fire hearth, which sends fragrant wafts of smoke out to the dining room alongside Mr. Rafidi’s inspired takes on Levantine classics such as hummus (topped with crab and charred ramps), kebabs (skewed morsels of date-glazed duck and foie gras) and grape leaves (stuffed with rockfish, green tomato and preserved lemon). The passion of the place is also on display in the wine list. Packed with classic gems and deep cuts from all over the world (with particular emphasis on the Middle East), the charming wine list has sections, like “#Unapologeticallyclassicwhitewines,” and “‘Donnie Darko’ Reds,” that make even the biggest wine snobs crack a smile. MELISSA CLARK
1346 Fourth St. SE, Washington, D.C.; 202-921-9592; albidc.com
Petworth | African Diasporic