We greatly enjoyed celebrating a birthday here! It’s true that The Dabney is not easy to get to by car. You can’t park within sight of the restaurant, which is in a clean, well-lit alley in a gentrifying area of Washington. But we solved that...by taking an Uber that dropped us at the door. Once inside, we were seated promptly although we were about half an hour early for our reservation. The menu is short and consists mostly of small plates, although there was a $95 platter of short ribs and vegetables to feed a group. Many of the small plates included unfamiliar foods such as salsify (a root vegetable) and sugar toads (a fried fish). But we loved every one of the dishes we ordered, and we appreciated not being offered the usual steak, shrimp, roast chicken, etc. The restaurant’s specialty is Mid-Atlantic foods, and of course a farm-to-table sensibility. Unfortunately, however, there were very few Mid-Atlantic wines on the wine list, and no bargains. We drank a claret from Linden in nearby Virginia and were pleased with it. The service was first-rate throughout the meal. The dinner was one of the best we have eaten in years, with a price tag to match.More
