Restaurants

As New York Times columnist Tom Friedman famously opined, the world is flat — and that goes double for the D.C. culinary world, where restaurants are rarely if ever content to identify with just one nation.

In today’s Washington food landscape, where the organic-dining concept has become so popular that it can support even a fast-casual chain, Restaurant Nora is almost a throwback to the past.

In transforming his old Café MoZu into the new restaurant Sou’Wester, Washington celebrity chef Eric Ziebold has replaced dishes of the Far East with food from down South or back home.

Taking stock of Washington’s restaurant scene, one cuisine dominates to the point of distraction: Italian.

It isn’t every day that I’m able to review a restaurant while following in the footsteps of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, rubbing shoulders with two Hall of Fame baseball legends, learning about congressional ethics rules and having a great dining experience — all at the same time.

When autumn sweeps into Washington, turning the leaves and blowing brisk air, local restaurants stand at the ready to play host to canoodling couples. Fall is certainly the season for romance, with the intoxicating scent of sleeping trees, warm days giving way to chillier nights and summer flings that continue on.

When a dining concept transcends mere popularity and enters the zeitgeist, a curious principle takes hold: Similar incarnations pop up nearby, usually smaller but often just as inventive. Let’s call it the Little Brother Effect (LBE).

The dress code at Cava states that one “must wear clothes,” hinting to the relaxed and fun atmosphere at the Greek mezze restaurant, wine bar and martini lounge that is the latest addition to Barracks Row.

Talay Thai is a traditional Thai restaurant in all the good ways. Its best dishes are curries and noodles, its weaker dishes are the Chinese-food options, and no matter what you get, it’ll go well with a tall glass of Thai Iced Tea.

In Hollywood, the term “high-concept” describes movie ideas that can be summed up in a few words, such as the infamous “Snakes on a Plane.” But the term has acquired an equally concise meaning in Washington: nightlife on H Street NE.