So what if you launched a D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest to suss out the metro area’s best bites and it turned into a coronation of the region’s cheap eats? It would make sense, right? After all, as I noted early in the voting, the odds are stacked decidedly against the high-end restaurants.
Arianne Bennett, co-owner of the namesake dish and Hall of Fame inductee at the Amsterdam Falafelshop, said much the same thing in an e-mail to me after I announced the contest results on Monday:
I think that some of the high-end restaurants missed out, and the lower-price-point places excelled in the voting because of two reasons:
- more bodies move through our restaurants daily, resulting in more bodies that have tried the food and can vote, and
- higher end restaurants have more diverse menus – everyone who goes to Blue Duck has not had the incredible pleasure of the marrow bone appetizer… but everyone who goes to the Falafelshop pretty much gets a falafel (same with Pollo or Ben’s).
Bennett suggests a dual platform contest next year: one for high-end dishes and one for fast-food or fast-casual dishes. It’s a good idea.
However, in the meantime, whether fair or not, I have decided to weigh in on the winners of our inaugural Hall of Fame contest. Did they deserve the honor or not? You can read my thoughts here.