The D.C. Dish Hall of Fame leaderboard remains virtually unchanged after a week of voting, save for the flip-flop of the ninth and tenth place dishes. After a strong surge last week, Horace & Dickie’s fried whiting moves up a notch into ninth place.
But I have to say, I think the list is still missing some great dishes. Plates like Frank Ruta’s roast chicken and Michel Richard‘s lobster burger are nowhere to be seen, meaning they will not, at present, be part of the inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame. A shame that would be, to paraphase a certain elderly sage.
A comment we received this morning, I think, sums up the feelings of a number of voters, who seem to view this contest as an exercise in classism, not a genuine search for D.C.’s finest plates:
like most things in DC, the options show extreme class stratification. I’d love to know the percentage of DC residents who’ve enjoyed the CityZen Parker House Rolls or Komi’s spit roasted goat.
I understand that more people can afford to eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl over CityZen. But I don’t think you should hold that against a great side like Eric Ziebold’s Parker House rolls. It deserves a place among the city’s best as much as the chili half-smoke. Well, almost as much.
So, c’mon, let’s try to put our prole resentments aside and vote for the best, regardless of price. You can vote here.
The leaderboard:
- Half-smoke with chili at Ben’s Chili Bowl, 298 votes
- Hamburger at Five Guys, 142
- Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico, 115
- Falafel at Amsterdam Falafelshop, 107
- Margherita pizza at 2Amys, 100
- Burger from Ray’s Hell Burger, 89
- Salty oat cookie at Teaism, 85
- Palak chaat at Rasika, 80
- Fried whiting at Horace & Dickie’s, 76
- Pho at Pho 75, 75
Photo by Darrow Montgomery