Dupont Circle

Renowned in a city generally lacking good pizza for being above palatable, Alberto's is a good option for dining in Dupont Circle on the cheap.

A happy little sandwich/salad lunch spot with patio seating on the street. Those sandwiches are exceptional and worth seeking out, and even if they weren't, a good lunch for under $10 in Dupont Circle is a beautiful thing. The guy inside is a bit of a goofball.

It's a little amazing that there's a place in Dupont where you can get high quality food, made from all local, natural ingredients, for under $10. The cafe is on the upper level the bar on the bottom, in addition to patio seating out front.

Very tasty Italian cuisine with a nice wine list served in this small restaurant. The one stumble is the noise level, but the restaurant remains quite the good deal. Reservations required for dinner. Guess which one of the desserts is especially popular.

Usually crowded and noisy, but the French/Belgian bistro cooking is great, and the atmosphere is lively and happy. They do a mean mussels with pomme frite. Also try the monkfish.

Small, cozy restaurant, with a popular oyster bar, along with fried clams, lobster rolls, and other seafood. This is also a good place to enjoy a beer and martinis.

A classy restaurant despite the kitschy sailor theme serving authentic Greek, regional fare. If you're up for a wild ride, try the local favorite: grilled octopus in ink with fava bean puree.

Thai in the U.S. and certainly in D.C. is often nice for a cheap meal with just a little bit of flair, and not much beyond that. But this is one of best Thai places in the city, and serves up less greasy, more authentic dishes, in an attractive space and it's not quite as cheap. Strangely, they serve free sodas—not just free refills—which makes this a good bet if you're thirsty. The spice levels, which you can control per request, are higher here than you'd find elsewhere, so those extra drinks are extra useful.

Reasonably priced "American Sushi" place, with good fresh sushi—the best you'll find anywhere near here without spending a fortune see Sushi taro below, amid a somewhat lacklustre atmosphere. Selections are interesting—not just standard nigiri and california roll fare, along with good vegetarian sushi.

The new restaurant/bar attached to Hotel Palomar is a good place for a cocktail, upscale pizza, and happy hour specials M-F 4PM-7PM, or for a full meal of their fine Mediterranean-influenced cooking.

"Universal acclaim" is often claimed, but rarely factual in a strict sense. But Komi seemingly has yet to generate a negative critical review anywhere—not even a quip. Declared by serious foodies one of the best restaurants in the country, this is a place for a special occasion or simply is a special occasion, as it's both super expensive and very memorable. Mediterranean/New American cuisine. It is indeed harder to get reservations here than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, so be ready to try a few times a full month in advance, calling first thing in the morning.

Obelisk

Very, very classy, and very, very tasty Tuscan cuisine. Obelisk's five course pri-fixe menu changes daily, so everything is always fresh and seasonal. It is reputed to be both one of the city's best dining experiences and one of its best deals. It is, however, small and therefore quite hard to get reservations—plan well in advance.

The country's first certified organic restaurant serves almost all locally sourced food. Excellently done, but somewhat limited at times by the organic requirements—it's best in the summer.

Yes, it is not the only Palm, but it remains a worthy choice for Washington power dining—along with a very small handful, the Palm has a pretty good claim to best steak in town. And truly, this location is unmistakeably Washingtonian. There isn't a whole lot of reason to come beyond political celebrity spotting and steak, but that should be reason enough.

The new entrant at the Jefferson Hotel is already a clear destination restaurant, with classic French cuisine served in a traditional American, and frankly gorgeous, interior. The food is competitive with the best the city has to offer, and the service is perhaps a step above, with details covered down to the string-bound parchment you receive on your way out, upon which your servers have listed the wines you sampled.

The entire country is lacking in top-notch Japanese restaurants, depriving Americans of one of the world's truly great cuisines. So thank goodness that Sushi Taro is around. You'll spend a fortune, but if you like seafood, this place will blow you away. The name is a bit of a relic from when Sushi Taro was an affordable after-work sushi bar. Today, you are better off going straight to the entrees, since enormous prices and sushi don't mix well—the restaurant's excellent chef isn't as relevant when your dish is not cooked.

A must visit, not just for the great frozen yogurt, but for the experience. Play the Nintendo game system and receive discounted yogurt based on your score. There are plenty of other ways to get free yogurt such as reciting by heart braveheart's freedom speech.