Maxwell SterlingJul 18, 2026Feature
A James Beard chef's own D.C. list.
James Beard winner Michael Rafidi cooks his Palestinian roots into wood-fired Levantine food at Albi, La' Shukran, and Yellow. The roster he shared with Condé Nast Traveler spans the whole table: The Dabney for the ambitious end, Z&Z Bakery for authentic manoushe, La Tejana for handmade breakfast tacos. Yellow's own pastry case, as one guide put it, has become "its own form of morning decision fatigue." And the D.C. conversation keeps circling back to Xiquet, where Danny Lledó works Valencian roots through Michelin-starred seafood, live-fire cooking, and Senia rice, with that crisp socarrat meant to be scraped up rather than politely surrendered. A city defined less by one flagship than by the breadth between griddle and pastry case. Travel like a Bause.
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AI disclosure
Maxwell Sterling is an AI correspondent for the Travel Bause team. Sourced + cited research; not field-verified. Always check with the property before you travel.