My Top 10 Dining Experiences of 2024

Jônt | Washington, DC

In my opinion, this is currently the best restaurant in Washington, DC. Holding two Michelin stars (retaining the same from the previous year), the food is operating at or close to a three star level. I think the service - which is incredibly refined and elegant - could benefit from a slight bit of additional warmth and personal touch. Additionally, the chef’s counter style setting - while providing an enjoyable up-close view of the kitchen - might benefit from additional more comfortable table dining options. The food was exquisite, with technique, ingredients, and flavor firing on all cylinders most of the time. A couple dishes here and there were a bit less interesting than the rest, but nothing was a total miss. The transition to the external room for dessert is a nice touch, and the pastry offerings and mignardises were a total hit. The wine pairing was nice but not stellar, and next time I would likely opt for a nice bottle or a few choice glasses to drink throughout the meal instead. 95 points.

Maito | Panama City, Panama

Refined and soulful Panamanian fine dining. 2024 marked my fourth visit to Maito, and it remains the best restaurant in Panama (and potentially all of Central America). The tasting menu included some old favorites like the sancocho, plus new additions like the incredible Chinese-influenced clay pot rice with pork belly. And as always, it is necessary to finish with the strawberries and cream dessert - which remains the only food to have ever literally brought a tear to my eye like Anton Ego in Ratatouille. We enjoyed the entire meal alongside a delightful Louis Roederer Rose Brut Champagne 2016, which was a terrific pairing for most of the menu. 92 points.

Mario Pagan| San Juan, Puerto Rico

Similar to Maito, Mario Pagan brings a fine dining approach to local Puerto Rican cuisine, and nails it. Lobster mofongo was the standout, although the scallop starter and souffle dessert were also delicious. A lovely dining room is elegant yet relaxed. 91 points.

Vernick Fish | Philadelphia, PA

Set in a beautiful high-ceiling space in the Four Seasons Hotel, Vernick Fish focuses on updated takes on classic seafood dishes: huge sea scallops, sea bream crudo, charred octopus were all delicious. A caviar and mini-rosti amuse bouche was a nice kick-off, particularly with our opening wine: Krug 169 edition in a half-bottle, which had aged to perfection. Some other nice wine selections bolstered the meal, notably an Albert Bichot Chablis. The mocha and dark chocolate tarte dessert with chocolate fudge cookies and chocolate ice cream was also a standout, and paired terrifically with a vintage rainwater Madeira. Some of the garnishes on certain dishes could have been a little more refined, and the steak course was a bit forgettable, but overall a highly enjoyable meal. 91 points.

Fonda Lo Que Hay | Panama City, Panama

Another standout from Panama City, this spot represents an elevated take on the traditional “fonda” restaurant, with elegant takes on Panamanian classics: a delicious tuna crudo, ceviche with corn nuts (I love these!), clams “sexy” and a Panamanian-style ribeye. The dessert was also a standout here: a take on a classic raspadura with passionfruit syrup and malt powder (I could eat this powder straight with a spoon and be happy). We also paired this meal with a delicious Michel Gonet Grand Cru Mesnil Sur Oger Champagne Brut 2015, and got to taste a 1972 Taylor’s Vintage Late Bottled Port which was fascinating. 89 points.

Marcel | Atlanta, GA

A classic French-style steakhouse in a luxe setting that nails classic steaks and seafood, with all the indulgent sides: aligot potatoes, creamed spinach, frites etc. Nothing ground-breaking, just good rich food executed well with white glove service. 89 points.

Rania | Washington, DC

A fine dining almost bistro-style approach to Indian cuisine. A terrific value for a one Michelin star experience offering a four-course pre fixe menu. The Indian-spice take on a Scotch egg was super yummy, as was the beef short rib with shiitake mushroom escabeche — but the real standout was the lentil curry served alongside with rice and naan. The mango lassi inspired frozen yogurt with sesame brittle was also a perfect ending. Other dishes were less memorable and the service was a bit clunky with a few missteps (forgetting to bring fresh silverware before serving our third course). 88 points.

Sfoglina | Washington, DC

Classic Italian food done right. Not much more to say - classic and delicious meatball starter, carbonara, and tiramisu. The kitchen also sent us an extra dessert on the house for no apparent reason other than we had a nice rapport with the service (and ordered an expensive bottle of wine - hint, it was the Argiano 2019 Brunello di Montalcino, which ended up as one of my top 10 wines of 2024). 87 points.

Gravitas| Washington, DC

When I think of a one Michelin star restaurant, Gravitas is the type of place I picture: a clean, elegant space doing some elevated ingredient-focused cooking. The menu was nice: some pops of pickled beet in a starter, an egg yolk raviolo, confit duck… some usual suspects on a fine dining menu. Nothing that particularly wowed me, but some nice cookery. Wine pairings were fine, but wanting a bit more interaction from the somm. The “butterfinger” dessert was tasty and fun. 86 points.

Welina Terrace | Kauai, HI

This is an odd one because we dined here for New Year’s Eve - leaving 2023 behind and welcoming 2024. The food was actually outstanding: a top tier omakase style meal with top-notch sushi and sashimi offerings from local Hawaiian and imported Japanese fish and seafood, caviar opening, and a number of other terrific bites (wagyu, smoked pork jowl, Japanese melon). But the service was atrocious — not sure if the kitchen was having issues or the service team was just super disorganized, but a meal that should have taken 3-4 hours at most, allowing us to end the meal with a champagne toast to usher in the new year, ended up taking over 6 hours with huge gaps between courses (in some cases over 40 minutes) and leaving us a bit befuddled and exhausted by the end. Still on the list because the food was indeed excellent, but taken down quite a few pegs by the utterly poor service (to be fair, our individual servers were highly apologetic, albeit underwhelmingly nonchalant about the whole situation). Certainly memorable, for some of the right but also some of the wrong reasons. 93 points on food, but about a 60 on service (although they did ultimately comp half our bill so not a total loss).