Picture: Dinner with Charlize? You gotta pick a better place.  We can help.

The week in review at the newest and 3rd best dining guide for Washington, DC.

Added to the Recommended Restaurant List:

Estuary – Normally I read the previews, reviews, and chatter on a place to get a sense of it.  Then make a visit, see if I agree, and decide whether I feel comfortable recommending it.  Sometimes, to decide whether to recommend a place can take more than one visit.  Estuary required a couple visits.  It was good from the get go, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was because it was pushing beyond expectations.  Now I think I have a handle on it.  It is excellent.

Zeppelin – This Shaw spot focuses on creating fun, vibrant setting for an evening.  Depending on your mood or age, it is worth trying out at the beginning or end of your night.

Removed from the Recommended Restaurant List:

Kyirisan – Chef Tim Ma came into the District three years ago and made a splash with this place.  Costs and fit with the neighborhood seems to have doomed it.  Luckily, Ma still is manning the kitchen at American Son downtown.

Meridian Pint – Closing down DC location.

Other Updates to the Recommended Restaurant List:

Anxo – Revisited Anxo, the cider-focused bar and Spanish restaurant in Bloomingdale or Truxton Circle or Shaw depending on your boundaries.  The food impressed, and it is upgraded from “Worth Trying Out” to “Worth Taking a Walk”  out of your way.

Reviews:

We added another review this week: Convivial, the excellent French spot in Shaw.

Wine:

Connecticut Ave Wine and Liquor – We pay a visit to the second of our growing list of neighborhood wine shops.  The small corner shop punches above its weight.

Other News:

We questioned whether the Washington Post’s critic Tom Sietsema has been replaced by a robot.  He did not respond, which seems like a human response.

Charlize Theron still has not taken us up on the date offer, but hope springs eternal.