Chuy's

11219 Route 29

american restaurant

Juniper Restaurant

2401 M St NW

It's the kind of place where you can actually taste why people care about their ingredients, and the courtyard feels like you've stepped out of the city for a moment. Go if you want straightforward food done properly, especially with someone who appreciates a well-made drink.

texmex restaurant

Hot Lola's

4238 Wilson Blvd

Come here if you want solid texmex in a loud, bright room full of people actually enjoying themselves. The kind of place where you don't need reservations and nobody minds if you're in a rush.

texmex restaurant

Silverado

7052 Columbia Pike

This is where locals linger at the bar long after finishing their fajitas, the kind of place where the bartender already knows what you drink. The Southwestern cooking tastes like people actually want you to come back.

texmex restaurant

2 Jefes

2249 Huntington Ave

Two guys run a tight operation here, the kind of place where they've figured out what works and stick with it. Anyone craving straightforward Tex-Mex that doesn't apologize for what it is will find exactly that.

texmex restaurant

Anita's New Mexico Style Mexican Food

521 Maple Ave E

The red chile here tastes like someone's grandmother perfected it over decades, which might actually be true. Go if you want straightforward New Mexican food that doesn't apologize for being exactly what it is.

texmex restaurant

Austin Grill

750 E St NW

Neighborhood Tex Mex spot that's been doing the same reliable thing—tacos, burritos, wings—since the late '80s, the kind of place where regulars know what they're ordering before they sit down.