2018 has passed. It was a weird year of politics and crazy people, but it was also a year of fantastic food in the DC metro area. Good food always makes things better. We’ve had a lot of food this year and are happy to bring you our annual Top NOMs of the year finally. We ate hundreds of Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia dishes. These are the Best Foods that can be found in the area. Make sure to check out our previous Top NOMs over the years.
Best Vegetarian Dish
Delicata Squash @ Tico: When a dish looks that good and is declared the best of the night by meat lovers with a high score of 6 NOMs, it must be excellent and worthy of being named the best food in DC. Make sure to read the full review and all of the sexual pleasure this dish brought us.
Best Fried Chicken
Taiwanese Fried Chicken @ CheersCut: You always win a special place in our hearts with a big, thick piece of meat, like this amazingly breaded Taiwanese chicken. It has less breading than American chicken, yet it is much better. Everything about it screamed our favorite fried chicken place and the best food in DC. Check out the full review to see why we love big pieces of meat like this.
Best Peking Duck
Peking Duck @ Q by Peter Chang: Q by Peter Chang is well known for its excellent Peking Duck and good reasons. This is by far one of our favorite Chinese places. Check out the entire restaurant review to see why we love this place.
Best Cheesy Dish
Mezcal Flamed Queso Fundido @ Tico: You either eat a beautiful dish like this or make love to it—maybe after the fire goes out, or things might get too hot. We love cheese, and this dish, by far, has surpassed all the cheesy stuff around town. Tico is coming in strong with another best dish of the year; read the full review to see all the cheesy details.
Best Bagel
Salmon Spread & Peach Jam Bagel @ Call Your Mother Deli: Mother knows best about food, and Call Your Mother Deli sure knows their bagels. We just fell in love with this bagel. It’s such a great savory and sweet combination. It’s a place worth taking your mom to.
Best Egg Dish
Japanese Deviled Eggs @ Haikan: These eggs made an impression on us. How often do you find Ramen eggs made into Deviled Eggs with fish eggs on top—one of those dishes with an unexpected flair that will make you come back for more?
Best Appetizer
Takoyaki @ Jinya Ramen Bar Logan Circle: We love Takoyaki so much that it deserves a section of its own, and Jinya is one of the few places that knows how to do it right. Read the full review and learn why we love those balls.
Best Omelet
Spinach Goat Cheese Omelet @ The Dish and Dram: The suburbs are coming in hot with the best omelet in town from The Dish and Dram. While it was the day’s special, we added ham to it. It left a unique, tasty place in our hearts and tummies.
Best Pizza
Hot Mess @ Frankly Pizza: OMG, this pizza is the most fantastic thing we’ve ever tasted. So many different things combine to create such a unique flavor. We have just wowed away. Kensington represents suburbs!
Best Hot Pot
Hot Pot Legend: 2018 has been a year of hot pot for us! Our fantastic partner introduced us to this great nomnom, and we have never returned. Hot Pot Legend won our hearts due to the large number of meats, tofu, veggies, and other ingredients we can add to the broth. Even though there is a long wait time, it’s all worth it. Later this year, we will release our Best Hot Pots in the DC area.
Best Bacon Dish
Miso Bacon @ Masa14: One of our favorite unlimited tapas brunches comes with a thick piece of Bacon. You know we love a thick and long piece of meat.
Best Ramen
Cha Shu Ramen @ Maki: Look at this beautiful pork ramen bowl! Thick pieces of pork, noodles, and eggs won this the best Ramen in the DC area. The great thing about this place is the extra toppings you can add.
Best Tacos
Mushroom Tacos @ Chia: Who knew that a place that only serves Vegetarian tacos would be the best taco place in town? Their Mushroom taco is by far our favorite.
Best Bubble Tea
Taro Bubble Tea @ Gong Cha: Taro is our favorite, and Gang Cha, one of the newest Bubble Tea additions to the DC area, makes a killer one.
Best Quick Bites
Okonomiyaki @ Uzu9: This popular Japanese street nomnom brought to DC by Uzu9 is a dish that your taste buds will remember for a long time.
Reader Choice
The Spot Asian Food Hall: It looks like you all like Asian food halls, as our most popular review of the year is the new Spot in Rockville, Maryland.
