Too many cooks in the kitchen? Well, how many chefs is too many? In our case, 12 seemed just right, especially when they’re our region’s best. We asked NoVA’s top culinary talent where they eat when they’re off the clock. From fine dining to ice cream that’s worthy of a special occasions, this is where chefs eat.
Patrick O’Connell
Chef, The Inn at Little Washington
Where does the most celebrated chef in our region go to celebrate a special occasion? While his own restaurant is a decidedly exclusive dining destination, he might prefer some simpler pleasures.
“There is no better indulgence than ice cream at Moo Thru. Made from the milk of their champion Holstein cows and slow churned on their family farm, it’s some of the best ice cream you’ve ever had,” the chef says. “I always order mine the same way — half vanilla, half chocolate soft serve on a cone. Simply perfect!”
O’Connell, of course, is the mind behind The Inn at Little Washington, which he opened in 1978. Since then, the restaurant has grown in plaudits from industry professionals (including our local chefs in this issue) and international acclaim, eventually gaining three Michelin stars in 2019. It currently holds two.
One of his suppliers, sustainably run Autumn Olive Farm in Columbia, Maryland, is responsible for O’Connell’s favorite lunch. “Their hot dogs — made from heritage Berkabaw hogs — are sweet, delicious, and nutritious!” says the chef. He also makes the pilgrimage from Little Washington to Fairfax for dinners of Peking duck at Mama Chang. “I fell in love with their food, especially the duck and the Wuhan noodles, during the long, uncertain months of COVID, and now visit regularly for a deeply satisfying meal,” he says.
Chef’s Picks
For a Sweet Treat:
For Lunch:
- Hot dogs from Autumn Olive Farm
For Dinner:
Jacques Haeringer
Chef, L’Auberge Chez François
“I’m a senior citizen, I’m in bed by 10,” jokes Jacques Haeringer, the second-generation chef and proprietor of L’Auberge Chez François in Great Falls. Therefore, he’s not doing much late-night eating. But despite all of his time spent in the kitchen, he does find occasions to dine out.
His father, who opened the restaurant, hailed from the Alsace region of France and began serving his native cuisine in DC in 1954. L’Auberge Chez François moved to its current 6-acre spot in Great Falls in 1976. There, the younger Haeringer has built a reputation for farm-to-table offerings that profit from the restaurant’s backyard farm. The goods have ranged from herbs and greens to the hops made into Chez François’ private-label beer.
Haeringer’s favorite lunch spot is close to his restaurant. He loves the chicken wings at Mookie’s BBQ in Great Falls and says he appreciates “the nice draught beer selection.” For dinner, he gets a little farther afield to Nostos in Tysons for its “excellent Greek fare.” On special occasions, Haeringer enjoys PassionFish in Reston, where he orders the stone crab claws. A fan of a “killer martini,” he also appreciates the bar scene at Hotel Burg in Leesburg, where the “house martini service” is available any way he chooses.
Chef’s Picks
For Lunch:
For Dinner:
For Special Occasions:
Yuan Tang
Chef, Ellie Bird
As co-owner (with his wife, Carey) of Michelin-starred Rooster & Owl in DC, diners may think of Yuan Tang as a big-city chef. But his Falls Church restaurant, Ellie Bird, is a love letter to his suburban hometown. Having grown up between NoVA and Hong Kong, multiculturalism is practically in Tang’s DNA, and it shows in his restaurant choices.
He, Carey, and their three kids frequent Hong Kong Pearl in Falls Church for dim sum brunches partly because, “All the dim sum are ready to come to the table the moment you sit down. It works really well when dining with impatient kids. Some favorite dishes include shrimp dumplings, shumai, and cha siu bao,” he says.
His favorite dinner is another pick that can feed a family, though he says he can also happily dine alone at Captain Pell’s Fairfax Crabhouse. “No fuss, no thrill, a locally owned crabhouse that serves delicious and fresh steamed Maryland blue crabs,” he explains. There, the whole gang digs into extra-large crabs and fried clams, along with sips of light beer for the grown-ups.
Special occasions are a departure, with an overnight trip to The Inn at Little Washington. “For dinner, we love ordering the classic menu and their seasonal menu so we can try a little bit of everything. The cheese cart and the gentleman that serves the cow puns is also a can’t-miss,” Tang says.
Chef’s Picks
For Family Dinner:
For Special Occasions:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“I don’t cook often at home. My favorite analogy is that you can’t expect a mailman to want to go for a walk after work.”
Bertrand Chemel
Chef, 2941 Restaurant
Only one chef can claim to have held our No. 1 restaurant ranking three times. At 2941 Restaurant, Bertrand Chemel has scored that hat trick, including the top spot on our current 50 Best Restaurants list. Not that recognition is anything new to the Auvergne, France, native, who was chef de cuisine at Café Boulud when New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl blessed it with three stars.
Fresh from a trip to Japan, Chemel had sushi on his mind, naming Wren and Modan (both in Tysons) as favorite dinner spots. His favorite lunch close to his restaurant is also Japanese — Miyagi Restaurant in McLean. “They have great sushi, awesome avocado salad, and I love their tofu appetizers,” he says. When he has time for the journey, his favorite burger is at chef Patrick O’Connell’s Patty O’s Café in Little Washington. “It’s a beautiful town to take a walk after lunch,” he adds. “And of course, you have to leave with some bread and pastries.”
Chemel’s younger daughter is close to leaving for college. “Then my wife and I will have more time for ourselves to visit more local and neighborhood restaurants in our free time,” he says. Vienna’s Evelyn Rose is on his radar, but he also looks forward to casual dinners like meaty nights at Falls Church Korean barbecue spot Puzukan Tan or Gom Tang E Korean Restaurant in Centreville.
Chef’s Picks
For Lunch:
For Dinner:
On His Radar:
Casual Dinner:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“My favorite meal to make at home is usually a pan-seared rib-eye with sautéed fingerling potatoes and garlic-parsley sautéed mushrooms. I also always have Trader Joe’s saucisson or salami Bocconcino and [a] Wegmans cheese selection. When it’s available, I buy Truffle Shuffle goat milk cheese [from Blakesville Creamery].”
Matt Hill
Chef, Ruthie’s All-Day
You could say Matt Hill is a family man in more ways than one. A husband and father, he also presides over a small family of restaurants. His original Ruthie’s All-Day, named for his Southern grandmother, has been a hit in Arlington since 2020. His second Ruthie’s is slated to open this spring in Fairfax Corner. There, diners can expect the same notable eats they’ve been enjoying for years, including biscuit sandwiches, smoked meats, and some of the region’s best mac and cheese. But don’t pigeonhole Hill as an all-American diner — just as many of his sides are tinged with Asian flavors.
For Hill, a perfect day of dining out begins at Café Colline in Arlington. “I like to sit at the bar solo and get the seafood soup and pâté with French bread,” he says. “Sometimes I get the simple bibb lettuce salade maison and burger or French onion soup.”
When Hill and his wife are able to score a babysitter for a night out, their favorite destination is Ometeo in Tysons. “Everything is prime, and the sizzling bone-in short rib fajitas are super delicious. My wife loves the tortilla soup, and they make really good desserts,” he says.
For a more formal night on the town, Evelyn Rose in Vienna is a go-to for chef Nick Palermo’s pillowy hand-rolled gnocchi and scallops that Hill says are “cooked to perfection.”
Chef’s Picks
For Lunch:
For Date Night:
Favorite Fast-Casual Spot
“We love to support homespun fast-casual concepts that come out of the region [from] our chef friends Scott [Drewno] and Danny [Lee] with CHĪKO and Victor Albisu at Taco Bamba.”
Fabio Trabocchi
Chef, Sfoglina
Growing up in Italy’s Le Marche region, Fabio Trabocchi was always passionate about food, and he has been sharing the love in the DC area for 25 years. His first restaurant, the now-closed Maestro in the Tysons Ritz-Carlton, opened in 2001. Since then, he’s earned a James Beard Award, more than one Michelin star, and many other accolades for his delicious doings.
One might expect his diet to lean toward the complex, but when he’s at work, his favorite meal to eat alongside his colleagues is scrambled eggs. “There is elegance in simplicity. Scrambled eggs, done properly, are humble yet deeply comforting — satisfying, nourishing, and restorative,” he says.
And when Trabocchi and his family dine out, one of their favorite local chains is Lebanese Taverna. There, they order a selection of mezza and a whole branzino — his favorite fish to cook. “Recently, we’ve been enjoying the pumpkin kibbeh and the spicy hommus; the housemade harissa is exceptional,” he says.
A perfect dinner would be a rib-eye at 2941 in Falls Church, where Trabocchi says a steak he had recently was among the best he’s tried in years. For something a bit more formal, he heads to The Inn at Little Washington, which he says, “simply can’t be surpassed.” Maybe not, but when we think of the best pasta in NoVA, we think of Trabocchi.
Chef’s Picks
For Family Night Out:
For Dinner:
For Special Occasions:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“At home, I love grilling fish in the summertime. The simplicity of an excellent piece of fish, prepared with restraint and respect, always reminds me of growing up along the coast of Italy. It’s a style of cooking that feels timeless: honest, nourishing, and deeply connected to place.”
Kyle Bailey
Chef, The Salt Line, Ometeo, The Lost Fox
Fans of The Salt Line in Arlington, Ometeo in Tysons, and The Lost Fox Hideaway in Ashburn may not realize that they all have one thing in common. Long Shot Hospitality is responsible for each of them, and chef/partner Kyle Bailey has a skilled hand in the kitchens of them all. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Bailey went on to cut his professional teeth at American locavore classic Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, New York. His laurels include a 2019 RAMMY award for Chef of the Year and being named The People’s Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine.
Proximity may help Bailey make his lunch plans: He says his favorite is the Tysons location of Stellina Pizzeria (situated right next door to Ometeo), though he likes every outlet of the neo-Neapolitan pizza purveyor. “Antonio [Matarazzo] and Matteo [Venini] are two of the most hospitable people around,” he says.
For both dinner and late-night eats, Bailey and his wife, pastry chef Tiffany, favor 24-hour Yechon in Annandale. “It has never, ever disappointed,” Bailey says. When they want to splash out on something a bit more formal, “Nue Vietnamese hits on all fronts, from food to drink to décor to hospitality.” For brunch, it’s got to be Ruthie’s All-Day in Arlington, which impresses this home pit boss with its chef’s skill. “Whenever chef Matt Hill is in the kitchen, you’ll be eating well,” Bailey says.
Chef’s Picks:
For Lunch:
For Dinner and Late-Night Eats:
For Brunch:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“Any braised meat dish in the winter. I love really taking a long time with a tough cut of meat, layering flavors over four hours to get to something delicious. In the summer, it’s probably smoking brisket, a similar concept with cooking low and slow.”
Scott Drewno
Chef, CHīKO
Nine years into his success as co-founder of The Fried Rice Collective (with chef Danny Lee), Scott Drewno keeps adding restaurants and accumulating accolades. He’s been nominated for James Beard Awards for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic Region and has twice picked up Chef of the Year at the RAMMYs. No surprise for an Asian-food specialist who has worked alongside legends like Wolfgang Puck and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
As co-chef of CHīKO, known for its “orange-ish” chicken and soy-glazed brisket, it makes sense that he’s a fan of other high-level chefs who wade into more casual waters. He says that his favorite restaurant for breakfast, lunch, or dinner is Taco Bamba. “It’s incredibly flavorful with tons of options, and it always hits. I also can’t wait for Electric Bull to open,” he adds of chef Victor Albisu’s upcoming steakhouse in Vienna.
As for more formal affairs, “It’s a tie between Local Provisions and Joon,” he says. “Both are consistently excellent. At Joon, the kabobs and rice are standout dishes, and at Local Provisions, I had a pasta dish about six months ago that I’m still thinking about.”
Chef’s Picks
For Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner:
For Formal Affairs:
Michael & Allyson Stebner
Chefs, Local Provisions & Brasserie Royale
Some love stories could be termed “one for the books.” Married chefs Michael and Allyson Stebner met on the line, making theirs one for the cookbooks. Their neighborhood restaurants have remade the dining scene in Sterling since the 2023 debut of Local Provisions. Now, Loudoun County residents don’t need to go out of the way for French comfort food thanks to the Julia Child–influenced eats of Brasserie Royale.
The couple spends every day but Monday at their restaurants in Cascades Marketplace. On workdays, they appreciate dining on the Ecuadorian dishes of a longtime employee, including empanadas with homemade salsas and crema. But on their day off, they dine out.
Even midweek, the Stebners travel to Arlington for a late lunch at Ruthie’s All-Day. “Ally loves the fried chicken salad. I usually get the meat and three, and we love the biscuits,” says Michael. Their favorite dinner is at Peter Chang in nearby Herndon. “We have tried a few items there, but always get the Peking duck and the steamed bao,” he says. “Service is always very friendly; this is super important to us these days.” Bonus points: Their daughters adore Chinese and Taiwanese food, and Chang’s restaurant has brought authentic Asian fare closer to home for the family.
Chefs’ Picks
For Lunch:
For Dinner:
Favorite Fast-Casual Spot:
“Definitely Sweetgreen. I worked there for years, and their quality of ingredients and freshness and seasonality is very good.” — Michael Stebner
Vincent Badiee
Chef, The Huntōn
Under the keen direction of Vincent Badiee, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm took less than a year to become our No. 1. He had already helped Gravitas to earn a Michelin star as its chef de cuisine, following years in big-name New York kitchens such as Eleven Madison Park and Daniel. As opening chef at The Huntōn and Diana Lounge at Hotel Burg in Leesburg, he once again shows off his proud Persian heritage and Italian training to exceptional effect.
When he’s not turning Loudoun County diners on to updated classics like lobster thermidor and hummingbird cake, he and his team are throwing down in the kitchen for themselves. One recent favorite dish was “a delicious pork vindaloo, spicy to the edge of what I would enjoy, with a little salad and seasoned labneh,” he recalls.
On his day off, his favorite lunch is at Joon in Tysons. “The chefs are both amazing,” Badiee says of Chris Morgan and Najmieh Batmanglij. “I have yet to have a bad meal there. Try the meatballs, whole branzino, fesenjan, and don’t forget some rice!” His preferred dinner spot is casual-cool Harvey’s in Falls Church. “Chef Thomas [Harvey] is a character and loves what he does. It shows the moment you walk through the door and see the chalk art. It’s a soulful, happy place,” he explains. And for a special occasion, he’s currently eyeing both Vienna’s Evelyn Rose and the Staunton restaurant named one of The New York Times’ Best of 2025, Maude & the Bear.
Chef’s Picks
For Lunch:
For Dinner:
For Special Occasions:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“The truth: Hot dogs probably claim my No. 1 most-repeated late-night meal for myself. Now I have a little Frenchie named Charlie (from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). He’s got allergies like no dog I’ve ever had before, so I cook for him more than I do for myself.”
Jonathin Krinn
Chef, Elyse
You know him from stalwarts including 2941 and Clarity, where Jonathan Krinn built a sterling reputation for scratch-made cuisine with a streak of delicious eccentricity. Since 2024, he’s plied his trade at his 30-seat baby, Elyse, where dishes like pheasant with apricot and miso await adoring fans who often must reserve well in advance.
The widely traveled chef and his team’s favorite meal to eat while laboring at the restaurant comes from the Tapari Momo food truck parked at the gas station next door. If he’s leaving the building for more than a few minutes, he enjoys lunch at Green Basil Dimsum & Pho in Fairfax. “I love it because they have a broth that someone definitely cares about,” he says.
Dinner is also Vietnamese — pho spring rolls and glazed roast duck at Nue: Elegantly Vietnamese in Falls Church. “I love it because they represent Vietnamese cuisine uniquely,” he says. For late-night, nearby Songbird is “no contest” for its “great food” and “NYC-style mixology.” The Inn at Little Washington is worth the investment of time and money for a blowout affair, he believes: “It’s an unparalleled experience.”
Chef’s Picks:
For Lunch:
For Dinner:
For Special Occasions:
What Does He Cook at Home?
“Baked salmon with citrus, fish sauce, and rice vinegar. Easy and quick cleanup.”
Feature image: Eleven of the 12 NoVA culinary stars featured in our “Where Chefs Eat” story gathered at The Huntōn in Leesburg for our photo shoot. (Jacques Haeringer from L’Auberge Chez François was missing due to travel.) They talked shop, sipped wine, and ate some decadent dishes created by Huntōn chef Vincent Badiee before he jumped into the frame. Photo by Michael Butcher, hair and makeup by Anita Bahramy of THE Artist Agency.
This story originally ran in our April 2026 issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
