Quest For The Holy Grill: 50 Crummy But Good Restaurants Within Rambling Range of Washington, DC (Capital Hometown Guides)

From 1997-1999 Donovan Kelly wrote a column for the Washington Post called "Crummy But Good" in which he reviewed local eateries that looked dubious from the outside, but that offered something beyond the ordinary on the inside. His popular column, the ongoing radio series (WAMU-FM) and the never-ending suggestions from his legion of "crummy-but-good" scouts are brought together for this first compilation of reviews of the 50 best establishments meeting the highly technical crummy-but-good criteria. "Crummy" means a place that looks so bad from the outside that you would hesitate to take your mother inside, especially if she were wearing her good dress. "But Good" means that, once inside, you find some combination of a good menu, good food, relaxing atmosphere, friendly people, and reasonable prices that makes you want to come back. And maybe bring your smart aleck brother from New Jersey who thinks he s seen everything. The restaurants are located in DC, and nearby and not so nearby Maryland and Virginia, and West Virginia. Included is a completely unbiased (?) list of the ten best places as well as a chronicle of the ongoing, ever-controversial Crummy but Good Crabcake War.