Washington, DC
For Southern in Washington, the local food press points to Hitching Post Restaurant and Saints Paradise Cafeteria. Picks from Washingtonian, updated July 2026.
Editor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Washingtonian. Updated July 2026.
Hitching Post Restaurant · Petworth
A laid-back Southern-food institution open since 1967, still turning out crackly, well-seasoned fried chicken alongside potato salad, slaw, and cornbread. The neighborhood-bar energy of strangers chatting across tables has outlasted a 2012 ownership change and a menu that now includes the odd non-Southern add-on like palak chaat.
Saints Paradise Cafeteria · Mount Vernon Square
A cafeteria attached to the United House of Prayer for All People, serving a rotating Blue Plate Special alongside turkey wings, neck bones, liver and onions, candied yams, and greens. Cash only, tray-service, and built around a love-is-our-main-ingredient ethos that has kept it a neighborhood fixture for decades.
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