What is Ultimate DC Dining?

Welcome to Ultimate DC Dining. This website, and the companion YouTube channel, are dedicated to the Washington DC food scene and are debuting in January, 2022.

My name is Monico and I’m lucky to be a professional photographer.

But I discovered that there’s a small downside in using your camera to make a living - repetition. I work as an automotive photographer and when you spend forty plus hours a week doing pretty much the same thing every day you can lose a little of your passion to take pictures. That’s why side projects are so important for professional creatives. For me my creative side project is travel (and travel photography).

The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy

As I travel the world I quickly discovered that one of the greatest things about visiting new and exciting places is getting to sample - and photograph - the local cuisine.

On one of my visits to barmini by José Andrés (as our night was coming to a close) we were handed a postcard that put it better than I ever could. It said:

“Every plate tells a story of who we are. Who we have been. And what we want our world to be” - José Andrés

barmini by José Andrés, Washington DC

To truly learn about a culture there’s no better place to start than with a local meal. It’s all right there in every bite. If you step away from the most touristy places you can discover the freshest local ingredients, prepared the way it has been for hundreds of years by people who know the region’s history - and they love to talk about why their dishes are the best.

Hand Cut Pasta in Florence, Italy

For years I’ve been honing my food photography by taking my camera with me to every upscale restaurant I visit. As a professional photographer I have massive studios with several flashes and cinema lights that help me to create my images. In a restaurant I only take my camera and there is no food styling. My challenge is to capture the real thing exactly as anyone would see it - no crazy flash tricks allowed - and to share my dining experience with the world,

Prawns in Valencia, Spain

Steamed seafood and frites in Cassis, France

I love traveling the world but I can’t do it all the time. What I can do is visit restaurants close to where I live. And I live just outside of one of the best culinary cities in the USA.

 

I’ve lived near Washington, DC for more than a decade and I’ve eaten at some of the city’s most incredible restaurants. I’ve got years of pictures to share so here at Ultimate DC Dining I’ll be going both forward with brand new reviews - and backwards to share recent experiences.

At the end of each review I’ll share my personal ratings based on three categories. The first will be the food itself. The second will be the overall experience. And the final category will be its social media score (how incredible will the pictures look on your insta account)

The liquid olives at Jaleo, Washington DC

Finally, some full disclosure…

Each time I visit a DC area restaurant I’m unannounced and paying full price for my meal. I’ll experience the exact same difficulty getting a reservation at Michelin two star rated minibar as anyone else and I’m never compensated for my reviews. My opinions are completely my own.

About Ultimate DC Dining on YouTube

All of the photos on this page were taken by Monico Havier and are the exclusive property of Ultimate DC Dining. The pictures are ©2018-2022 and may not be used without express permission.