Having signed up for a 4 day Internet Marketing Technology Seminar held at the Sheraton Premier Hotel at Tysons Corner in Vienna, VA. (about 35 minutes by car from DC’s, Georgetown and The Mall), we decided to take time off in the evenings to explore some of the areas culinary offerings. A two-page listing, provided by the concierge, of restaurants in easy driving distance to the hotel attests to the variety and density of eating out options in the capitol’s neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs. We were also fortunate to pick up the current October issue of the generally reliable “where” Travel Magazine – Washington Edition. It featured the editors’ annual dining guide and the winners of the so-called “ Rammys” – the yearly culinary awards by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). Armed with this information we made our selection of restaurants, covering the ground from ethnic to neighborhood to nationally acclaimed.

In what is referred to by insiders as “Guerrilla Dining”, restaurants are popping up for short periods of time…..in out of the way places….with very capable chefs and …..closing down and selling their entire furnishings etc. on e-Bay in as little time as a month. Interiors are theme-based, such as log cabin booths and antler chandeliers in a London restaurant open just for Christmas, with the menu designed to accompany the scene.

Better whip out your cell phone for that reservation!