TasteTwenty Chefs Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy’s D.C. Dining Guide
The owners of Pascual share their favorite hidden gems, cocktail bars, and tasting menus ahead of their Taste America Washington, D.C. event.
Photo: Alex Lau
Fri, October 10, 2025
Enter the 2026 James Beard Awards now! Apply now →Apply now
Photo: Alex Lau
Fri, October 10, 2025
Editor’s Note: The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® culinary series presented by Capital One brings together chefs, special guests, and diners from across the country to celebrate the local independent restaurants at the heart of our communities. The Taste America TasteTwenty cohort, comprised of 20 exceptional chefs and changemakers, will showcase their talents and represent their city’s independent restaurant community at walkaround tastings and dinners nationwide.
These chefs are not only creative dynamos in the kitchen, they're also avid diners, so we’re introducing a special city guide series where each TasteTwenty chef will share what they love about their city’s food scene.
Next up in our series are James Beard Award semifinalists Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy, chefs at Pascual, a wood-fired Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C. featuring housemade tortillas and locally sourced ingredients. Ahead of their Taste America event, the duo shares their favorite places to eat, drink, and shop in D.C., including where to find craveworthy Korean fried chicken, the James Beard Award–nominated restaurant they can’t wait to check out, and their go-to spot for the city’s best ice cream.
Wood-roasted pork al pastor is carved straight off the trompo into tacos at Pascual. (Photo: Deb Lindsey)
What does it mean to be part of the JBF Taste America TasteTwenty cohort?
Isabel: We're proud and inspired by it. Any James Beard [recognition]—it's such an amazing Foundation. This one is important; you get to see who is part of this class every year and being part of it this year makes us feel special. Our team is so excited too! The good energy you get spills out of the team and your peers.
Matt: It’s an honor, and it’s always great to be cooking with so many other industry peers and people you admire from afar.
What do you love about the food scene in your city?
Isabel: I think the food scene here is super bright. The amount of cuisines that we have in such a small capital is exceptional. For me, it speaks of immigration and people who are willing to try other cultures. Another way to describe D.C., for me, is community-forward. The restaurants here always check on each other; it’s very genuine. It feels very good to be cooking in D.C. now.
Matt: That was something we noticed as soon as we moved here. Everyone was very open and shared their knowledge. The community of chefs is very special. And the restaurant scene in D.C. is really pushing [boundaries] right now. Just the amount of good restaurants that are thriving and trying to do something special in the city.
Go-to spot to take visitors:
Matt: This is one we’re both going to agree on. Every time we have someone come, we try to take them to 2Amy’s.
Isabel: It’s an institution. It’s an Italian restaurant, the wine is great, all the appetizers [are great], and their specials are insane. I love their mortadella dish; and [we recently enjoyed] a tomato gelée special.
A spread at Pascual, including menu staples such as the lamb neck barbacoa and guacamole and tostadas. (Photo: Deb Lindsey)
Must-try dish in your city:
Matt: At Anju, the Korean fried chicken they do there—it’s incredible. The whole experience is great, but the chicken is always so delicious.
Isabel: It's double-fried, so crispy, so perfect. And the daikon fritters at Queen’s English.
Matt: The chef tells us it's the only dish he’s never changed on the menu. It’s full of umami, savory, and the daikon has a little bit of sweetness—it hits all the flavor notes.
Best special occasion restaurant:
Isabel: Oyster Oyster.
Matt: They’ve been doing vegan food and a tasting menu on a [high] level.
Isabel: We’ve celebrated my birthday there, whenever we get a nice accolade, we go there; the service is incredible. The wine is really good—they focus on local wines—and there’s always beautiful pairings to the meal. And the space is comfy; it’s like being in someone’s living room in someone’s house. You can tell the chef believes in sustainable cooking, and he takes it on everything in the restaurant—the candles are made of oysters, the plates are made out of recyclable glass. It’s an experience just because you see all the care that there is behind it.
What does an ideal night out in your city look like?
Matt: Drinks at Silver Lyan or Allegory are always incredible and the staff is always super friendly. For dinner, Izakaya Seki. The dad and his daughter run the place—he’s in the kitchen, she runs the front of the house. We used to live really close to it, so we’d walk there and that'd be our date night spot. Their wine list is incredible. All their food’s good.
Isabel: Especially the tuna nuta.
Matt: It’s cubes of raw Yellowfin tuna dressed with Dijon, a lot of miso, a little bit of sesame seeds, and tons of fresh scallions on top. On the plate it’s the simplest looking dish, but every time we get it and bring friends there, everyone's fighting over the last bite.
Chef Isabel holding a signature buñuelo. (Photo: Deb Lindsey)
What restaurant are you most looking forward to checking out?
Matt: For us, it’s MITA [a James Beard Award–nominated, Michelin-starred restaurant with a vegetable-forward tasting menu]. They’ve gotten tons of accolades. We know them from doing events; they’re really great people. Everyone we know says really great things about it, so that’s one we’re really excited to try out.
Restaurant dish you’d cry over if they took it off the menu:
Matt: The Gruyère dumplings at Maketto. They’re these super pillowy dumplings but paired with a spicy chili [sauce] and scallions all over it.
Isabel: The flour tortillas at La Tejana. [They serve] breakfast burritos—they have like four options, and they’re delicious—but if they stop doing the flour tortillas, not only would I cry, but the city would revolt.
Favorite food/drink specialty shop:
Isabel: The Creamery at Union Market for ice cream. Their ice cream is all local milk—it's the best ice cream I’ve had.
Matt: For wine, Domestique is probably one of our favorites. And Gemini. They have a little restaurant at night, but their bottle selection is also really incredible.
Who is another chef you admire in your city (and why)?
Matt: Rob Rubba. What he does at Oyster Oyster, on that level, to everything he preaches at the restaurant [around sustainability] and in front of everybody is true. It’s what he practices everyday; he cares so much about it. And to do that and do a genuine restaurant like that is really special.
Isabel: Two women that I admire a lot: Daniella Senior [founder of Colada Shop and co-founder of Bresca] and Paola Velez [chef/co-owner of Providencia]. They’re both pillars in the restaurant community—they both uplift everybody, they’re super talented, and when I have trouble, they’re always going to have good advice.