Best Spot for a Romantic Dinner: Butterfield 9, 600 14th St. NW (tel. 202/BU9-8810), woos you with its award-winning cuisine and its romantic, stylized black-and-white photos of handsome men and women dressed in fashions of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s.

Best Spot for a Business Lunch: La Colline, 400 N. Capitol St. NW (tel. 202/737-0400), conveniently located near Capitol Hill, has a great bar, four private rooms, high-backed leather booths that allow for discreet conversations, and, last but not least, consistently good food. A perfect spot for the Washington breakfast meeting or fundraiser. And then there's The Caucus Room, 401 9th St. NW (tel. 202/393-1300), where there's always a whole lot of handshaking going on.

Best Spot for a Celebration: Café Atlantico, 405 8th St. NW (tel. 202/393-0812), will give you reason to celebrate even if you didn't arrive with one. The restaurant is pure fun, with charming waiters, seating on three levels, colorful wall-size paintings by Latin and Caribbean artists, fantastic cocktails, and unusual but not trendy South American food. Other good choices: Teatro Goldoni, 1909 K St. NW (tel. 202/955-9494); and Kinkead's, 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/296-7700).

Best Decor: The Taberna del Alabardero, 1776 I St. NW (tel. 202/429-2200), is so elegant and Old World, with its red-tufted banquettes green-satin covered chairs, and ornate wall decorations. (Consider this another contender in the "Most Romantic" category.)

Best View: The awning-covered sidewalk at Les Halles, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/347-6848), is open in summer, enclosed in winter -- a fine spot for viewing the sights along Pennsylvania Avenue all year-round. The dining room at Charlie Palmer Steak, 101 Constitution Ave. NW (tel. 202/547-8100), offers views of the Capitol, much better in winter than in summer, though.

Best Wine List: At Michel Richard Citronelle, in the Latham Hotel, 3000 M St. NW (tel. 202/625-2150), the extensive, 8,000-bottle wine cellar is on display behind glass in the dining room. If you're serious about wine, come here; but check your wallet first. Citronelle is one of the city's most expensive restaurants and wines with three-digit prices predominate. The food is excellent.

Best for Kids: Famous Luigi's Pizzeria Restaurant, 1132 19th St. NW (tel. 202/331-7574), serves up some of the best pizza in town, in an already rowdy atmosphere. The long menu also features kids' favorites, like spaghetti and meatballs. Plus, the place is loud and indestructible.

Best American Cuisine: Cashion's Eat Place, 1819 Columbia Rd. NW (tel. 202/797-1819), is as welcoming as can be. Chef-owner Ann Cashion serves creative American food with a homey touch -- she's unafraid to put onion rings next to something like a finely grilled black bass filet. Desserts are prepared with care.

Best Chinese Cuisine: Tony Cheng's Seafood Restaurant, 619 H St. NW (tel. 202/371-8669), in the heart of Chinatown, specializes in Cantonese, Szechuan, and Hunan cuisine, like the roasted duck on display in a case in the dining room. If you want to enjoy you surroundings as well as the food, head to Dupont Circle's City Lights of China, 1731 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/265-6688).

Best French Cuisine: Top of the line and extremely expensive is Gerard's Place, 915 15th St. NW (tel. 202/737-4445), which boasts the only Michelin two-star chef working in the United States: Gerard Pangaud, whose cooking expertise is considered an art form. Also consider Michel Richard Citronelle, in the Latham Hotel in Georgetown, 3000 M St. NW (tel. 202/625-2150), where Richard ebulliently works in his open kitchen, creating sumptuous, constantly changing dishes. For French classics, with a hint of southwestern France influence, dine at Bistrot D'OC, 518 10th St. NW (tel. 202/393-5444), where dishes like cassoulet and filet mignon pepper steak are on the menu. For Parisian atmosphere, bistro food and spirit, try Bistrot du Coin, 1738 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/234-6969).

Best Italian Cuisine: Roberto Donna's Galileo, 1110 21st St. NW (tel. 202/293-7191), does fine Italian cuisine best, preparing exquisite pastas, fish, and meat dishes with savory ingredients. Also see listing below for "Best of the Best." Tosca, 1112 F St. NW (tel. 202/367-1990), is another winner, serving fine and unusual dishes derived from the chef's northern Italian upbringing. At Obelisk, 2029 P St. NW (tel. 202/872-1180), chef-owner Peter Pastan crafts elegantly simple and delicious food in a pleasantly spare room.

Best Seafood: You could eat at Kinkead's, 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/296-7700), every day and never go wrong.

Best Southern Cuisine: At Vidalia, 1990 M St. NW (tel. 202/659-1990), chef Jeff Buben calls his cuisine "provincial American" -- it's a euphemism for fancy fare that includes cheese grits and biscuits in cream gravy.

Best Mexican Cuisine: Lauriol Plaza, 1835 18th St. NW (tel. 202/387-0035), isn't completely Mexican (it's also Salvadoran and Cuban). But it's all delicious and well priced, and worth standing in line for, since the restaurant does not take reservations. For more contemporary, more sophisticated Mexican cuisine, try Andale, 401 7th St. NW (tel. 202/783-3133).

Best Steakhouse: The Prime Rib, 2020 K St. NW (tel. 202/466-8811) is considered by steakhounds in-the-know to be the top place for top cuts of beef. Also consider The Palm, 1225 19th St. NW (tel. 202/293-9091). Still going strong after 32 years, this classy joint serves some of the best beef in town, despite some awesome competition.

Best Spanish Cuisine: No contest here. The elegant Taberna del Alabardero, 1776 I St. NW (tel. 202/429-2200), is famous for its paellas, as well as tapas.

Best Pizza: At Pizzeria Paradiso, 2029 P St. NW (tel. 202/223-1245), peerless chewy-crusted pies are baked in an oak-burning oven and crowned with delicious toppings; you'll find great salads and sandwiches on fresh-baked focaccia here, too. If you like thick, old-fashioned pizzas, head to Luigi's, 1132 19th St. NW (tel. 202/331-7574).

Best for Vegetarians: The chef's wife is vegetarian, so Equinox, 818 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/331-8118), always offers at least one fine vegetarian entree each evening, and accompanies meat and seafood entrees with absurdly delicious vegetable side dishes. Also consider the Bombay Club, 815 Connecticut Ave. NW (tel. 202/659-3727), whose menu features one whole page of vegetarian main courses.

Best Healthy Meal: At Legal Sea Foods, 2020 K St. NW (tel. 202/496-1111), follow up a cup of light clam chowder (made without butter, cream, or flour) with an entree of grilled fresh fish and vegetables and a superb sorbet for dessert. It's fabulous guilt-free dining. The restaurant has several other locations throughout the area.

Best Late-Night Dining: For comfortable surroundings and good old American cuisine, try the Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St. NW (tel. 202/347-4801), whose kitchen stays open until 1am on weekends. Open even later is Ben's Chili Bowl, 1213 U St. NW (tel. 202/667-0909): until 4am on weekends, until 2am other nights.

Best for a Bad Mood: At Al Tiramisu, 2014 P St. NW (tel. 202/467-4466), the waiters, the owner, the conviviality, and the Italian food gently coax that smile back onto your face.

Best Brunch: Go to Georgia Brown's, 950 15th St. NW (tel. 202/393-4499), Sunday from 10:30am to 2:30pm to enjoy live jazz and a part buffet/part a la carte menu featuring such dishes as biscuit-batter French toast with maple-pecan syrup, country ham, buttermilk-fried chicken, omelets made to order, and a host of other items. This brunch ($23.95 per person) is popular, so be sure to make a reservation.

Best for Pretheater Dinner: Head for 701, at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/393-0701). How could you do better than 701's $24.95 three-course bargain and its prime location (right around the corner from the Shakespeare Theatre and a few blocks from the National and Warner theaters)? More expensive, but still a deal, is Marcel's, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (tel. 202/296-1166), pretheater dinner: For $42 you might dine on arugula salad, pan-seared salmon, and crème brûlée. Marcel's even throws in free shuttle service to the Kennedy Center.

Best for "Taste of Washington" Experience: Eat lunch at The Monocle, 107 D St. NE (tel. 202/546-4488), and you're bound to see a Supreme Court justice, congressman, or senator dining here, too. For some down-home and delicious Washington fun, sit at the counter at Ben's Chili Bowl, 1213 U St. NW (tel. 202/667-0909), and chat with the owners and your neighbor over a chili dog or plate of blueberry pancakes; the place is an institution, and open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.