In a town largely dependent on maintaining the status quo, it is a good thing that Washington's restaurateurs have something else in mind. It may take us a while to catch up with trends, but when we do, we quickly make up for lost time.

Take the "Wine Bar"—a moniker suddenly attached to grilles, lounges and restaurants from Georgetown to Old Town. Savvy restaurant mogul Ashok Bajaj knew what was coming four years ago when he opened Bardeo Wine Bar in Cleveland Park and led the way for all those other newbies who have opened recently.

But it's not only wine bars that are making headlines around town. Just look to the D.C. cops-on-the-beat. They always know what's going on and you can find them most every day at Washington's new ACKC Cocoa Bar, where they're getting their morning buzzes on with Audreys, espresso cups of steaming chocolate bliss.

Have you been to Marvin yet? If you haven't, never you mind. Flyer is here to fill you in, fill your ear and get you going. They're raising the bar out there; isn't it time you pulled up to it?

Bar Belle

With the brains behind D.C. hot spot Eighteenth Street Lounge, it is no wonder that Eric Hilton's Marvin (2007 14th St., NW; 202/797-7171; www.marvindc.com; $70 per person, all-inclusive) is the coolest place in town. Upstairs, an imposing figure checks IDs before awarding free entrance to a cozy front lounge with a DJ, who spins every night, and a back deck bar that has an open view of surrounding buildings. It's packed up there all the time with D.C.'s hipsters texting, tippling and talking.

In the downstairs bistro, with its dark-wood paneling, high ceilings and mirrored walls, you'd swear you were in France, or Belgium, rather. Still, the restaurant's name pays homage to Washingtonian and Motown king Marvin Gaye, whose vibe you feel the moment you walk in the place.

Marvin is a great place for people-watching and, happily, eating too. The seared sea scallops with braised leeks and beurre rouge are a great way to start (the onion soup isn't); then, check out the signature Belgian dishes: moules frites, bowls of steaming mussels (go for the apple wood bacon, leeks and ale option), served with a cone of skinny fries and three condiments; steak frites with blue cheese; and beef carbonnade, a rib-sticking stew. But the soul-food options are standouts: fried chicken and waffles (with Brussels sprouts that fit the theme, but not the dish) and crispy (read: fried) sole with collard greens. Still, there's something to be said for the simple path: a Marvin burger, a bottle of Chimay and some handmade Belgian chocolates. Get your cool on, but make a reservation.

Wine Bar

Childhood friends Paul Carlson and Diego Cerezo teamed up to open Vinoteca (1940 11th St., NW; 202-332-9463; www.vinotecadc.com; $55 per person, all-inclusive, for an appetizer, an entrée and two glasses of wine) at 11th and U streets last November. It was a labor of love; the two designed and built the space themselves with help from Home Depot and even Carlson's mother, who helped with the upholstering. The atmosphere of the 80-seat space, with its uncluttered tables, blood-red-tiled walls and photographs, is inviting, and the locals have already made it a hangout. (There are also two big rooms upstairs, a backyard and a patio.)

In addition to a full bar, Vinoteca offers 68 bottles by the glass or bottle and avoids pretension by making the list consumer-friendly: The wines are divided into Old World (generally earthy and dry) and New World (generally fruit-emphasized) categories and subcategories of light-, medium- and full-bodied. If you want to taste a wine, they'll serve half-glasses. Flights are also available. Prices range from $6 per glass (Cabernet Sauvignon, Domaine Saint-Benezet, France, 2005) to $23 per glass (Pinot Noir, Hartford Court, California, 2005).

While the ubiquitous offering of cheese and charcuterie plates is always available, Vinoteca serves real food, too. Chef Russell Jones comes from good stock (Le Paradou) and proves it. Butternut squash soup is subtle but flavorful. Tuna sliders (please, can we do away with this word once and for all?) are thick chunks of perfectly cooked fish resting proudly on open-faced brioche and touched with aioli. Coq au vin is made the right way and is therefore delicate rather than goopy. Brunch is a real bargain: Eggs Benedict is $6; lox and bagels, $5.50. I'm not kidding!

Cheese Bar

If your attitude about wine is more elevated, head west to Veritas (2031 Florida Ave., NW; 202/265-6270; www.veritasdc.com; $39 per person, all-inclusive, for two glasses of wine and an appetizer-like cheese or charcuterie plate), a 44-seat, postage-stamp-sized space just off the bustling intersection of Florida and Connecticut avenues. It is only 10 blocks away from Vinoteca, but a world apart.

There's no kitchen to speak of, and co-owner Adam Manson is proud of that fact. Wine reigns supreme here. They serve beer, but no liquor, and offer—you guessed it—cheese and charcuterie. Because the wines are listed by varietal as well as by region, the list is 30 pages long. It has a table of contents, and everything—proper nouns included—is written in all-lowercase letters. The tome includes 22 flights with names like "french bubbles," "antipodean" and "three deadly zins." Each of the three wines per flight has a cheese recommendation listed next to it. Seventy wines, including sparkling, are offered by the glass and 200 by the bottle—all maintained by a state-of-the-art system that holds the whites at 50 degrees and the reds at 65. Glass prices range from $6 (Pinot Grigio, Stella di Notte, Italy, 2006) to $22 (Flora Springs "Trilogy," Napa Valley, 2004).

Chocolate Bar

Two Alexandria businessmen have joined forces to open a luscious outpost in Washington's Logan Circle. Artist Eric Nelson (Artfully Chocolate and Artfully Paper) and chocolatier Rob Kingsbury (Kingsbury Confections) combined their Del Ray concepts and came up with ACKC Cocoa Bar (1529C 14th St., NW; 202/387-2626; www.thecocoagallery.com), much to the delight of chocoholics all over town.

There is a lot going on in this capacious 14th Street storefront. The chocolate shop features Kingsbury's creations (such as fleur de sel and maple walnut caramels; mint, lavender and blood orange sugar crèmes; Vermont maple caramel popcorn; candied fruits; dark chocolate bourbon cherries; milk chocolate maraschinos), as well as the work of two other local chocolatiers: Christopher's Confections (hand-tempered, molded pralines) and Chocolaterie Wanders (European-style chocolates).

Designer chocolate bars abound, and there is an excellent selection of Vosges bars, including the zeitgeist favorite: applewood bacon and dark chocolate. Nelson's stunning acrylic and mylar art pieces adorn the walls. He also made (and sells) the tables in the café part of the space, where lollygaggers can while away the day with a Buzz Bakery pastry, a Cheestique cheese assortment or a selection from D.C.'s first cocoa bar. Create your own cocoa drink there or choose one of their pre-made concoctions, such as the Lucy (semisweet zinged with fiery chipotle), the Marilyn (white chocolate topped with airy whipped cream) or my personal favorite, the Joan (semisweet and a shot of espresso). These 12-ounce cups of heaven are worth every penny. And a few pounds, too.

Raw Bar

Jamie Leeds and Sandy Lewis have reproduced their Dupont Circle winner Hank's Oyster Bar (1026 King St., Alexandria, Va.; 703/739-4265; www.hanksrestaurants.com; $55 per person, all-inclusive) in a narrow Old Town townhouse. With only 40 seats (five at the tiny bar), it's no wonder they have been packed since the day they opened.

I love the bucket of fried popcorn shrimp and calamari and the fried Ipswich clams, but the best way to start is with oysters on the half-shell. (Duh!) When I was there last, they offered, for $2 a piece: Hama Hama, Penn Cove, Quilcene and Snow Hill, a good collection that offered a range from delicate, sweet Belon-like gems to briny, craggy Chesapeake Bay types. Sake oyster shooters (exactly what they sound like) are habit-forming. Fried oysters are crackle-crunchy on the outside but delicate on the inside. The bouillabaisse of shrimp, scallops, rockfish, mussels and clams resting in a saffron-tomato broth speaks the sea, but you'd be a fool to pass up the lobster roll, chunks of perfectly cooked lobster tossed in mayo with a bit of chopped celery and piled into a split, buttered, lightly toasted roll. You certainly don't need the Old Bay fries that go with it, but it's hard not to eat them. Meat eaters needn't fret; there's a blue cheese sirloin on the menu at all times and a daily meat special that comes with two sides.

As in the D.C. location, Hank's offers no dessert. It is just as well. If I had to quibble about something here, it would be the dearth of lower-in-fat options on the menu. Unlike in D.C., Hank's Old Town is open for lunch; both locations offer brunch.

Salad Bar

Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a great, big salad chock full of goodies, provided that someone else makes it. So I am thrilled that entrepreneurs Tony Shure and Colin McCabe brought the concept they started in New York seven years ago to Penn Quarter. At Chop't Creative Salad Company (730 7th St., NW; 202/347-3225; www.choptsalad.com; $14 per person, all-inclusive, for a salad, a cookie and a drink), you can order set salads or build your own by selecting ingredients from a vast display of various lettuces, "choppings" (olives, crumbledegg, anchovies and every conceivable vegetable), proteins (including egg whites), "crunch" (Chinese noodles, sunflower seeds), fruits and cheeses. Then an assembly line of staff gives your salad the Cold Stone Creamery treatment: They take a mezzaluna and chop all the goodies into a manageable mound. There are almost 30 dressings to choose from (seven of them fat-free, though you'd never know it if they didn't tell you). The Thai curry rocket fuel has a good kick; the sweet and smoky chipotle vinaigrette is creamy dreamy. There's likely to be a line out the door, so don't dawdle when it's your turn. The best bet is to go with what they've designed. The meatless Chop't 10-vegetable salad (asparagus, peas, lettuce, hearts of palm, beets, mushrooms ...) is my favorite, since it allows me to justify indulging in a chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. They offer wrap versions of all the salads and call them sandwiches, but do they really need to?

Bar None

I'm a big fan of Peruvian rotisserie chicken, but what I had found to date was something of dubious quality. Not so at Chix (2019 11th St., NW; 202/234-2449; www.chixdc.com $18 per person, all-inclusive, for a half-chicken dinner, a small soup and a soda). While it's not a "bar" in the classical sense, this minuscule, 24-seat eatery, which opened last November, is raising the bar for gourmet takeout in the city. Their motto is "Eat Responsibly," and it shows: Victoria Garcia and Lukas Umana took a business plan Umana came up with at American University and turned it into an environmentally friendly reality. The free-range chickens come from Lancaster County, are antibiotic- and hormone-free and are roasted over natural charcoal and wood. There are three kinds: 24-hour marinated Peruvian, Chix "secret blend" and Columbian, marinated in coffee and coconut milk. All are juicy and succulent, but the highlight is that they actually taste like ... chicken! Even the side dishes, afterthoughts in other places, sing. (Where have you seen organic basmati rice and black beans before in a chicken joint?) The roasted sweet potatoes alone will send me back to Chix, where my take-out order will be packed in Earth-friendly materials.

[Correction: In the January/February issue of Washington Flyer, the restaurant Proof's price per person was misidentified as $120. The price is $90. Flyer regrets the error.]