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Molly Hippolitus / molly@mhco.studio
The Red Hen has been part of the DC dining conversation since we opened in 2013. Here is a sampling of our favorite coverage, from the Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants list to the mezzi rigatoni that made national news.
EATER
Snag a Seat Early at Bloomingdale’s Resilient Red Hen
Missy Frederick’s dining report celebrates Mike Friedman and Michael O’Malley’s 13-year-old Bloomingdale Italian fixture for its impeccable pastas (rigatoni with fennel sausage, a seasonal porcini campanelle, and the off-menu cacio e pepe), wood-fired broccolini, orange wine, and Negronis, noting reservations remain tough to snag.
Washingtonian
Washingtonian, 100 Very Best Restaurants 2026 (#18)
The Red Hen ranks #18, praised for its robust Italian plates in a Tuscan-farmhouse dining room, with shoutouts for mushroom arancini, rigatoni with sausage, gnocchetti with bacon, miso, and squash, and a crispy pork Milanese.
RESY
The Resy Hit List: Where In D.C. You’ll Want to Eat in Nov. 2025
The Red Hen earns a happy-hour shoutout for its dimly lit dining room and hearth, where everything from the epic pork chop Milanese to garlic broccolini gets cooked over an open flame.
The Washington Post
The Bidens ordered the same dish at a restaurant. Who does that?
Where and what presidents eat is an enduring fascination. We love to scrutinize former president Donald Trump’s ketchup-doused steaks or the Obamas’ penchant for culinary hot spots.
People Magazine
Why Joe and Jill Biden's Identical Rigatoni Order Has Gone Viral
A seemingly innocuous dinner date has gained buzz after both Joe and Jill Biden are said to have ordered the same exact dish at Washington, D.C. Italian eatery Red Hen earlier this month.
Today Show
Video - Jenna and Willie try the Rigatoni with Chef Mike
After yesterday’s Red Hen menu debate, Jenna and Willie got to see just how good the mezzi rigatoni is.
Today Show
The Bidens ordered the same dish at a restaurant — and the internet has thoughts
An internet debate has erupted over two identical bowls of pasta. On Feb. 18, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stepped out of the White House for an intimate dinner for two at Italian American restaurant Red Hen in Washington, D.C. Although the pair often go out to eat (and sometimes with other presidential couples) what made tongues wag was not where they went out to eat, but what they ordered.
The Washington Post
How to make the Red Hen rigatoni with sausage that the Bidens ordered
When news broke that President Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, had both ordered the fennel-and-sausage rigatoni at Washington’s Red Hen restaurant, a torrent of questions followed.
Who does that? Is the pasta that good? Can I make it at home?
EATER
Where to Find Top-Notch Pasta Around D.C.
The mezzi rigatoni with fennel sausage and pecorino from this Bloomingdale favorite is one of D.C.’s iconic dishes. Crispy arancini cacio e pepe with herb aioli hits the spot, as will chef Mike Friedman’s seasonal new spaghetti verde paired with silky broccoli cremosa, toasted pine nuts, lemon, spinach, oregano, and garlicky breadcrumbs.
Michelin Guide DC
The Red Hen
You can’t miss this place-there’s a giant red hen painted on the facade of the century-old building-but if you’re a Bloomingdale resident, you’re likely a regular already. The look is farmhouse funky complete with reclaimed timber, exposed brick, and a wood-burning oven in the kitchen, but don’t let the country-cute appeal fool you: there’s a CIA-trained chef manning the stove.
Washingtonian Magazine
Washingtonian Recommends: The Best Pasta Restaurants Around DC
You really can’t go wrong if you go heavy on the carbs at this rustic Italianish-American restaurant in Bloomingdale. One staple: rigatoni with fennel-sausage ragu. Our server sold the Red Hen classic by saying it’s the perfect dish if you’re having a bad day. It has never failed to make us smile.
Eater
The 38 Essential Restaurants in D.C.
One of Eater’s former Restaurant of the Year winners is the whole package: food, design, service. Bloomingdale residents and destination diners turn to the Red Hen for offal, homemade pastas, and a carefully curated wine list (orange wine, anyone?).
Washingtonian Magazine
Washingtonian Reader's Choice Best Italian
The cocktails lean bitter, the pastas are hearty, and the ultra-creamy burrata is famous for a reason.
Washington City Paper
Best of D.C. 2018: Top 3 Best Chef
Chef Mike Friedman 3rd Place, Best Chef Reader’s Choice
Washingtonian Magazine
Washingtonian Recommends: The Best Restaurants in DC to Dine Solo
The best place to sit at Bloomingdale’s go-to Italian-ish restaurant is the U-shaped bar that dominates the dining room. It also happens to be an excellent place to post up when you don’t want to share your pasta.
Washingtonian
The Red Hen: Making It Look Easy
If Seth Godin or any other motivational speaker of the tech age were to craft a mission statement for the ambitious indie restaurant, it would probably go something like this: Don’t try too hard to impress us. The appearance of effort is a drag on our overburdened souls. Give us the sort of dishes we might cook at home for a simple weeknight dinner.
The New York Times
Washington Has More on Its Plate
The Red Hen, in the emerging neighborhood of Bloomingdale just blocks from a public-housing project, is pulling in local homeowner pioneers, new careerists clinging to the Eater DC hot list and, yes, United States senators.
Esquire
How to Make Gnocchi (For Elliot)
Michael Friedman, chef of the Red Hen in Washington, D.C., offered this Roman-style gnocchi, which is baked and more straightforward than traditional gnocchi. Harder to mess up. Just as delicious.
Washington CityPaper
Eat The Red Hen's Rigatoni With Fennel Sausage Ragu Immediately
With so many new Italian restaurants opening this spring, I’ve been eating a lot of pasta and pizza lately. But amid all these carbs, there’s one dish I keep coming back for: The Red Hen’s mezze rigatoni with fennel sausage ragu.
Writing about The Red Hen? For interviews, images, or menu details, reach our PR and marketing strategist Molly Hippolitus at molly@mhco.studio.