Cashion's Eat Place In Adams Morgan | Washington D.C.

The 15-year-old Cashion's Eat Place changed owners in 2007 and has since adopted new culinary influences, but the space endures as a haven for great food in bar-centric Adams Morgan.

Chef-owner John Manolatos balances his eclectic menu, serving dishes with enough distinction to make the restaurant a destination, but also offering polished comfort food to keep Cashion's a neighborhood staple.

The meat-and-potatoes crowd can revel in the subtle char of grilled New Frontier bison ($31) over a parsnip-potato purée with mildly spicy horseradish cream sauce. For more fire, two large strips of pork belly ($26)–marinated in a blend of soy sauce, rice vinegar and kimchi, braised, then grilled–sit on a Korean slaw of mint, red cabbage, peanuts, mangoes and chilies.

As a tribute to Manolatos' background, Greek flavors dot the menu. Buffalo-style guinea-hen wings ($9) are served with a slightly salty feta dressing in lieu of blue cheese, while creamy Greek frozen yogurt tempers a classically French pear clafouti ($8).

And though it might not appeal to the keg-stand crowd, Cashion's bar is a warm, welcoming alternative, particularly on Wednesdays, when bar manager Krishna Ramsundar mixes drinks. Our recent favorite: his well-spiced mulled wine ($11), a smart and warming antidote to the more stereotypical drinks in the neighborhood.

Cashion's Eat Place, 1819 Columbia Rd. NW (between Mintwood Pl. and Biltmore St.); 202-797-1819 or cashionseatplace.com