Remember your very own small-town prom, and how you impressed your frilly date by scooping a table at the singular nice restaurant around? Then you put your glasses back on and realized you were surrounded by fellow high schoolers -- it was your first lesson in supply versus demand. Welcome to Washington DC next month, when America’s coolness crashes the capital, and the capital tries desperately to bring it in return. At this point, forget about inaugural balls, exclusive gold-specked VIP tickets, and the password-protected after-after parties. Where’s dinner? K Street’s been counting restaurants on fingers and claims it can handle all that glitterati -- just like New Orleans found everyone a seat in the Superdome. Where you dine on the night of the Second Coming defines how many degrees of separation lie between you and the Obamas. Inauguration also settles any longstanding office squabbles about Washington’s top restaurants. It’s quite simple this time: Who’s booked and who ain’t?

Shanghai Tables (Jing'An) - The Ritz-Carlton's weekend brunch and power-lunch hot spot. Maya (Luwan) - Salsalicious contemporary Mexican dishes at this upscale eatery.

It’s debatable how the ambition-averse French (for the record, that’s a compliment) view Ducasse, Inc. -- and the global “branding” of what was once a sacred and strictly indigenous vocation. But as Americans, we’ll gladly latch on to the symbolism of a revered French chef settling in two blocks from a xenophobic White House, “audaciously hoping” it is a significant harbinger of change to soon come. And despite Monsieur Ducasse’s spotty stateside success, praise for his Adour NYC has been as lavish as its gilded interior. His new DC outpost, opening this September and sporting elegantly modern interiors by the Rockwell Group, completes the transition of the St. Regis from gloriously stuffy old-money citadel to the city’s most formidable modern luxury hotel.