September 3, 2006

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For good ethnic food, head west

When people ask me why I live in Virginia despite working in DC, one of the answers is that I'd miss the restaurants out here too much if moved into the District. DC has the high-end trendy places, but Virginia has the hole in the wall ethnic restaurants I love to go to. And people in Virginia always seem willing to explore the city. Getting DC residents to come out here is like pulling teeth. Living in the suburbs provides the best of both worlds.

Writing in the Washington Post, GMU economist and ethnic food expert Tyler Cowen devotes an entire column to this "exurbanization" of good ethnic dining in DC.

Of course, the District, with its lobbyists and international organizations, continues to be a center for expense-account dining. But the good ethnic restaurants downtown are either trendy (think Rasika and Indique, both of which reinterpret Indian for upmarket American eaters), or cater to the wealthy international crowd (such as the Spanish Taberna del Alabardero near the International Monetary Fund and World Bank). For the best buys, though, you have to get in the car and head out to the sprawl. These days, the most authentic, spiciest food comes at cheap, ugly strip malls, far from the District and miles from the Metro.

The article provides an interesting look at the diffusion of ethnic restuarants in the DC area, describing how they have shifted from urban enclaves to suburban malls as rents in the District have risen and immigrants have become more mobile. Read the whole thing.

Foo writers and readers in the DC area should also check out Tyler's dining guide. It's a great way to find obscure places to try out.

Posted by Jacob Grier at September 3, 2006 11:18 AM | Comments (3) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts


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Great article and it definitely holds up to the nature of ethnic dining in this city. NYC and Chicago boast such a varied and rich immigrant history that finding a plethora of exciting ethnic dining options is hardly taxing. D.C. doesn't come close but despite being a somewhat stuffy town, I do think there are some delightful and distinct ethnic dining enclaves, namely Ethiopian (around Howard/U St) and Chinese (Chinatown of course). I have seen some Salvadorean and Bolivian joints along Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant that have quite a fan following. It just takes a lot more effort and a dash of intrepid to eat adventurously in this city.

I will maintain that eating at a Vietnamese joint out in suburbia does not lend itself to a "hole-in-the-wall" feeling compared to gulping pho at some matchbox location off a side street. Citing proximity to ethnic dining is one of the more creative reasons I have heard for living out in NoVA but there are still wallet-friendly gems to be found in D.C., namely:

--Moby Dick for wonderful Iranian kabob and rice that comes pretty darn close to the stuff dished out in similar eateries in Dubai

--Tacos Pepitos Bakery in Adams Morgan for no-nonsense, flavourful, authentic Mexican food

--Chinatown Express for a huge freshly-made bowl of noodle goodness that costs around $5

--and if you want real "hole-in-the-wall," try ordering a Thai delicacy courtesy of Thai X-ing where you show up at this man's basement kitchen to pick up your meal. Sounds dicey but I've heard it's delicious. Here's the menu

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at September 7, 2006 2:16 PM


It just so happens I have a Moby Dick location just 5 minutes from my apartment. Virginia still rules, I win!

Only teasing. Those sound like cool suggestions. I really want to try Thai X-ing. And I love the dhoog, hummus, and rice at Moby Dick.

Posted by: Jacob at September 7, 2006 6:20 PM


I love doogh. Totally easy to make at home and it always tastes better than the bottled, needlessly carbonated variety that you sometimes see being sold.

Thai X-ing totally intrigues me. It is noteworthy that an elderly man operating out of a spartan basement apartment has built a buzz around his food in a city dotted with Thai joints-a-plenty. At some point, I will have to undertake an investigation, ahem, for the sake of EatFoo readers, of course. :-P

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at September 7, 2006 8:44 PM

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