Comments
A Soup Nazi, for sure!
Posted by: TL, Jan 07, 2010 08:06:40 AM
It would be great if David Chang opened a signature restaurant in NOVA. It would be a hit!
Posted by: Arlington, VA, Jan 06, 2010 02:45:41 PM
Cuban or Colombian Restaurant!!! There isn’t one in D.C. downtown anywhere!! Come on.
Posted by: Jessica, Jan 06, 2010 12:04:18 PM
DC needs a restaurant devoted to arepas. They are delicious! I don’t know a single Venezuelan place in the city and so I can only get my fix at NYC’s Caracas.
Posted by: Convince Me DC, Jan 06, 2010 09:43:53 AM
Cuban Pasteles. A nice selection, kept warm in a bakery case so they are soft and gooey.
Posted by: Steve, Jan 06, 2010 09:10:32 AM
Stop the press! How about some really decent and consistent soul food? My husband cooks really good soul food at home but sometimes we just want to go out and enjoy someone else’s cooking. Where have they gone?
Posted by: Nat, Jan 06, 2010 08:42:07 AM
Beer & Brat place--what Granville Moore’s has done for mussels & fries, someone needs to do for my good German soul...
For the macaron lovers--have you tried Praline Bakery in Bethesda? It’s a little out of the way, but their macaroons have strongly flavored fillings and a great chewiness to them to satisfy any French patisserie cravings. Obviously, replacing the cupcake houses with macaron shops would be the MOST ideal future, but until then...
Also, where in the world are the pretzel and knish shops? I’m a pastry chef frequenting both cities, and Philly takes the cake on pretzels, but I’d love to see DC with any sort of warm baked goodness--especially stuffed!
Posted by: PhillyDC, Jan 05, 2010 09:39:48 PM
Those who asked for ramen places, Wagamama is hopefully opening soon. It’ll be near the Archives metro stop.
DC seeeeeriously needs some good Mexican food. And a good deli.
Posted by: carrie, Jan 05, 2010 08:02:59 PM
DC needs too much to mention. I agree with the comments on Ben’s it is terrible as are the dry brittle burgers at places like Five Guys. There is a void of casual reasonably priced food throughout the city. Terrible sandwiches for $9 don’t compete with NYC, Boston or even Baltimore. Someone mentioned the lack of good soup in DC and I would second that. OH yeah, DC does corner the industry on oversized rat infested pizza places...
Posted by: BT, Jan 05, 2010 02:19:47 PM
Good NY style Bagels! Someone said this already, but I’ll second it.
Posted by: Sarah R. , Jan 05, 2010 02:19:05 PM
I lived in C-ville for a while, and two things come to mind that are sadly absent in the DC area:
(1) A really good and affordable soup joint. C-ville has Revolutionary Soup, which I think may have been mentioned in Todd’s chats, which does soups very well. Organic meat and produce, and high quality.
(2) Bakeries. Don’t get why there are so few of them around here. Lately, a good one opened up near where I live (Breadsmith in Cabin John shopping center), but there is a real dearth of good bakeries in the area.
Posted by: otnemem, Jan 05, 2010 01:55:57 PM
We need a real deli -- I mean pastrami, reubens, rye bread, homemade pickles... and along that same vein, some good NY bagels!
Posted by: Emma, Jan 05, 2010 01:13:43 PM
More/better gluten-free dining options! I also would love to see more vegetarian restaurants, but they seem to still use a lot of gluten.
Posted by: Rebecca, Jan 05, 2010 12:52:54 PM
How about more food trucks a la Fojol Bros and Curbside Cupcake? We don’t all work downtown and it’s nice to get some exciting food near the Federal Center area!
Posted by: Katie, Jan 05, 2010 12:31:21 PM
Oh and I second ramen!I just read David Changs new cookbook-Momofuku. Its AMAZING
Posted by: Jason, Jan 05, 2010 12:20:20 PM
going to PHO 14 in DC tonight. Hoping for a great banh mi sandwich!
Posted by: Jason, Jan 05, 2010 12:18:23 PM
Amma Vegetarian on M St is delicious but may be turning into a sports bar, because Vegetarians like yourselves are not patronizing it enough. So there’s at least one vegetarian restaurant in the District currently "doing it right"
Posted by: Gautham, Jan 05, 2010 12:14:59 PM
I second the vote for macaroons (sooo tired of cupcakes) and soup dumplings!
We need banh mi sandwiches that are as good as those in Falls Church and some ramen shops, too!
Posted by: CPP, Jan 05, 2010 12:06:06 PM
A few more Kosher restaurants in the District Proper.
I second bakeries and vegetarian restaurants. I’d LOVE to see something like Asheville’s Laughing Seed Cafe (it’s really something--http://www.laughingseed.com/index.php?cat=7&page=24).
Also, Friendship Heights needs some food. Where’s a gal to go after all that shopping? Booeymonger, Cheesecake Factory, and Maggiano’s are not going to cut it.
Can the deli have half sours in a barrel?
Posted by: iEatDC, Jan 05, 2010 12:02:16 PM
More carry out macaron/macaroon places to replace those dried-out cupcake shops. Let’s be the first city to set the trend for once.
Posted by: Jasmine, Jan 05, 2010 11:54:53 AM
Deli City has an amazing Reuben. Rivals any NY deli’s
Posted by: Reuben??, Jan 05, 2010 11:24:24 AM
A Soup Dumpling place would be phenomenal.
Possibly a Joe ShangHai DC location? Maybe that is asking a mountain of a mole hill....
1 vote for Soup Dumplings!
Posted by: Joe , Jan 05, 2010 11:21:15 AM
DEFINITELY more vegetarian/vegan options in restaurants!! There are a lot of vegetarians out there for many different reasons - health, animal rights, environmentally-conscious diners - who need your help making dining out an easy and pleasurable experience. Please help us, we want to give you our money!
Posted by: Karen, Jan 05, 2010 11:03:47 AM
Cuban Cafeteria...cafe con leche, guava and cheese pastry, picadillo, flan, cuban sandwiches etc...
Posted by: Bobbie, Jan 05, 2010 11:03:24 AM
My wife, a native Texan, loves migas, a breakfast dish that, at the risk of oversimplifying, is like scrambled eggs cooked with tortilla pieces (not chips), onions and chili peppers.
Given the dearth of good Tex-Mex in the area, I guess it makes sense that the breakfast options would be even sparser.
So, in the meantime, her enjoying this treat must be deferred until trips to visit family in Austin or Texas.
But we’d love a spicy, hot plate of migas a bit closer to DC!
Posted by: Joe Grossberg, Jan 05, 2010 10:34:14 AM
I still can’t find a restaurant that makes a fantastic Monte Cristo sandwich. Yes, they’re fatty but the bliss of eating one is worth it every now and then!
Posted by: Troy, Jan 05, 2010 10:33:23 AM
SO sick of cupcakes! Yes doughnuts would be terrific but I love my NYC trips to visit the Doughnut Plant. I really miss the teriyaki houses of S.F. Also a great sausage/hotdog joint. Yes I am one of the many DC residence who just plain dont get how Bens qualifies as even mediocre. I get the history and that is worth a lot but the food is just terrible. Sorry Bens
Posted by: Jason , Jan 05, 2010 10:30:30 AM
I’d love to see more thoughtful vegetarian options (is some kind of protein too much to ask for?) at restaurants in the DC area so I can enjoy dining out with friends - as opposed to a plate of assorted side dishes.
Posted by: Mary, Jan 05, 2010 10:29:26 AM
How about ONE (just one!) GOOD veg *restaurant* with plenty of vegan options? NYC has about a million, as do Chicago and LA, but DC has none. Sticky Fingers doesn’t count because it is not a restaurant. Vegetate never counted because the food was not good and it was overpriced.
Come on DC. We can do this and do it right.
Posted by: Veggie Gal, Jan 05, 2010 10:28:56 AM
I’d love a great Polish restaurant - pierogies, kielbasa, stuffed gabage, borscht. All the versions of these foods in DC tend to be more generically eastern European or Russian.
Posted by: D.T., Jan 05, 2010 10:21:03 AM
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