About Mokomandy
Fusion mash-ups rarely end well. But owner Thaddeus Kim and chef Dan Wilcox Stevens have put a lot of thought into this minimalist Korean-meets-Cajun dining room.
Mokomandy stands for Modern Korean by Mandy (Mandy is Kim’s mom) but at times seems to be an homage to the inventive Asian cuisine of another Virginia native, Momofuku’s David Chang.
There are melting foie gras dumplings; pot-roast sliders with kimchee-marinated apples; and an engaging rice bowl with braised wild boar, chili sauce, and a fried egg.
Stevens wisely doesn’t attempt to marry the two cuisines but deals with each in turn. He takes more chances with the Cajun dishes—shrimp étouffée is rich with butter, and jambalaya with house-made sausage has a stew-like consistency—but both pack Louisiana-style heat.
Don’t miss:
- Spicy fava nuts
- Country meat board with foie gras butter and roast bone marrow
- Beignets
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
