The dish you’ll find on nearly every table at this Szechuan-centric restaurant: dry hot pot. Build your own bowl from a menu of 40 proteins and veggies—we like the pork-stuffed fish balls and the beef, but you can also opt for pork kidneys or boneless duck web. The ingredients are stir-fried with chilies and spices rather than simmered in a broth. Equally fragrant and complex is the Szechuan-style fish filet, which hides a mound of sprouts, wood-ear mushrooms, and slippery rice noodles under its lagoon of chili oil. Also good: Cucumber salad; cold steamed chicken with spicy oil.
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.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
