Cheap Eats 2018: Dera

About

A glass case of Pakistani sweets welcomes you inside this storefront. The cooking, meanwhile, delivers lightning bolts of heat. You’d expect this of the chili-laced karahi dishes—we like the bone-in chicken and goat versions—but innocent-sounding lamb chops and biryani are laced with fire, too. The $13.95 weekend buffet, an array of curries and other morsels, rightfully draws a crowd.


Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

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.

Food Editor

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
Food Editor

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.