Cheap Eats 2019: Rice Crook

Rule number 8: Trust the chef combos, such as this Korean barbecue beef bowl at Rice Crook. Photograph by Scott Suchman

About

Eat Great Cheap 2019

About Eat Great Cheap 2019

This article is a part of Washingtonian’s Eat Great Cheap feature, our annual list of where to eat (and not break the bank) right now. Our food editors put together the best new restaurants around DC where you can find Detroit-style pizza, Japanese egg-salad sandwiches, chicken-nugget-filled tacos, and more—for $25 or less per person.

“Another day, another bowl place,” you might be thinking. But Scott Chung’s stand inside Ballston’s Quarter Market food hall isn’t just any fast-casual mall spot. His Korean-accented bowls are composed of nicely grilled meats (we like the lemongrass chicken or barbecue beef), excellent kimchee, freshly whipped aïolis, and micro-greens from DC’s Little Wild Things farm. Oh, and rice. There are three to choose from—slightly sticky purple grains, fluffy jasmine, and crunchy brown. Whichever you go with, the flavors here are kaleidoscopic.


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.