Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide

Sea Pearl, web site, 8191 Strawberry Lane (Gallows Rd., more or less, by the boarded up cinema), Falls Church, VA, 703-372-5161 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | MenuPages | WaPo | City Paper | Wash Biz Journal | Yelp | Falls Church News Press]

A seafood place, owned by the same people who run Four Sisters Vietnamese restaurant. I’ve had three dishes here and thought they were pretty good, not great but I enjoyed them. The restaurant hasn’t yet quite figured out what it wants to be. It’s only slightly Asian, somewhat of a nice place but not very nice, and a seafood place but not really that either. At the very least it’s worth a try. They also do a reasonable Sunday brunch. Beware the ugly view out of the window.

Sei, web site, 444 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-783-7007 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | Don Rockwell | Yelp]

Asian fusion, most of all Japanese but not just. If you go heavy on the small dishes and the sushi and sashimi you can have an excellent meal. The wasabi guacamole is quite interesting, as are the excellent pork buns. The “fish and chips” rolls are recommended as are many of the other rolls. Not cheap. All-white interior with a shi-shi crowd. Overall I have been glad the two times I ate here but beware that at least half of the main courses are boring. If you are afraid of leaving hungry, just stock up on the pork buns.

Cafe Metro: Asian Fusion and Wine Bar, 6795 Wilson Blvd., Eden Center, Falls Church, VA, 703-942-8969, in the mall it is very close to Wilson Boulevard, west end of the Eden Center mall, by the smaller entrance from the main road near Viet Bistro, the sign for the restaurant is hard to spot. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper]

I had one meal here and I was blown away. The lemon grass tofu and the tamarind soft shell crab (be sure to dip it in the pepper sauce) were among the best dishes I’ve had in Eden Center, ever. The noodles and dumplings were above average, though I would not say spectacular. It is mostly Vietnamese with some Thai influence and a few Korean dishes on the menu. It tries to be a “nice” restaurant in a weird way and the music is too loud. Right now nobody else is going. Their menu is going to expand soon and I predict further evolution for this place.

The Source, the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant, web site, 575 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-637-6100, across from the National Gallery, on 6th and Pennsylvania, in the modernist office building (next to the Newseum). (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | The Hill | Yelp | Gayot]

Right now this is one of the two best places in town, along with CityZen. Puck’s places tend to decline within a few years (or sooner), so now is the time to go. Get as many appetizers and small dishes as you can, that is also a cheaper way to eat plus you get more selection.

The Source, web site, 575 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 202-637-6100 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | The Hill | WaPo | Yelp]

Yes sir, I know what is best, and I will bring it to you.

That was what I heard in The Source, the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant, which is now one of the two best fine dining establishments in an otherwise food-starved Washington DC.

First posted on Marginal Revolution.

Pauli Moto's, web site, 7852-L Tysons Corner Center, McLean, VA (Tysons I), 703-556-7777 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [MenuPages | WaPo | City Paper | Tarting It Up | Don Rockwell | Yelp]

This is by Pauli Moto, the guy with the TV show and the fancy nouvelle Asian place in Philadelphia. I suppose he showed up for the opening, or something like that.

The food here is carefully made, reasonably tasty, and no doubt it is the best restaurant in Tysons Mall. The seafood is quite fresh. That said, I find the place a bore, and a somewhat expensive bore at that. Best for when there are lines everywhere else and you need to eat somewhere before the movie.

My first evaulation stands.

Pauli Moto’s Asian Bistro (web site), in the reburbished part of Tysons Corner Center Mall, 7852L Tysons Corner Center, 1961 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA, 703-893-9400 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper | Yelp]

NOW CLOSED. This is by Pauli Moto, the guy with the TV show and the fancy nouvelle Asian place in Philadelphia. I suppose he showed up for the opening, or something like that. The food here is carefully made, reasonably tasty, and no doubt it is the best restaurant in Tysons Mall. The seafood is quite fresh. That said, I find the place a bore, and a somewhat expensive bore at that. Best for when there are lines everywhere else and you need to eat somewhere before the movie.

Sweet Ginger, in Danor Plaza, 120B Branch Road SE, near Maple Avenue, Vienna, VA, 703-319-3922 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Gayot]

Vienna goes Pan-Asian. Again, note that the Pan-Asian concept started off as a bold innovation, now it is usually an excuse to get a sugary and inauthentic version of the real thing. Go to Sichuan Village instead and get the pig’s maw with ginger and garlic.

Big Bowl (web site), Reston Town Center, 11915 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA, 703-787-8852, usually open (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Citysearch | Yelp | Gayot]

Half-Asian, half-American, for Reston tekkies, this place is popular and has its defenders. Not for the purist, though. Try the curries, and hope for the best.

Mantis, 1847 Columbia Road, Washington, DC, 202-667-2400 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Citysearch]

Pan-Asian tapas, I have yet to go. Nor will I, until they have a non-smoking section.

Café Asia (web site), 1550 Wilson Boulevard, Rosslyn, Arlington, VA, 703-741-0870 (also 1720 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-659-2696) (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Citysearch | Gayot]

Now the place to go in Rosslyn. Surprisingly good, and quite cheap. Tasty and spicy Asian food of all varieties, most valuable to me here are the Indonesian dishes, which are very good and hard to find elsewhere in this area. You might think that a Pan-Asian place won’t do most things well, but this place in fact does many dishes reasonably well. Looks like a big cafeteria but the setting is nonetheless somehow attractive, and this has become a place to be seen, at least by Northern Virginia standards.

Spices, 3333-A Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC, near Ordway, 202-686-3833 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]

Pan-Asian food, owned by the Oodles Noodles people. By now this stuff is passe rather than new or interesting. If you like this place, it just means you haven’t enjoyed the real Asian food to be had around here, and you are probably one of those carless people stuck in Washington DC.

Café Mozu (web site), 1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Hotel Mandarin Oriental, “Set at the heart of the US capital between Maine and Maryland Avenues and 12th and 14th Streets, SW,” (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist]

Expensive, but the seafood is of high quality. Some of the sauces are a bit sweet. Probably the best Pan-Asian place around, but it is two huge strikes against it. 1) If I am in that hotel, and inclined to spend money, I am headed to CityZen, and 2) a bowl of DanDan noodles, at TemptAsian, for $4.95, offers more pleasure than a Pan-Asian meal at any of these places.

Nooshi, formerly Oodles Noodles, 1120 19th Street NW, just north of K Street NW, Washington, DC (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Gayot]

A Pan-Asian place, which mixes cuisines, with an emphasis on noodles. Yummy if sometimes just a bit too sweet. When in doubt, order the peanut sauce.

Bistro Asiatique (web site), 4936 Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 301-718-3400 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | Gayot]

Has to be overpriced for what you get, I have yet to go.

Asia Nora (web site), 2213 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-797-4860 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Citysearch | Yelp | Gayot]

Too expensive relative to the competition, and not tastier. Plus occasionally people have very bad experiences here.

CityZen, web site, 1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (directions), 202-787-6868, dinner only, and not every day, closed Monday and Tuesday I believe (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Mobil | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

Don’t forget, all food is ethnic food. For the first time since Jean-Louis (and I mean the mid- to late-1980s, not the later version of the place), Washington has a first-rate place for fine dining. Right now this is one of the ten best restaurants in North America. Yes, dinner costs more than $100 a pop, but now is your chance to go. Go, and go often, before it declines. The fixed-price menu changes every month, make sure you get the full treatment.

Zengo DC, web site, 781 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-393-2929 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell]

Richard Sandoval and Placido Domingo own this place. Modern Mexican mixed in with Pan-Asian, one of the best places in town. The look is very stylish, and reminds the visitor of Manhattan or Mexico City. A hip crowd. The hamachi is superb, also get the empanadas; don’t say “I don’t like empanadas, they are dull, crusty things.” Swallow each arepa in a single bite. Not cheap, but for what you get it is reasonably priced.