Small Town and Small Plates

In a city where no one is truly from, the food can’t be truly local. While there are gastronomical staples like Ben’s Chili Bowl and Georgetown Cupcake, which are as wonderful as they were advertised, they aren’t what make food in the District memorable. The real thing that makes the D.C. food culture shine is that there is no food that is “Typical D.C.”

The variety of ethnic foods could keep a foodie busy for weeks. Within walking distance from the GAO I had some of the best Ramen, Pad Tai, Greek, Sushi, and Spanish I’ve ever tasted. That’s not to mention the battalion on food trucks that are stationed outside of Government buildings across the city.

The thing that D.C. does right beyond the variety of ethnics flavor, which I hope would catch on in the Midwest is the small plate. At first I was hesitant of paying 8 bucks for something I thought I could scarf down in 2 minutes, but the flavor of these dishes are more full and developed than an entire entrée could hope to be. What’s more, by the time your taste buds start to understand what was going on and get bored, you’ve eaten half the plate and your friends have polished off the rest. While that may sound tragic, the fact that the table can expect a showering of additional plates makes the meal adventuresses. Getting to taste 5 or 10 dishes takes the cake (or flan, or homemade ice cream, or lava brownie).

            Two meals strike me as the most memorable. The first being a brunch at Mesa 14. While at first I was shocked that I just agreed to a 40 dollar all you can eat (and drink) brunch I was blown away by the food. The meals all had an Asian and Latin fusion flavor with ingredients that I never would have thought to combine and I may not have had the courage to order if I had not already paid a sunk cost. My favorite was the Pork Belly Benedict with a Spiced Curry Potato and Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce.

            The other meal that blew me away was the most incredible broth I’ve ever tasted at Diakaya during my traditional intern lunch with my colleagues at GAO. I thought ramen as a 99 cent salty packet. I never could have imagined how savory a proper broth could be, or how perfectly chewy I should expect a good Asian noodle. I’d also like to extend an honorable mention to Zaytinya. Once I get a full time job in D.C. I’m going to have to be careful to not eat myself poor and make sure I can the pay rent!

 

            The other thing I've loved about D.C. is the fact that so many important people are working to do some many important things. Between all of this though these high octane individuals are willing to take a part out of their day to meet with young blood. I've done over a dozen informational interviews and learned something from each one about career planning and where I see my future experiences and education going. Its incredible how small life is within the beltway as well. I've mentioned certain people I've met with to other people kind enough to give me an informational interview and found that they happened to know others in my network. No on may be from D.C. but the work they do brings them together.

 

-Josh Ferencik