roflgoat t1_jaccvih wrote on February 28, 2023 at 12:36 PM

Reply to comment by dcsnarkington in Gen Z flocking to these big cities as other generations flee (DC is #1) by FreemanCantJump

Based on your opinions on DC food I don't think you get out enough

dcsnarkington t1_jacrn6n wrote on February 28, 2023 at 2:39 PM

Haha I probably spend more money on restaurants than 99% of the residents here. My own money too, not expense account. I dined at Paul Bocuse last year. My favorite overall restaurant in DC is Marcels for food alone.

The restaurants here are ok. Largely overpriced and concept over substance. A good example of how DCs restaurants are not as good as comparing a place like Le Bernadin in NYC to well any restaurant in the city for price ambiance and food.

You can say well there Little Inn. That place is a nearly an hour away from city. It's literally the same distance as Baltimore and you want to tell me that's a DC restaurant?

roflgoat t1_jacxfbb wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:19 PM

So your gauge on a city's dining scene is restaurants in the tier of Le Bernadin? Very relatable. I don't think about Little Inn or any of the overpriced chef-of-the-moment spots. I just noticed you called out the Asian food scenes in DC and it seemed like maybe you hadn't explored the suburbs much — for me, the close suburbs may as well be in the city since DC will never be able to expand its borders like other cities.

dcsnarkington t1_jacyx28 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:29 PM

If you think Rockville / silver Spring Chinese or any of the Japanese food period in this city is anything other than average relative to Philly, NYC, SF, LA.

Then I don't know what to tell you foodie.

I spend a lot of time in Honolulu I suggest you go there if you want to know what good Japanese food is like in America.

Flushing NYC for Chinese. LA for Korean.

Our Vietnamese is not bad. I'll give DC that. I've lived here over 20 years with a car I've been to basically to every Japanese and Chinese place in the area worth going to.

roflgoat t1_jad6gtm wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:19 PM

Certainly DC doesn't have the options you could get in NYC, SF, or LA for Asian food. I'm not being unrealistic here. Just the original point that DC can't match the overall culinary scenes of Philly, Austin, or Atlanta feels a bit pessimistic to me. I'd say you can have opinions within that tier, but I really feel that DC's grown into that tier in the last decade.

Edit: Just to clarify where I'm coming from, I think DC punches above its size for the balance of variety and quality. You can get solid Vietnamese, Korean, Yemeni, Afghan, Thai, South Indian, Jamaican, Szechuan, Ethiopian, Salvadorian, and so on all within a pretty achievable distance in DC, as well as a handful of good fine dining options. So they don't have the best of everything and there's a nascently Miami-esque hype chef scene that falls flat and the bakeries and pizzarias are lacking, but it feels pretty on par to cities like Atlanta and Austin and Philly for the overall accessibility of good eats in a way most people would live. Plus Menya Hosaki is the best ramen on the east coast.

dcsnarkington t1_jadmo24 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 6:02 PM

I don't disagree, general intl cuisine has excellent coverage. Like I said I am pleased with the traditional French options which is uncommonly good. I actively dislike the new high end dining scene in DC, as I think you can get away with quite a lot of high concept low quality with these customers here.

That said with japanese in particular I am deeply frustrated by the continual failure to maintain any standards or quality with places like dakaiya completely falling apart (change to frozen gyoza and dishwater for broth). This i believe is due to both a lack of genuine pride in their craft by ownership and the vast majority of diners having no standards. The constant stream new Asian fusion garbage and simulated Japanese cuisine is truly remarkable.

I need to try menya hosaki. Thanks for the tip.

roflgoat t1_jadpz7e wrote on February 28, 2023 at 6:23 PM

I'd definitely share your cynicism on DCs high end scene. I stopped even bothering with it after a while. The customer base skews towards people who are fine throwing money away as long as they're at a hyped place or trying to impress their Hinge date and that leads to some totally worthless places with way too much concept. Hope you enjoy Menya Hosaki, it's legit.

jerolyoleo t1_jaeydu8 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 11:11 PM

The Korean food in Annandale & environs is pretty good.