Just got my 2009 DC/Baltimore Zagat guide last month, and I’m finally flipping through it, seeing what they’ve managed to cull from the “roughly 1.1 million meals” worth of experience they tout on the inside cover.
In my experience, it’s the relatively low-priced, everyday restaurants that make or break one of these guides. I don’t need Zagat to tell me that CityZen or Citronelle are good eats - I’m perfectly capable of staring/drooling hungrily over their websites (or through their street-level windows) and figuring that out on my own. Same with the “hidden gems” - once you see page them in Zagat, they just aren’t cool anymore.
So it was with interest that I turned to their “Best Buys” section. As they trumpet, these were calculated using Zagat’s “Bang for the Buck” ratings. First impression:
if Zagat is to be believed, I might be getting better bang for my buck in the Camelot champagne room.
Not that I would go to a strip club. Demeaning to women.
Seriously though, Zagat does not put a pretty picture on cheap dining in the District - a picture that I’m not sure we entirely deserve. Looking down the top twenty, pretty much everything divides into two categories: fast-food type chains and places that are really really far away. (Maybe two-and-a-half, with an honorary category of “Ok we get it already” for Five Guys, Ben’s Chili Bowl and Amsterdam Falafel.)
Not that there are bad choices on this list: El Pollo Rico and Pollo Campero, Elevation Burger and A&J are all good eating, I’m just looking for options that aren’t two trains and a fifteen minute walk from my office. Eliminate them, and Zagat leaves you with Bread Line and CF Folks (good sandwiches for cheap: a confusing situation for white people), Florida Ave. Grill, Tryst, Rosslyn’s Pho 75 and Crystal City’s Kabob Palace (and these last two shade into the “far away” category for me - I live and work between the red and green lines, making popping over to Virginia for dinner an expedition).
So, according to Zagat, these are your best options for cheap food that’s unique to our corner of the world. I have to confess, out all of these, I’ve only been to CF Folks, and only there to pick up a sandwich for lunch. It’s a great deli, but let’s not get crazy here, Zagat.
Now I understand that it’s easier to find cheap food in the ‘burbs, I just think you can do just fine without leaving the confines of the Federal District. In fact, looking at Zagat’s “Other Deals” section, you’ll find plenty of options: Chinatown Express, Chix, Etete, Tackle Box, 2 Amy’s, Vegetate, Nam Viet and Oohs & Aahs pop out immediately, and those are just the places I’ve been personally, or have heard only good things about. Not sure exactly why these don’t make the cut, especially since cost of a round-trip train out to Rockville or Wheaton pretty much cancels out expense difference between the two sets of restaurants.
This isn’t to say that Zagat isn’t a useful guide: after all, it does give you bite-size reviews (something it isn’t always easy to find—especially if you read what I’ve written), and it does include plenty of cheap options, even if it fails to highlight the right ones.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I hear a cup of Top Ramen calling my name – not that this revelation should make my ranting somehow less trustworthy…
i love thai X-ing!! i eat there all to often.
September 4, 2008 at 1:36 pmi think you’re looking for the Zagat guide to Informed Dining Near The Black Cat, not the Zagat DC/Baltimore restaurant guide, which somehow fails to consider your personal metro/bus/Amtrak commute in its price picks.
September 4, 2008 at 2:41 pmamanda - i wish i had found that, i’d probably use it a lot more often.
alls i’m saying is: for those of us who live in the district proper, anywhere from cleveland park (2 amys) to h st (granville’s) is a lot easier than the rockvilles/wheatons/falls churchs of the world.
not that those aren’t great places. some of my best friends are from rockville.
September 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm“Thai X-ing on Florida and 6th is a row house, and has only one table, but it’s delicious. Your best bet is to call ahead for takeout. ”
it actually has several tables inside and one on the patio that usually has a hose or some garden tools on it, but you are right about the takeout - place is nasty inside, especially in the summer since it gets hot as piss in there.
the food is tasty as fuck, though, and taw is a super nice guy.
if you do plan to eat there, do it in the winter and bring your own drink - even if it’s water. trust me on this.
If I were in charge anything that had “Washington” in its name could only deal with things in the District itself - those other places can get their own shit, like the Rockvilleonian or the Silver Spring Informer or something.
I’m tired of picking up shit for “Washington DC” and reading about something and discovering it’s out in bum-fuck White Flint.
September 4, 2008 at 3:24 pmyou’re right michael, those hillbillies in white flint and silver spring are some backward-ass motherfuckers. and face it - all the good ethnic food from DC migrated out to the ‘burbs. deal.
October 7, 2008 at 5:43 pmI heard that in White Flint they make their own bowls and utensils out of things found in the forest - is that true?
October 7, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Shaw isn’t exactly known for their cuisine, but there are 2 worthwhile spots here:
Thai X-ing on Florida and 6th is a row house, and has only one table, but it’s delicious. Your best bet is to call ahead for takeout.
Sumah’s on 7th and R does West African. It looks like an old office space, complete with dingy carpet, but the dishes are spectacular.
Both are local, cheap, and accessible!
September 4, 2008 at 1:09 pm