An 18 Month Retrospective: The Birth of the Cheap Ethnic Suburban Dining Brigade

The Frustration

Bahn Mi at the Eden Center

Having lived and dined in delicious cheap eats cities (Miami, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Madrid, etc), Marta, Julia, and Alex were disappointed with the DC food landscape. Once you get through the Ethiopian restaurants, you're left with fast casual chains, "Big Slice" pizzerias, and whatever it is they're serving at Ben's Chili Bowl. Of course, DC is home to some world-renowned chefs and amazing restaurants; if you have the budget for it, we hear Citronelle (or Komi or Minibar...) is fantastic. But on the salaries of two young professionals and one grad student stipend, we weren't willing to pay for it. We continued to be underwhelmed at our dining options.

The Revelation

Fried Tilapia with Basil

In 2009, we received Tom Seitsema's annual Dining Guide. He wrote about a lot of places that sounded delicious. And many of them had only one $ sign! How had we missed these delicious, affordable gems? Location, location, location: Falls Church, Rockville, Annandale, etc. Of course, it makes sense. If you want delicious food, you have to go to the people who make it, and the Washington suburbs are a very ethnically diverse place. Tyler Cowen gives us the economic explanation in his painfully pretentious but still useful DC Ethnic Dining Guide:

The better ethnic restaurants tend to have many of their kind in a given geographic area. Competition increases quality and lowers prices. The presence of many restaurants of a kind in an area creates a pool of educated consumers, trained workers and chefs, and ingredient supplies - all manifestations of increasing returns to scale.

Pretty Menus at Elephant Jumps

Fine. It seemed we were going to have to mobilize ourselves to get at this great food. Marta and Alex, both from South Florida and used to relying on a car, had been frustrated by this aspect of urban living: no wheels to seek out our food adventures. But then Julia moved to town, with our chariot: her trusty 1998 Nissan Sentra. The Cheap Ethnic Suburban Dining Brigade was born.

Fried Papaya Salad

The Brigade Since October 2009

The first place we ever went was the first one listed in the 2009 Dining Guide: Bamian, an Afghan place in Falls Church. On the way there, we got very lost, suffered through abysmal suburban Virginia traffic, and finally arrived only to be told that, due to power outages, the kitchen was closed. We sat in the lobby and waited and hoped. And when the lights came back on, it was fantastic, still one of the best places we've been too. Rule # 27 of the CESDB: Don't despair- it always works out. We went to Bamian again for our one year anniversary. For the past 18 months, we've been going to a new place roughly twice a month. We even took on a new member! After introducing us to the magnificence that is Korean Fried Chicken, Adam convinced us that he was serious about cheap ethnic suburban dining. He also led us to the interactive dining experiences of Korean BBQ and Hot Pot.

Meat and Fire!

Tom

Hot Pot!

We love Tom. Tom is the Washington Post Dining Critic. His dining guides are the starting point for our explorations. He shares our affection for delicious holes in the wall, out in suburban strip malls. At some point, we were calling ourselves Tom's Angels. Our dream (my dream) is that, after having read this blog, Tom will call us and ask us to help with an assignment. "Girls," he will say. (I imagined this before Adam joined.) "Girls, I wouldn't ask if it weren't important, but I have a deadline coming up, and just horrible indigestion. Could you try out every dish at the new Vietnamese place out in Leesburg and write up a review?" "Of course, Tom," we will say. "Anything to help you out."

The Rules

We have some rules, all of which are regularly broken. The first rule was that membership was limited to Marta, Julia, and Alex, but then Adam came along. The second rule is that the restaurants have to be in the suburbs, otherwise they are an offshoot of the Brigade called the Cheap Urban Dining Brigade, or, as Marta calls it, Friends Going Out. Somewhere on the list of rules is no smartphones allowed for looking up directions en route. (Adam usually breaks this rule.) No calling ahead to verify hours. Share as many dishes as possible. And of course, always seek out the next cheap, delicious eating spot!