From my latest Bloomberg column: Why is the food so good? I have several overlapping hypotheses, most of them coming from my background as an economist. Interestingly, India’s culinary advantages can be traced to some good and some not-so-good aspects ..read more

Peter Chang MacLean, web site, 6715 Lowell Ave., McLean, VA, 571-405-6686 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [GoogleTripAdvisorFFX NowRedditRestaurantjiCity PaperNoVA Mag] This is probably the second ..read more

I have noticed repeatedly, over the course of many restaurant visits, that my servers want to take away my plates, my glasses, my cutlery, and indeed almost anything else — before I really want to give it up. The ratio ..read more

Yes, the fancy expensive places are great. But more generally, I recommend that you order the dishes with game and lingonberries, most of all lingonberries. Soups here are above average, and I do not generally love soups. The pizza is surprisingly good, make sure you order it with “pizza salad,” which turns out to be cabbage. If you are craving non-Western food, I would try Persian before Indian or Chinese. At breakfast, butter is consistently good. Overall, Stockholm is a quality food city, though it is not superb when it comes to breadth. Eating well in Stockholm Originally posted on Margi ..read more

Don’t laugh, but basically you want to eat in the restaurants with the beautiful women. And with the views of the waterfront. You may recall those are usually the opposite of the correct recommendations. But in Cape Town, there is no coherent “mom and pop” restaurant sector, based on either recent Asian or Latino immigrants, or based on an existing middle class. You simply want to go to the nice, fancy places. And you don’t need my list, many sources can tell you which ones those are. The economics of that are simple. There is a well-defined class of people with a lot of money, and the best r ..read more

Shinwari Namak Mandi, web site, FB, 5884 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA, 703-347-8311 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | RoadTrippers | Restaurant Guru] Yet further evidence that this area’s Pakistani restaurants are better than the Indian restaurants. Ask for haleem, sometimes they have it! But it’s not on the menu. What they serve here is predictable, but I mean that word in the good sense. The real stand-out here is the bread – maybe the best I’ve had in any northern Virginia restaurant? Make sure you get that. With the rest of the meal you will be fine too. Note there is ..read more

Southeast Impression, web site, 9530 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, VA, 703-865-4884 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Washingtonian | FFX Now | Restaurantji] Real Malaysian food, right near my house! They have Thai dishes too, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get around to trying them. The Nasi Lemak is my top recommendation here. Most dishes are good, though the laksa I found too tame. The others you can improve through the condiments. Good beef rendang. The roti with lentils appetizer is top-tier. Quality vegetables. So my standard of living has gone up by quite a bit. Note this is a ..read more

Piers emails me: You’re a NJ native and great at finding good restaurants. So what are the rules for finding good old school American Italian restaurants? Not like modern farm to table places full of natural light in Brooklyn or SF, you know what I mean? Review aggregators are useless. Horrid “egg noodles and ketchup” places get high scores just for being family run. It is harder and harder to find such places. I think the Latino-ization of the New Jersey heartland largely has been a good thing, and also a good thing for food (Peruvian!), but it hasn’t helped Italian dining very much. More a ..read more

Mum Aroi, web site, 5892 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA (Baileys Crossroads area), 703-671-4222 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Restaurantji | Annandale Today] This place has the same chef as the former Duangrat’s Oriental Food Mart, now relabeled Thai Value, and is right next door. But now it is also a proper sit-down restaurant, but they kept the food true to its earlier mom and pop roots. Could it be overall the most authentic Thai food around? In any case it sits in the top tier of local NoVa restaurants. The Nam Khao is excellent, as are the “dumplings” (they’re not ..read more

Sichuan Legend Hot Pot, web site, 9992 Main St., Fairfax, VA, 703-865-7773, 571-536-7780, closed Tuesday (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Restaurant Guru] I don’t love most hot pot but the core Sichuan dishes here are outstanding. Cooked by Chengdu chefs, this is Chinese food for Chinese diners. The best ma po tofu around. The best cumin fish around. Reasonable price too. Ten years ago we would have been amazed this place exists, but in 2024 somehow it doesn’t get attention at all. And yes, you do have to ask for the Chinese menu. Should be in everyone’s repertoire, it is o ..read more