A&J Restaurant

This Northern Chinese dim sum standby has been turning out pan-fried pork dumplings and springy dan-dan noodles on Rockville Pike for three decades; its Annandale sister location followed a few years later. Not many restaurants are this consistent—or such a good value. More must-orders: mustard-green salad with soybeans; garlicky cucumbers; spicy noodle soups; Szechuan-style wontons; and Chinese fried chicken and rice (a winner for picky kids).

Beteseb

There’s a sleek new Technicolor menu at this sunny Ethiopian cafe, but the food remains as soulful as ever. Start by choosing your injera: imported from Ethiopia for extra tang or made locally—both varieties soft and ideal for scooping. Bozena shiro—a bubbling pot of chickpea stew—is especially satisfying, while crispy beef tibs stands out among the classics. Vegetables such as gomen (collards) and atikilt wat (cabbage and potatoes) never disappoint. Come early for breakfast and order the comforting chechesba, pieces of wheat flatbread fried in butter and drizzled with honey.  

Chay

Some of the area’s best Vietnamese cooking happens to be completely meat-free. Papaya and seaweed salads are colorful and overflowing with vegan tofu jerky adding to the medley of textures. Chef Lan Tran makes many of her own faux meats and seafoods from tofu and vegetables, ranging from a peanut-studded “clam” dip with sesame rice crackers for scooping to soulful bowls of spicy lemongrass noodle soup with soy ham and vegan beef. Even the fried fish that’s not actually fish is a stunner thanks to a mountain of julienned mango and tangy-sweet chili sauce.  

Elle

In the morning, this all-day cafe hums as a coffee shop—packed with laptop lingerers sipping seasonal lattes and noshing on potato-roll egg sandwiches. Lunch brings such dependable comforts as a green salad with miso vinaigrette and anchovies or a well-built pastrami Reuben. At night, the place settles into a warm, welcoming neighborhood restaurant with imaginatively homey (but more expensive) plates: crisp nuggets of fried halloumi with farro and apples; juicy chicken Milanese slicked with romesco; and Swiss-chard ravioli with mushrooms and toasty hazelnuts.  

El Viejo Central American Kitchen

The Blanco family pours a lot of love into their small, light-filled restaurant, hidden away near the future Purple Line tracks and frequented by construction workers and well-heeled suburban families alike. Pupusas, tamales, and Salvadoran bean-and-egg breakfasts don’t get much better. And don’t skip the housemade aguas frescas in flavors like tamarind and cashew fruit.

Fava Pot

It smells like Grandma’s been cooking all day when you walk into the Falls Church flagship of this homestyle Egyptian restaurant. (The downtown outpost has a smaller menu geared to the office lunch crowd.) Owner Dina Daniel, who greets diners like family, serves up comfort in the form of béchamel-enriched chicken kofta, lamb shank with roasted potatoes, and an Egyptian-style beef moussaka with pine nuts and raisins. While the menu is expansive, the restaurant is particularly known for its falafel, made with fava beans instead of chickpeas.

Green Almond Pantry

Stop by this snug Georgetown lunch counter and you’ll likely leave with your fridge stocked for the week. The case is filled with flavorful staples—lentils with smoky eggplant, farro with walnuts, and a creamy (yet dairy-free) chilled zucchini soup. Savory pastries such as leek-and-walnut tarts and spinach-feta börek, along with tender olive-oil corn cakes, tempt from behind the counter. Order a sandwich to devour on the spot, especially anything on crackly focaccia. We’re partial to the egg-and-cheese with pesto and the juicy lamb kofta. 

Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana

Some of Washington’s best pizza can be found at this strip-mall destination. It would look unassuming if not for the line that forms long before doors open, when foodies from across the area descend for former fine-dining chef Tony Conte’s blistered neo-Neapolitan pies. We dream of the rosemary-scented potato-and-onion version, and his Margherita gets two thumbs up from kids and adults alike. Start with a perfect green salad with truffle vinaigrette, and don’t leave without a swirl of soft-serve with coffee caramel.  

Letena

At Yamrot Ezineh’s cozy-chic Ethiopian cafe in Columbia Heights, the lentil samosas are so addictive they’re now sold frozen to take home. The rest of the menu is just as irresistible. Lega tibs feature ultra-juicy beef tenderloin, while yebeg wat stars fall-apart lamb in a soulful stew. The vegetarian sampler hits all the right notes, with fiery red lentils, collards with bite, and earthy beets to cool things down. Add berbere-spiced carrot wat and sautéed mushroom tibs for a standout all-vegetarian feast. 

Northwest Chinese Food

Mouth-numbing red chilies and pungent black vinegar are recurring themes at this modern College Park storefront. Feast on chili-oil-slicked dumplings and traditional Chinese sammies on griddled flatbreads—we love the delicately fried chicken and spicy pork with kimchi versions. Housemade knife-cut noodles are worth coming for alone, and they shine in bowls laden with garlicky pork ribs or an egg-and-noodle heap kissed with chili oil. Vivid drinks such as kumquat lemon tea and a sour-plum juice cool down the fires.  

Taqueria Sabor Mixteco

Some of the area’s best regional Mexican cooking happens in this humble, welcoming storefront from industry veterans Apolinar Cervantes, Marisol Gonzales, and Juan Solano. Look for Oaxacan items such as the heady moles; the huge, crisp, smoke-scented tlayuda, a tortilla smeared with herby black beans; or the hearty pork-and-potato stew called chileajo. For a superb make-your-own-taco experience, try an alambre—a tangle of grilled meat, poblanos, onions, and melted cheese to be scooped into tortillas.  

Thip Khao and Padaek

You can thank chef Seng Luangrath for popularizing Laotian food in DC—and across the country. Her crispy coconut-rice salad mixed with peanuts, herbs, and sour pork is rightfully famous, but lime-punched salads, fragrant soups, and banana-leaf-wrapped fish with herby coconut curry are also highlights. Her Columbia Heights flagship, Thip Khao, is worth its own visit for its “jungle” menu featuring specialties like grilled chicken hearts or muu som, rice-fermented pork belly stir-fried with tomatoes and wood-ear mushrooms.  

Tiffin Hut

A short menu can be a great sign, and this Bangalore-style all-day cafe in Herndon has pared its offerings down to the bare minimum: four dosa variations, four idli variations, and chai—all pitch-perfect. Benne dosas, folded in half quesadilla-style, have crusts shellacked with butter; idli act like springy sponges for ghee and vermilion roasted-chile-and-lentil “gunpowder” seasoning. This is South Indian cooking at its most deeply satisfying.

Truong Tien

Its hidden location in the depths of the Eden Center mall makes this Vietnamese gem feel all the more transportive. The staff may not speak much English and menu descriptions are vague, but you can’t go wrong with any of the rice-cake and tapioca-dumpling appetizers, which might come open-faced, banana-leaf-wrapped, or chicharrón-encrusted with whole, small, shell-on shrimp. The restaurant’s most popular specialty is a spicy lemongrass noodle soup with rustic meatballs and other meaty bits in a steamy, rich beef broth.

Yellow

By day, Michael Rafidi’s two Levantine spots are casual counter-order cafes. By night, they morph into restaurants with table service, dinner menus, and (hard-to-get) reservations. Evenings at Union Market are kebab-focused—lamb kofta and butcher steak are our must-haves—with showstopping smaller plates like wood-fired oysters and shawarma-spiced potato “tots” with creamy urfa dip. Georgetown is devoted to pizza-like sourdough pies topped with, say, Armenian sausage and pickled chilies or burrata with harissa. Both locations offer a tahini-ranch-dressed Little Gem salad worth obsessing over, and possibly the best hummus you will ever eat.