DC Food Secrets You Totally Want to Know About

Sure , undercover speakeasies andprivate supper clubsare supposed to be secretive , but if everyone knows the password and the shoes has a liquor license , can youreallycall it a enigma ? DC , the ultimate city of backchannel muckle and off - the - record meetings , can do better than that . Given the city ’s long , dramatic chronicle , there have always been some secrets and quirks in the urban center ’s dining scene … and since we ’re feeling generous , we ’re even willing to disclose a few .

DC’s secret sauce isn’t legally ours

Washington locals will defend ownership of mumbo sauce until our dying breath , but unfortunately , the law is n’t on our side on this one . The scarlet - orange , sweet , spicy , tangy condiment is recall to have originated in DC ’s carry - out backstage joints , and it quickly spread to Formosan eating place . Now you drench just about anything with it in the District , and everyone translate .

However , the sauce also has origin in Chicago . A company called Select Brands has been selling mumbo sauce since the 1950s , though their sauce differ somewhat from DC ’s . In a 2013 legal battle between Select Brands and a DC society called Capital City Mumbo Sauce , the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board side with Select Brands and rein they have the rightfield to keep their trademark . Capital City has since changed the name of their product toMambo Sauce , and you could still find the splendid , mercurochrome - imbue , multi - use condiment all around DC , no matter what you call it .

Being in-the-know means access to foie gras waffles

Starbucks baristas may detest you for order off the " secret carte du jour , " butMarcel’swelcomes it . You wo n’t see it print anywhere , so you have to specifically ask your server if you want the Belgian beer - buffet waffle with La Belle Farm foie gras and seasonal fruits with a Sauternes reduction . " In the early daytime of Marcel ’s , I used to have this made for me in the kitchen when I would come in early to begin prepping before dinner party service , " Chef and Owner Robert Wiedmaier enunciate . " Some of our steady guest caught onto this ritual and began request it themselves . " The decadent waffle can be yours during dinner service for $ 36 .

Washingtonians steal unusual shit from restaurants

Stealing from restaurants is not an rare happening . In fact , Eater has give an entiresection of their siteto track what thieves are currently going after around the land . But in DC , people get a trivial more creative with what they choose to swipe . This is not ( repetition , NOT ) a recommended or apprehended practice in the urban center , but some of the most strange detail that have mysteriously disappeared from DC organisation include risqué bathroom wallpaper , vintage bread - and - butter plates , and handmade sticky Elmer Rice baskets imported from Laos ( they ’re the namesake of local Laotian restaurantThip Khao ) . We ’re not gallant .

The city’s only winery doesn’t even make wine

While rural neighborhood in Virginia and Maryland are chock - full of wineries , the District did n’t have one of its own until this year . Anxo Cidery & Pintxos Baropened in July 2016 as the metropolis ’s first cider bar and first certify wine maker . They ’re licensed as a winery because they make alcohol from fruit , although the cognitive operation of making cider from apples is very similar to making wine from grapes . But the type of winery that multitude are more familiar with is on the agency : District Winery is slated to open up in Yards Park in 2017 .

Chances that you’ll run into Michelle Obama during dinner aren’t half bad

The Obamas are very dynamic in the DC dining scenery , and many give the First Family fond reference for the restaurant diligence ’s remarkable growth over the past few years . The couple has a few go - to post , but they also make a point of trying restaurants that are new in townsfolk . They have dined everywhere from Rose ’s Luxury , Restaurant Nora , and Bourbon Steak , to Rasika , Oyamel , and Blue Duck Tavern . The first lady has also visited Chez Billy Sud , Equinox , Masseria , Maketto , Open City , Kapnos , Birch & Barley , Fiola , and Ottoman Taverna . The chair , who ’s eff to love a ripe burger , has ordered them at Shake Shack , Lincoln , and The Coupe , to name a few .

Our signature sausage is a topic of hot debate

No one abnegate that the half - sens is as quintessentially DC as tax revenue without representation , but the origin of our signature sausage is a trivial murky . Brave souls have tried to bring out the creation write up of the half - fume , but have n’t reached an entirely determinate solution . People speculate that Briggs and Co. meatpackers were the ones who first created the recipe , but now about every botcher has a somewhat different version . Ben ’s Chili Bowlserves what is arguablythe most iconic half - smoke , but many insist that thetrue half - smoke OGsare the folks at the wayside Weenie Beenie in Shirlington . Regardless , everyone in the cityhas an opinion on it .

The best cupcake shop isn’t the one you’ve seen on TV

I know , I know . " They ’re on TV , so theymustbe great!“Georgetown Cupcakeseems to dominate the cupcake market place – just ask one of the poor souls standing in the line that about always enwrap around the block . But we have so much more to volunteer than that one shop class in the public center . Instead of wait for hours , check outBaked and Wired ’s giant , whimsically named - cakecups ( Uniporn & Rainho , anyone ? ) or stop in to the newButtercream Bakeshopand sample one of pastry genius Tiffany MacIsaac ’s work of art .

We’re the proud owners of one of the last standing monuments to the Temperance Movement

DC is known for its rich history , butbesotted fib of the prohibition eraaren’t exactly front and center of attention on our tourism pamphlets . That ’s why you ’ve believably never notice our Temperance Fountain . It ’s one of about fifty commissioned by temperance social reformer Dr. Henry Cogswell , and we ’re one of the few city that still has one . Cogswell finance the fountains in an effort to convince the great unwashed that drinking H2O is ultimately superior to down whisky … and we all love how well that process out .

Eden Center may be amazing, but our authentic Asian dining options stretch up into Maryland, too

You do it well than to head to Chinatown – more accurately dubbed " Chinablock " – for veritable Asian culinary art in the DC orbit . The Eden Center in Falls Church is the well know lawful option ; after all , it is a legitimateVietnamese wonderlandfilled with all the banh mi , outpouring roll , and pho you’re able to eat , brought to you by one of the largest Vietnamese populations on the East Coast . But the less talked about spots have just as much to offer : Annandale is a must - strike spot for Korean barbecue , plus an teemingness of boba tea , and the Taiwanese standout , A&J. A&J ’s sister localization is in Rockville , where it ’s beleaguer by plenty of other equally - delectable Taiwanese menu .

Kogiya