Noodles with black bean sauce and beef at Da Rae Won.
Da Rae Won
Don’t be alarmed. The thunderous thwacking you hear is only chef Hyeong Mu Choe and his team beating the dough into shape. They make the noodles fresh for every bowl ordered, including the lush, sweet and earthy jajangmyeon, a Korean comfort food from Seoul to Annandale. There is no dessert menu, but every check comes with a 2-ounce “frozen dessert,” which goes down like a slushy orange creamsicle.
What to order: jajangmyeon (above, listed as “noodle with fresh black bean sauce”), noodles with vegetables and spicy seafood, fried pork dumplings.
Da Rae Won, 5013 Garrett Ave., 301-931-7878.
Pancit palabok, a noodle dish with egg, shrimp, garlic and pork rinds at Manila Mart. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)
Manila Mart
The no-frills Filipino market features a cafe in back where customers can feast on a wide range of dishes from the archipelago. The place is run by Antonio and Emma Bioc and their children, who are quick to navigate newbies through the menu, which offers both entry-level snacks (barbecued pork skewers marinated in Sprite) and advanced, Pinoy-centric plates (the barnyard-funk of dinuguan, a pork dish that incorporates pig’s blood and palm vinegar).
What to order: pancit palabok (above, rice noodles with shrimp, hard-boiled egg, scallions, pork rinds and garlic crumbles), pork skewers, Bicol Express (semi-spicy pork simmered in coconut milk).
Manila Mart, 5023 Garrett Ave., 301-931-0086.
Be beam naeng myun (slices of brisket on buckwheat noodles) (left), hae mool pha jeon (green onoin seafood pancake) (top) and banchan (below) at Myoung Dong.
Myoung Dong Noodle
One of several Korean restaurants in Beltsville, Myoung Dong has a slightly broader menu than the noodle-heavy Da Rae Won, although both serve the homey jajangmyeon. One attraction at Myoung Dong is its page of “new” items, including a buckwheat noodle dish served with raw stingray, pickled cucumbers and a chili paste that will blow smoke out your ears. The restaurant doesn’t make its own noodles, but the strands submerged in the kitchen’s soups still exhibit a satisfying freshness and suppleness.
What to order: jajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce), buckwheat noodles with raw stingray, steamed pork dumplings and the Myoung Dong kalguksu (chicken noodle soup).
Myoung Dong Noodle , 11114 Baltimore Ave., 301-595-4173.
Vietnamese fried egg roll (above) and pho with sliced eye of round steak, well done flank, fatty brisket, soft tendon and bible tripe at Pho 88.
Pho 88
Like its numerical soul mate, Pho 75, Pho 88 focuses almost exclusively on the Vietnamese noodle soup, perhaps to the detriment of the few other items here. Avoid the garden rolls, which come bloated with watery lettuce. Stick with the main attraction, the big white bowls brimming with beef broth — rich, cloudy and aromatic. No matter what bowl you order, it will come packed with your choice of meat and offal. And I mean packed.
What to order: pho No. 1 with eye of round, well-done flank, fatty brisket, soft tendon and bible tripe. Order it with a side of nuoc beo, spring onions in rendered fat.
Pho 88, 10478 Baltimore Ave., 301-931-8128.
Garnachas at El Queztal.
El Quetzal
This corner shop, located in a strip center hard against the B&O Railroad, is named for the beautiful, iridescent quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. Any place brave enough to adopt such a handle had better deliver the goods, and El Quetzal does. The kitchen serves up these crispy little masa discs topped with stewed beef and an acidic mixture of cabbage, carrots and jalapeno slices. Called garnachas, these Guatemalan snacks come alive with a few drops of Picamas hot sauce.
What to order: garnachas (above), grilled marinated pork ribs, Mexican Coke.
El Quetzal, 11121 Baltimore Ave., 301-595-3511.
Boneless Buffalo chicken tenders at Remington’s.
Remington’s
This boisterous pub-cum-sports bar takes its neighborhood responsibilities seriously: Chef and owner Ahmet Kantar and his team prepare almost everything from scratch. Kantar’s sons are often behind the bar, which leans toward flavored vodkas, not small-batch spirits. But you’ll find craft beer, including bottles from Flying Dog. Perhaps I don’t need to say this, but the suds pair far better with pub grub than Three Olives Loopy vodka, which tastes like Froot Loops mixed with furniture polish and desperation.
What to order: Buffalo chicken tenders (above), Philly steak-and-cheese sandwich, white pizza with garlic butter and mozzarella, fish and chips platter.
Remington’s, 11500 Baltimore Ave., 301-937-6809.
Pollo a la brasa with fries and salad at Sardi’s.
Sardi’s Pollo a la Brasa
Carved out of a former Pizza Hut, this Sardi’s location speaks to the changing nature of Beltsville, which has shifted from a predominantly white suburb to a multicultural one. The line routinely snakes to the front door, and everyone is essentially waiting for the same thing: the Peruvian birds slowly browning on spits over a smoky charcoal fire. When Sardi’s is on its game, nobody can top its chicken.
What to order: pollo a la brasa (above), seviche mixto, lomo saltado, Peruvian fried rice.
Sardi’s Pollo a la Brasa, 10433 Baltimore Ave., 301-595-3222. www.sardischicken.com.
Chicken, beef and cheese enchiladas with rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream at El Sombrerito Tex-Mex.
El Sombrerito Tex-Mex
It’s best if you ignore the Tex-Mex descriptor altogether, especially if you’re from, say, San Antonio and have strong opinions about the cuisine. The Salvadorans who run Sombrerito aren’t catering to Tex-Mex hard-liners. The owners are merely trading on the name to get you in the door to sample their Salvadoran dishes, which are built on traditional ingredients and are uniformly excellent. Even the kitchen’s free-form attempts at Tex-Mex and Mexican fare exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations.
What to order: pupusas, the “plato paisano” with steak and eggs, guacamole,
trio de enchiladas (above).
El Sombrerito Tex-Mex, 11510 Baltimore Ave., 301-931-2223. www.elsombreritotexmex.com.
Fried tilapia features a masala sauce with onions, tomato, garlic, bell pepper, cilantro and African spices at Swahili Village. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
Swahili Village
This spot offers Washingtonians a rare chance to belly up to the Kenyan table, which draws from British, Indian and native Maasai cuisines. One of the stars is the goat wet-fry, a name that tells you next to nothing about the dish. The bone-in goat is first grilled, then tossed in a saute pan with vegetable oil, tomatoes and onions. The unorthodox method produces meat of exceptional flavor and depth. Kenyans prefer to eat their grilled proteins with a tomato-and-onion salad called kachumbari. You should follow suit.
What to order: Goat wet-fry, Kenyan kuku choma (spicy grilled chicken), curry chicken, fried tilapia in masala sauce (above), samosas.
Swahili Village, 10606 Baltimore Ave., 240-965-7651. www.swahili-village.com.
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