Originally Posted by
brendog
Is it even an entire block??? Maybe I'm just jaded because I've lived several places with predominantly Asian populations, but there is absolutely nothing in that area, aside from the occasional jaunt to Zaytinya, that is at all interesting.
Come to think of it, DC proper is pretty much bereft of decent Vietnamese, Chinese, or Thai options, unless one jumps in a car for a looooooong trip out to NoVa.
Yeah, DC has long had a pretty mediocre dining scene - paticularly when you move below the high-end price range - although in recent years it's improved substantially.
I've had very good dim sum at Oriental East in Silver Spring (I know, not DC) - although their regular meals are nothing to get too excited about.
Thaitanic/Thaiphoon in the District are also pretty decent - solid but not life-changing.
DC has historically lacked the working-class immigrant populations that built the great dining scenes in cities like NYC, Chicago, SF, etc. The only exceptions to this would be Ethiopian (which is excellent in DC) and Salvadoran.
As you mentioned, the main ethnic dining destinations are in the suburbs, because that's where the immigrants are. Falls Church is great for Vietnamese, Silver Spring has a bunch of interesting places, etc.
DC proper is definitely getting better, though.