Eat
Thompson Italian. Photo courtesy of restaurant.
5 Fresh Global Concepts in D.C.’s Food Scene
November 30, 2023 @ 1:00pm
Nourishing the local D.C. community is the name of the game for these smaller restaurants that you should check out this holiday season.
Over the past four years, District Fray has had the honor of spotlighting some of our city’s most talented and innovative chefs and restauranteurs. And for our last issue of the year, we’re doing just that. These five lesser-known gems in D.C.’s hospitality scene bring fresh, global concepts to the table that nourish community through delicious food. Read on for their stories.
Thompson Italian
Gabe + Katherine Thompson, Chefs + Owners
Opened in 2019 by Michelin-starred chefs Gabe and Katherine Thompson, this casual family spot serves up non-traditional Italian food for diners of all ages. The husband-and-wife duo envisioned its namesake restaurant as a warm and welcoming place where neighbors could commune over a nourishing dish or glass of wine.
“We wanted it to feel like a home away from home,” Katherine says, “like you just visited your best friend’s house and can’t wait to come back.”
The Thompsons met in 2007 while working for the NYC Italian restaurant Dell’anima, eventually becoming chef-owners at three top-rated spots in Manhattan. After having their kids, the couple relocated to Northern Virginia to be closer to family — and open the restaurant they’d always envisioned.
Katherine, who grew up in Arlington, says she relishes
the area’s international flair and how it influences the city’s food scene.
“We’re endlessly inspired by what chefs are doing here,” she says. “Getting to be part of the restaurant community in my hometown has been meaningful.”
Recommended items include the olive oil martini, their signature cocktail, and dishes spanning from lamb meatballs to pastas like ricotta cavatelli with sausage and broccolini. Be sure to stop by their second location in Old Town Alexandria, opened in January 2023, for a taste.
124 N Washington St. Falls Church, VA + 1024 King St. Alexandria, VA; thompsonitalian.com // @thompsonitalian
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Borek-G Turkish Mom’s Cookin’
Dilek and Huseyin Kaygusuz, Owners
When Dilek and Huseyin Kaygusuz opened Borek-G’s Turkish Market and Café in 2020, the mother and son were thrilled to plant brick-and-mortar roots in the community. For the 13 years prior, they’d been inhabiting local farmers’ markets, including Falls Church Farmers’ Market, to sell Dilek’s home-cooked Turkish food.
The new shop allowed them to expand their menu to dine-in breakfast, lunch and dinner, which features Turkish staples like gözleme (flatbread) with spinach or beef; Turkish pizza and lentil or chicken soup; döner pita; and, of course their namesake pastries.
Through her shop, Dilek hopes to share Turkish hospitality and culture, and its many flavors — things that made her fall in love with Turkish cooking in the first place.
“I want visitors to feel excited and curious like when we were little kids,” she says. “It should feel like a show with a meal.”
The shop also includes a Turkish market with imported cheeses, yogurts and breads. Eventually, Dilek wants to provide a food truck for early morning service and begin selling her goods in grocery stores. She hopes all feel welcomed to stop by, try her homemade Turkish cuisine and relax at the shop.
“When a customer walks into our store, it is more as if our welcomed guest walks into our home. We make everyone feel like family in this way.”
315 S Maple Ave. Falls Church, VA; borekg.com // @borekg2008
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Menya Hosaki
Eric Yoo, Owner
When Eric Yoo realized he was spending workdays daydreaming about cooking ramen, he knew it was time to make a career change. In early 2020, the noodle-obsessed Yoo decided to quit his financial consulting job to pursue his passion for ramen.
Menya Hosaki, a small ramen shop on Upshur Street Northwest in Petworth, opened later that year. As chef-owner, Yoo prides himself in serving up housemade noodles crafted from scratch, a culinary tradition inspired by his childhood in Seoul, South Korea.
The menu features more than a dozen ramen bowls in styles uncommon to D.C., like the brothless, Taiwanese-style ramen called mazesoba. It also offers a “triple threat” bowl with pork, chicken and smoked fish broths as a tribute to Yoo’s mentor, Keizo Shimamoto, whom Yoo trained with at Ramen Shack in New York City.
Ramen enthusiasts hungry for something special should be sure to stop by for Tokusei Tuesday lunch. This weekly lunchtime special offers the housemade ramen of the day; visitors can book their seats ahead of time in the small shop via the waitlist on Yelp on the website.
845 Upshur St. NW, DC; menyahosakidc.com // @menyahosaki
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Saya Salteña
Maria Helena Iturralde, Owner
Saya Salteña is serving up authentic handmade Bolivian street food, and it just opened a brand-new location in the heart of D.C. Situated in Foggy Bottom between GW and Farragut West Metro station, the restaurant offers seven types of salteñas to start, as well as special Bolivian sandwiches and single origin coffees.
Its concept evolved from Bolivian-born owner Maria Helena Iturralde’s passion for her home country’s street food, which she describes as “delicious and unpretentious.” Iturralde got her start out of D.C.’s culinary incubator Mess Hall in 2020, where she experimented and fine-tuned her salteña recipe.
Salteñas, similar to an empanada or meat pie, are brothy stews packed with potatoes, hard-boiled egg, peas and olives. Encased in a sweet dough for easy handheld enjoyment, they’re best tackled from the top down (versus the middle). Iturralde envisions her first brick-and-mortar as the beginning of building a “salteña empire” — and proof of concept for Bolivian food in D.C.
The spot is also a tribute to Bolivian art: It features indoor-outdoor murals from popular Bolivian duo Arte Sano Mutante, which she plans to feature on Saya Salteñas’ website, t-shirts and in other restaurant branding.
1919 Pennsylvania Ave. Ste. GR 07, NW, DC; sayasaltena.com // @sayasaltena
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Spicy Water African Grill
Duraine Kouassi, Owner
As the only restaurant in D.C. focused on West African grilling culture, Spicy Water African Grill serves up traditional Ivorian fare in an approachable American format. The U Street-based spot, which opened January 2023, is a nod to one of Ivorian-born owner Duraine Kouassi’s favorite parts of home.
“No one else in this area offered this type of West African food,” Kouassi says. “Finding a niche like this is an important secret of entrepreneurship.”
The restaurant started as a stand in Eastern Market in 2018, where Kouassi grilled and served garlicky charcoal-grilled chicken, a popular street fare Ivorians enjoy after long nights of clubbing. He built a following cooking with his massive, three-and-a-half-foot-tall by six-foot wide grill, an approach he says reminds him of Africa.
Now in his brick-and-mortar on U Street, Kouassi offers an expanded menu with other grilled meats served on American-style sandwiches and salads, and traditional Ivorian meals like attiéké, the country’s national dish, made from cassava root with the texture of couscous. Visitors can also try more bite-sized sides like fried cassava, Ivorian fries and plantains.
2019 11th St. NW, DC; @spicywaterafricangrill
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Jamie McCrary
Jamie McCrary is a writer, musician, and educator currently based in Washington, DC. As a journalist, she’s covered everything from science policy to statistics—though the arts is her specialty. She is currently Communications Coordinator for American University’s Kogod School of Business, where she writes articles to promote the school’s faculty, students and events. Ms. McCrary is published in NEA Arts Magazine, Connections Magazine, and Eat-Drink-Lucky. She holds a B.M. in viola performance and also maintains an active performing and teaching career. Learn more at mccraryjamie.wixsite.com/writer-editor/