Two Del Ray Restaurants On Best DC Area Dishes List

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Two Del Ray restaurants made The Washington Post's "40 Most Essential DC Restaurant Dishes of 2017."

These were Junction Bakery & Bistro for its General Tso’s cauliflower and Stomping Ground for its "Not So Classic" fried chicken biscuit. The two restaurants were the only representing Alexandria.

The Post determined the top dishes by polling readers, industry insiders and its own staff. It received over 400 submissions and narrowed it down through a taste test. Staff explain, "We curated a selection that could cater to meat-eaters and vegetarians, sweets lovers and fried-food fans, suburban dwellers and urbanites without cars."

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Junction Bakery & Bistro's General Tso's cauliflower is Chef Nathan Hatfield's vegetarian take on the Chinese dish. The Post writes, "At Junction Bakery, he coats the trendy brassica in a light batter, fries it and then tosses it in a delightfully sticky sauce made with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Scallions and black and white sesame seeds cap off the enticing dish, a sweet and sour treat with a gentle heat from arbol chiles."

Stomping Ground's "Not So Classic" fried chicken biscuit is Nicole Jones' a mix between a Southern Staple and Middle Eastern flavor. It is topped with za’atar, honey, hot sauce, red onion and benne-seed tahini. The Post says "it’s spicy, bitter and sour, plus buttery and rich, thanks to the massive, delicate biscuit. It also doesn’t hurt that the 24-hour marinated, flour-dredged chicken breasts are fried in lard."

See the full list of the DC area's best dishes here.

Image via Patch staff