Tyler Cowen on food in MD vs. VA

[sweth]

From a recent post on his economics blog:

"Let's restrict (most of) this to the adjacent parts of each state. The food says a lot: Maryland has kosher food and Caribbean food. Virginia has better Bolivian, Vietnamese, Korean, Afghan, Ethiopian, and Persian food. (Here is a new piece on minorities in Virginia.) Both have excellent Sichuan food. Both have very good El Salvadoran and Thai food. Neither has real barbecue. Maryland used to have better Indian food, now Virginia has much better Indian food, including dosas. Apart from Bethesda, Maryland has virtually no "fine dining." Maryland has many more Russians, albeit without a decent restaurant."

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/mar...

Thoughts?

[reiflame]

Also frankly I'm not convinced he's qualified to judge Maryland's food scene as a whole right now, given that his last review of a Maryland restaurant was in 2009.

[MikeR]

Does Virginia really have better Ethiopian food than DC? Could it be that "better" means "more dives that you'd eat in even though you're not an Ethiopian cab driver?" Or is it his take on Etete vs. Meaza, each of which has been described as "best in the area"?

[sweth]

He was comparing MD & VA, not DC.

[reiflame]

Yawn. The whole MD vs. VA debate is so bloody annoying. Both states have their strengths and weaknesses, and making broad generalizations like he's doing is counterproductive. If you're not willing to travel for good food in this region, why are you posting on this board?

[flavrmeistr]

The whole DC area is bloody annoying. There is virtually no difference between metro Maryland and Virginia. It is a single over-priced, over-crowded, gridlocked sprawl unto itself that bears nothing in common with the remainder of it's host states. If it wasn't for the food, I wouldn't go there anymore at all.

[sweth]

Anyone have any thoughts on the "no fine dining" in MD part of his comment? My first thought was that that was ridiculous, but then I tried to name some counterexamples, and after Volt I couldn't think of any offhand.

[Guy Incognito]

I think his comment is pretty accurate. Outside Bethesda, there really isn't much (even in Bethesda, there's only a handful I would consider "fine dining."). But aside from Volt, there are a few others I could think of. I believe before Volt came along, The Tasting Room was the only fine dining restaurant in Frederick. There's also 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring and Le Palais in Gaithersburg (so I've heard; never been myself). And maybe Addie's in Rockville and Mannequin Pis in Olney would also qualify. Though they may be considered too casual...

[will_5198]

Charleston in Baltimore. Although Cowen seems to be mainly comparing the parts of Maryland and Virginia next to DC.

[Bob W]

""Let's restrict (most of) this to the adjacent parts of each state."

So no Richmond, no Baltimore.

[will_5198]

True. Although that even rules out Volt as well.

[flavrmeistr]

Yes, although Frederick would be happy to cede Volt to the DC area in exchange for, say, a Joe's Noodle House.

-----
Joe's Noodle House
1488 Rockville Pike Ste C, Rockville, MD 20852

[Dennis S]

Funny that he overlooks the Federal cash cows of the Gov in MD. Ft. Meade alone is set to grow 20,000 jobs in the next calendar year alone.

I'm also intrigued by better Caribbean being in MD. I know of Just Jerk, but VA has Jamaica Jamaica, Caribbean Grill, Caribbean Breeze, and that's just three places along the toll road/66. Not saying it's wrong, but I'd like to know more.

The focus on VA having Tyson's is incredibly short sighted and I believe he would admit this if challenged. Come on. He mentions Arlington, but then uses Tyson's as a prime detractor to VA? I travel all around the area and rarely think to stop in Tyson's for that reason (food), but that doesn't mean there are a ton of great places that make VA awesome.

In terms of food alone, I think it's a draw, especially if you really include up to Baltimore and Germantown, and out to Leesburg and Manassas. In terms of driving, I'll pick VA.

-----
Just Jerk
9005 Lanham Severn Rd, Lanham, MD 20706

Caribbean Breeze
4100 Fairfax Dr Lbby 1, Arlington, VA 22203

The Caribbean Grill
5183 Lee Hwy, Arlington, VA 22207

[sweth]

On the Caribbean front in MD, there's:

* Just Jerk
* Jerk Pit
* Crossroads
* Muffin Man
* The chain place in Landover Mall whose name I can't remember
* Negril
* Taste of the Caribbean
* Caribbean Flava
* Caribbean Delight

and probably a bunch of other places.

-----
Just Jerk
9005 Lanham Severn Rd, Lanham, MD 20706

Taste of the Caribbean
505 Hampton Park Blvd, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

The Jerk Pit
8145 Baltimore Ave Ste C, College Park, MD 20740

[Steve]

Jerk Hill also in Hyattsville, but the question is how many places are noteworthy?

Just Jerk is A+, Muffin Man has tons of potential (maybe a gem?), I don't care much for Jerk Hill or Jerk Pit or Negril. I look forward to trying Caribbean Delight. Haven't heard anything about the others.

Almost in Maryland, but in far SE DC is Pimento Grill which is A+ for brown stews and curries.

[agarnett100]

@Steve

Caribbean Delight is on the same level as Negril
There is a new spot in Hyattsville by Franklins its run by a Trini called
Under The Coconut Tree Caribbean Bakery & Cafe
They sell Bake - n Shark I plan to get over there soon.

[GraydonCarter]

I don't know about tacky, but Tyson's Corner is definitely "revenue-generating corporate assets." Don't get me wrong, I love Legal Seafoods, PF Changs, and the Ritz Carlton; and they are making money hand over fist.

[Dennis S]

revenue and crowd size is often inversely relational to food quality. At the very least the former does not directly correlate to the latter.

[Ziv]

I would hate to disagree with Tyler on food. The guy is a one man Michelin rating system of ethnic dives. I would definitely agree on the no good barbecue unless you go noticeably outside the beltway. I know that I have favorite Vietnamese places inside the beltway (Seaside, Huong Viet and the soup place to the left of it) that are as good, and occasionally better, than most of the food I ate in Saigon, Hue and Hanoi. I have never been to Afghanistan or Iran, but I do have places that I like, that Tyler has written about, that are very good. (Ravi Kabob and Kabob Bazar)
I do wish that we had a decent Russian place. When I was there most of the food was pretty poor, but when you found a good place it was really excellent.

-----
Huong Viet Restaurant
6785 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044