The March Hit List, Lunch Edition: HalfSmoke, Chiko, Panda Gourmet, and More

When you can’t decide whether you’re craving a cheeseburger, shrimp banh mi, or shakshuka, Duke’s Grocery is a savvy bet. Their fabled Proper Burger, is also available as a meatless Impossible patty, with the complete glow up of melted gouda, charred onion, sweet chili sauce & garlic aioli, rocket and dill pickles on a brioche bun. The chicken schnitzel Cubano also makes a compelling case for all things fried, smothered and toasted. Enjoy some temperate afternoon sun at lunch on their patio, preferably with a Pimm’s Cup. Or get cozy inside the historic Dupont rowhouse, with a duck confit and belgian waffle, with Bourbon Chai toddies at brunch. English Breakfast with Fullers on draught by the pint make for damn fine brunch as well.

Dining Status: Heated patio seating, and limited indoor seating are open for reservations, with lunch served at their Dupont location, and weekend brunch served at both Dupont and Foggy Bottom. Carryout and delivery is also available.

It’s been a trying winter, and the Imperial offers just the right blend of mid-century American diner food and grandeur that we need to celebrate persistence through our times. Specifically, weekend brunch on the rooftop is among our favorite ways to start our day. We’re keen on starting their lobster deviled eggs and shrimp cocktail, alongside Old Bay Bloody Marys. Followed by oysters Rockefeller and dirty gin martinis. From there, you might enjoy a lovely quiche Lorraine with crisped prosciutto, a beer battered rockfish & chips sandwich, or even beef Wellington.

Dining Status: Canopied and heated rooftop dining and limited indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

When you’re an avowed brunch hater — while on-the-low you’ve been craving stacks of carbs, griddled meats, and all things drenched in gravy, syrup and egg yolks — then brunch for lunch at Unconventional Diner is your solution. Their loaded breakfast biscuits check all the boxes, completed with hash browns, sausage patties, avocado, cheddar, bacon jam and fried eggs. Another all-time favorite is their chicken and waffles, with its cheddar-chive cornbread waffle, and honey-habanero butter and gravy. For pancake fans, blueberry pancakes served with vanilla mascarpone and lavender are properly thick & fluffy. Or, for something more health-conscious, their gluten-free/dairy-free brussels sprouts & fried eggs with masala spiced cabbages and caramelized onions are delightful. 

Dining Status: Heated and tented outdoor dining and limited indoor dining are open for reservations, for lunch (and brunch) through dinner, 7 days a week. Carryout and delivery is also available.

Maybe your overnight oats are not cutting it this morning. How about buttermilk-brined fried chicken, soft scrambled eggs, Gordy’s pickles and smoked Cheddar on a buttered roll instead? Need a lunch that will fill you up for a change? You can’t go wrong with the Briggs & Co., a halfsmoke link topped with chili, beer cheese, crispy onions, and mustard slaw on a griddled brioche bun.

Alternately, craving brunch any given day and hour of the week? Halfsmoke has that too; think crab cake, blackened shrimp and Old Bay potato hash with a sunnyside egg, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch French toast. Inside, you can watch music videos while you dine, and the sound system goes deep on bass. Or reserve an igloo with board games at their pop-up set up across the historic Howard Theater, with a solid go-go soundtrack courtesy of Metro PCS around the corner.

Dining Status: Outdoor dining (in heated igloos) and limited indoor dining are open for reservations. Carryout and delivery are also available.

Head here for a veritable Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house, prepared by former Bar Pilar chef Jesse Miller, served in a stunning dining room (a renovated 1900s-era First National bank branch) in the heart of Mount Rainier. Lunchtime favorites include their Berkshire porchetta sandwich with Italian salsa verde, roasted tomatoes, and arugula, on a roll. If lunch has turned into dinner, start off with their roasted bone marrow, topped with smoked-brisket macaroni & cheese. Their slow cooked short rib with crab and Gruyère-stuffed Anaheim pepper, and the winter squash & Taleggio lasagna are not to be missed, either. Collard greens and fried green tomatoes are also encouraged. From behind the bar, Garrik Lumsden’s frozen slushees are great after dinner, and don’t forget a Black Eyed Susan for two to go — the preferred drink at Pimlico Race Track, and just as good with breakfast tomorrow.

Dining Status: Limited indoor dining, as well as heated & canopied outdoor dining (by request) are open for reservations. Carryout is also available.

After a long hibernation through the pandemic, Som Tam returns for service March 8, and we’re already rapturous thinking of their steaming bowls of khao soi and freshly pounded papaya salads. House-made northern Thai fermented pork sausage, with ginger, fresh herbs, chilis, and peanuts makes an ideal combo with the som tam Issan, the funkiest and most umami-packed of their papaya salads. New to their menu is hoi tod, a fried oyster crepe with garlic, chives, and bean sprouts. And keep an eye out for their gai yang Ubon chicken special, marinated for 24 hours, and slowly roasted over coals consisting of mesquite, coconut husks and lemongrass, and served with jaew & Thai chile dipping sauce — an absolute must.

Dining Status: Reopening for lunch through dinner, with ample picnic table seating available on the Union Market front yard, or on their rooftop.

Maybe you, too, remember the hours-long waits to enjoy some of chef-owner Peter Prime’s mouth watering Trinidadian specialities? For now, we consider it a blessing to have this food available for carryout and delivery. Braised oxtails, Geera pork belly, or Trini-Chinese chicken with cucumber salad over jasmine rice with a side of doubles — their pillowy fried bried topped with cumin spiced channa — make for strong lunchtime plays. For dinner we adore the paratha tiffin boxes (omnivore or herbivore), a full spread of potato and channa, or chicken and beef curries, with bread and chutneys served for two. Of course, don’t forget an order of jerk chicken wings, made from organic chickens, marinated 12 hours and smoked over pimento wood.

Dining Status: Available for carryout and delivery.

For those working from home, you may enjoy kimchi at lunch with reckless abandon. And if you can make it out to lunch for Chiko’s distinctive mashup of Chinese-American and Korean food, they have a way of lacing most things with its ripe fermented goodness. Try the bulgogi kimchi cheesesteak, or a Korean-style bento box with turmeric pickled daikon radishes, pork and kimchi potstickers, and mushroom mapo tofu.

For chilly evenings, pork belly & kimchi stew with rice cakes and soft tofu will hit just right. And for feeding the whole family, you can’t go wrong with buckets of Korean fried chicken wings, bulgogi and kimchi-cheese tater tots, and their fried Brussels sprouts with gochujang aioli, furikake and crispy shallots.

Dining Status: Available for carryout and delivery, with their Dupont Circle location open for lunch and Capitol Hill available for takeout.

While Northeast’s legendary Sichuan/BYO restaurant, anchoring the Days Inn on New York Avenue, has not yet resumed indoor dining, you may be overdue for their Shaanxi-style cumin beef burgers on housemade buns — the rou jia mo resembling something between a flaky paratha and an English muffin — or their hand-pulled dan dan noodles with hot and numbing minced pork. Their grilled lamb skewers, double-cooked pork, and steamed dumplings are a must, too. Also don’t miss out their brothy, chile-spiked boiled fish fillet (shui zhu yu) with silken tofu, or the beef tendon & tripe with shaved beef, all enrobed in their lustrous red chile oil.

Dining Status: Available for carryout and delivery (through various apps), during lunch through dinner.