Tom Sietsema Laps Up Anju’s Korean Pub Food in a 3-Star Review

In a rare three-star review (excellent) published yesterday, Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema deemed that Dupont Korean restaurant Anju has only gotten better following an impressive opening in August that landed it at No. 9 in the critic’s top 10 rankings for his fall dining guide.

Sietsema writes that he often restrains himself from eating large portions in order to keep restaurants guessing, but he couldn’t hold back in the face of dishes like steamed, “surprisingly light” pork dumplings and a kimchi pancake that was “thinner than most, crisp throughout and red with kimchi brine.” Roasted sweet potatoes topped with honey butter, mint, basil, and a sesame oil foam are dubbed a “bliss dish.” The tornado potato doused with furikake is more than a visual trick, the critic says:

“Picture a Slinky on your plate, dip clinging to chips, a marvelous mess. Nothing subliminal here. To see it is to need it.”

Run-ins with less attentive servers and food that comes out surprisingly fast are the only “minor issues” that Sietsema cites.

In a November review, Washingtonian critic Ann Limpert gave Anju 3.5 stars, labeling it her “restaurant of the year” for 2019.

In other reviews

• Sietsema implores readers to go for the namesake dish and the spicy curried chickpeas but avoid the “thin” saag paneer at Butter Chicken Company.
• WaPo columnist Tim Carman visits Zhang’s Noodles in College Park, Maryland, writing that the cloudy, collagen-rich broth in the Chinese soup bowls is warming and comforting.
• In Washington City Paper’s Spice Route feature, Warren Rojas gives the awaze tibs (beef or lamb) at essential Ethiopian spot Zenebech four out of five sirens.