Home Plate

by David Hagedorn

Peerless Pierogi

“Oh my god, it smells so good it’s driving me crazy!” my husband reported after picking up a pierogi order from Ewa Fraszczyk, who shares kitchen space with La Cocina VA, selling her pan-fried Polish dumplings from the nonprofit’s Columbia Pike café every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Arlington chef’s pierogi, all delicate and delicious, come six to an order ($10-$12) in four varieties— potatoes and Gruyere; sauerkraut and mushrooms; bacon and potato; and meat (a blend of ground chicken and ground beef)—with caramelized onions and pickled-cabbage-carrot slaw on the side.

Fraszczyk, 37, hails from Słupsk, Poland. She came to the U.S. 12 years ago and started working in restaurants, climbing the ranks from salad station to line cook and front-of-the-house management at various D.C. establishments. Laid off during the pandemic, she was called back in when restrictions eased— at which point the burnout she was already experiencing became more pronounced. “My love, it’s time for you to do something for yourself,” her boyfriend finally told her.

Chef Ewa Fraszczyk

She enrolled in Escala, a sixweek, multilingual entrepreneurship program provided by the nonprofit Northern Virginia Family Service, learning the nuts and bolts of opening a small business, including writing a business plan, obtaining the necessary certifications, getting licensed and creating a website.

Her first inclination was to offer fine-dining catering, but there didn’t seem to be a market for it, so she decided to cook what was close to her heart—the Polish food her mother had taught her how to make. She soon found an enthusiastic customer base at farmers markets in Maryland and D.C.

Pierogi Thursday by Chef Ewa at La Cocina VA launched in September at 918 S. Lincoln St. (the café entrance is on Columbia Pike). In addition to dumplings, her other specialties include barszcz (beet soup, $9) and golabki (stuffed cabbage, $13).

“I make pierogi every single day. I get up and I make 250, 400, whatever I can,” Fraszczyk says, apologizing for her repeated assertions about how happy she is as a one-woman operation. She makes her own dough (no packaged spring roll or wonton wrappers here) and everything else, too. chefewa.com

Order this NOW!

Citrus lobster with grapefruit butter

at Patty O’s Cafe & Bakery

When Patrick O’Connell, chef and owner of the three-Michelin-star Inn at Little Washington, opens a new place, it is de facto worth a road trip. In October, the self-proclaimed “Pope of American Cuisine” opened Patty O’s Cafe & Bakery catty-corner to the Inn in Washington, Virginia, offering a more casual and wallet-friendly way to partake of the chef’s talents without sacrificing the flair. (Case in point: Water at the café is served from cowboy-boot-shaped pitchers with red bandannas tied around the ankles, and a splendid outdoor dining patio features heaters that resemble enormous white table lamps.) We’re mad for this pretty dish of pan-roasted lobster, arranged with grapefruit segments and baby bok choy over a grapefruit-butter sauce ($36). It’s visually stunning and a cunningly delicious balance of acidity, sweetness and richness. pattyoscafe.com

Chinese-Korean fare at CHIKO

Let’s Go CHIKO

Scott Drewno and Danny Lee had an instant hit in 2017 when they opened the first CHIKO, a fast-casual eatery specializing in Chinese-Korean takeout, in D.C.’s Barracks Row. Now devotees of their cumin lamb stir-fry and “orangeish” chicken don’t have to go into the District to get the goods. In November, the chefs opened their fifth CHIKO—the first in Virginia—in the former DAK Chicken space (4040 Campbell Ave.) in the Village at Shirlington.

Prior to launching their partnership, The Fried Rice Collective, Drewno worked for Wolfgang Puck’s Fine Dining Restaurant Group for 19 years— 10 of them as chef of The Source (now closed) in D.C. Lee co-owns Mandu in the District with his mother, chef Yesoon Lee. The Fried Rice Collective also owns Anju Korean restaurant in Dupont Circle.

“Ever since we opened [CHIKO] in D.C., we had guests who’d come in from Virginia and ask us when we were going to open there,” says Lee, who grew up in Falls Church and Vienna. “Now we have, and we’re incredibly proud.” The Shirlington café, designed by Lee’s wife, Natalie Park, is 1,300 square feet with seating for 30 inside and 12 outside.

Every CHIKO has a fried rice dish and a custard dessert that are exclusive to that location. Arlington’s renditions are a Chinese roast pork (char siu) fried rice, created by Drewno, and a makrut lime custard with blueberry compote, fresh blueberries and brittle-like candied sesame crackers. Other standout dishes include kimchi stew packed with braised pork belly, dukbokki (chewy Korean rice cakes) and tofu in a ginger-chili oil broth; and salmon fillets rubbed with black-bean paste and furikake seasoning, served atop seasonal veggies in ponzu sauce. The stir-fried cumin lamb with wheat flour noodles, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, chili paste and fried shallots is also a fan favorite.

Make sure to order what CHIKO calls a “full monty” of six banchan (snacks). The spread features pickled daikon radish slices; a spicy Sichuan jicama-celery-carrot salad; Napa cabbage kimchi; steamed rice with furikake butter; Korean potato-and-egg salad; and poached shrimp with apple kimchi, chili oil and scallions. chikodc.com