Eat First 先吃
October 25th, 2006
The first time I visited DC’s Chinatown, I thought I was going to cry. Or maybe puke. In either case, it was an adverse reaction. “Chinatown” is a joke–a bunch of chain stores and restaurants with Chinese characters tacked on their neon signage. Most of the translations are purely phonetic (Clyde’s Restaurant is “ke si lai”, etc.) and in traditional characters, probably because someone on a city planning committee thought it looked more “Chinese” than simplified characters. This, of course, does not bode well for the state of Chinese food in DC. This fact has been a source of major disappointment on multiple personal and gastronomic levels.
Commercialization aside, there are still a handful of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, including the much fabled Eat First. For some reason, white people think “Eat First” is a funny or clever name. The cranky Sinophile in me would like to point out that it’s actually a very common thing to say in Chinese, a culture that is so food-centered that the common greeting is not “How are you?” but “Have you eaten yet?” But I digress. Last week, Lee and I decided to meet up after work to try Eat First, which has been consistently ranked on various best bargain and best ethnic restaurant lists around town.
It was… okay. I would say that it’s better than your average Chinese restaurant, but I wasn’t blown away either. Yes, it’s cheap (lunch specials are $4.25). Yes, there are some very “authentic” sounding things on the menu, like pig’s feet, lotus root, 1000 year old eggs in congee, etc. It’s also so clearly catering to Westerners that you have to ask for chopsticks because there are none at any of the table settings.
I tried three dishes at Eat First: Salt and Pepper Softshell Crab, Eggplant in Garlic Sauce, and Pork in Sha Cha Sauce. All of these items were very tasty, but the flavors lacked complexity. I felt like each dish contained one dominant flavor. But truly good cooking–of any cuisine–should have some nuances. I should be able to taste the ingredients, not just the sauce. Or at least a few more of the ingredients in the sauce. Also, on an execution note, my rice and onions were not quite cooked through, and the service is fairly inattentive (but when have you ever had great service at a Chinese restaurant?). I will point out that my standards are higher than most; I grew up around this food and still fantasize about half the food I ate while in China. I suppose it is what it is–a relatively authentic Chinese restaurant in a very inauthentic Chinatown. It’ll do in a pinch, but if this is the best Chinese in DC, then I guess I’ll be packing my chopsticks for New York or Vancouver.
Eat First
609 H Street NW
Washington DC
