Although fermentation is a historic (and safe) practice, it can still be an intimidating technique to try at home. David Zilber, the head of Noma’s fermentation lab, previously told Food & Wine that many people aren’t familiar with the true meaning of the word, and don’t know the difference between “rot, or decomposition, and the fermentation of food.” I’ve never given it a shot myself; I’m worried I’ll mess up the chemical process somehow, like a science experiment gone wrong. Compounded with the fact that you can find decent sauerkraut and kimchi at the supermarket, it can seem easier just to buy fermented foods.

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.

Following an Eater tradition, we asked a group of restaurant critics, journalists, bloggers, and friends of the site to weigh in on the year in food. Their answers to the annual “Year in Eater” survey will be revealed in several posts. Next up, the dining experts share their top newcomers from 2019.

Alabama-style white barbecue sauce—tangy and mayo-based—has been cropping up more and more up north. Even at this Korean kitchen. Here, the sauce is made with Japanese Kewpie mayo and serves as a drizzle for the superlative double-fried chicken. The bird is glazed in fire-red, tongue-tingling gochujang. Even so, you’ll want more of the white stuff for dunking.

DC Cocktail Week kicks off Monday, November 18 and runs until Sunday, November 24 with plenty of opportunities to toast the city’s thriving cocktail scene. You can head to one of these daily happy hours for complimentary tastings or check our picks for food and drink pairings all week long.

If you’ve been to the mega-successful Chiko, where Korean and Chinese flavors coexist but rarely mingle, you know that the Drewno/Lee/Barreto triumvirate doesn’t punch lightly when it comes to flavor. Spiky, acidic, fiery, unctuous—they’re all there, often in the same bowl. At Anju, the group—with help from Lee’s mother, Yesoon—focuses solely on Korea.

My new favorite late-night restaurant is Anju, a modern Korean restaurant near Dupont Circle. It’s from the Fried Rice Collective, a restaurant group run by Danny Lee, Scott Drewno, and Drew Kim. Everything they do is absolutely delicious. One of the famous things at Anju is a dish consisting of fried potatoes with salad and citrus aioli. But myfavorite is the kimchi slaw dog—a late-night hot dog works for everyone—with gochujang, hot mustard, and slaw made with incredible house-made kimchi, which uses a family recipe and is fermented for 100 days. The fried chicken is great, too: it’s crispy, and it comes with creamy white BBQ sauce and spicy Korean BBQ sauce, both made in-house.