About The Fried Rice Collective
The Fried Rice Collective (TFRC) is a small, passionate restaurant group founded by chefs Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, built on a shared love for food, family, and community. What began as a single restaurant on Capitol Hill has grown into a group of concepts that each reflect a different side of that original spirit—thoughtful, flavorful, and rooted in care.
CHIKO
Our first concept, CHIKO, opened in 2017 with the simple idea of combining the bold, comforting flavors of Chinese and Korean cooking with modern technique and a casual, welcoming format. Over the years, CHIKO has grown to multiple locations in the DC area and Southern California.
We’re proud and humbled that CHIKO has been recognized with a James Beard Award semifinalist nod, a 3-star review from The Washington Post, and awards from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, including Best New Restaurant and Best Casual Restaurant.
ANJU
ANJU is a more refined take on Korean cuisine, served in a space that feels just as comfortable for a casual night out as it does for a special celebration. Here, we explore modern Korean flavors through the lens of both tradition and creativity, always striving to cook with honesty and heart.
ANJU has been honored as the #1 restaurant on Washingtonian’s Best Restaurants list, received a 3-star review from The Washington Post, and earned multiple James Beard semifinalist recognitions. We’re especially proud of Chef Angel Barreto, who was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2021.
I Egg You
I Egg You started as a pop-up, born from the idea that even the most familiar ingredients—like the humble egg—can be made into something memorable. Now a full-service breakfast and lunch spot in Capitol Hill, the restaurant serves comforting, creative dishes made with care and high-quality, local ingredients.
From our stuffed breakfast sandwiches to our rotating lunch specials, we’re proud to work with partners like Shilla Bakery, Logan Sausage, Ivy City Smokehouse, and La Colombe Coffee. The space also features The Shell, a cozy private event venue and bar for gatherings of all kinds.
District Catering
District Catering brings the spirit of our restaurants to events large and small across the DMV. Whether it’s a breakfast drop-off, office lunch, wedding, or family celebration, we offer thoughtful, personalized service with menus that reflect our guests’ tastes and values.
From casual meals to elegant dinners, we do our best to create experiences that feel warm, delicious, and truly tailored.
At the heart of everything we do—from CHIKO to ANJU, I Egg You to District Catering—is a simple belief: food should bring people together. We’re incredibly grateful to be part of the DC food community, and we look forward to welcoming you to the table.
SCOTT DREWNO
In 2025, Drewno and partner, Danny Lee were announced as finalists for the 2025 James Beard Foundation awards for “Restaurateurs of the Year.”
Chef Scott Drewno was raised in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, a rural area known for its vineyards and family-owned farms. Watching his mother turn fresh, seasonal produce from local farm stands into bubbling pies and cobblers first piqued his interest in cooking and planted the seed for Drewno’s culinary ambition.
Drewno joined the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group in 1998. At Chinois, he learned to meld French cooking techniques with vibrant Asian flavors, and at Spago, he came to understand the importance of beginning with only the finest ingredients. Drewno then furthered his knowledge and solidified his passion for Asian cuisines at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong and Stephen Hansen’s Ruby Foo’s.
In 2007, Wolfgang Puck tapped Drewno as the opening Executive Chef of The Source. The restaurant was honored with numerous accolades including three-star reviews from both The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) awarded The Source “New Restaurant of the Year” in 2008 and “Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year” in 2011. Drewno himself received the coveted “Chef of the Year” prize in 2010 and again in 2016 and was twice nominated as a semifinalist for the “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” James Beard Award.
Drewno has won many culinary competitions benefiting important causes, including the DC Crab Cake Competition, Pig Out for Diabetes, and DC Central Kitchen’s Capital Food Fight. He won the Washington, DC leg of Cochon 555 (twice), a traveling culinary competition promoting sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs, and won the Cochon 555 Heritage Fire barbecue competition.
He also serves on the Board of the RAMW and is an Honorary Board Member of the DC Food & Beverage Collective. Each year, Drewno hosts fundraising events for DCFBC and the George Washington University Hospital Mobile Mammography Unit, two causes he holds near and dear to his heart.
In 2017, he formed The Fried Rice Collective with fellow chef Danny Lee, and they opened their first restaurant, CHIKO, in Capitol Hill. Hailed by Zagat as one of “DC’s Most Important Restaurant Openings of 2017,” CHIKO was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as a semifinalist for “Best New Restaurant” and later awarded a Restaurant Association RAMMY for said category.
Tom Sietsema, from The Washington Post, gave CHIKO 3 stars (Excellent), stating “The latest definition of crack in Washington is the “orange-ish” chicken at CHIKO on Capitol Hill.” This was also the third consecutive year that Washingtonian Magazine named CHIKO one of DC’s top 50 best restaurants, awarding it a prestigious 3 star rating. Due to the restaurant’s overwhelming popularity, The Fried Rice Collective eventually opened three other locations in the United States: one in DuPont Circle in Wash-ington, DC, one in Shirlington Virginia, and the other in Encinitas, California.
Riding the wave of success, Drewno and The Fried Rice Collective decided to open a second concept in 2019. Anju, a sophisticated amalgam of traditional Korean flavors and modern cooking techniques, was recently named the number one best restaurant in DC by Washingtonian Magazine. Anju has been featured in several national and local publications, such as the Food and Wine, Travel and Leisure, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, Lucky Peach, Zagat, Washington Post, Washingtonian, and many more. Anju has also been nominated for 4 James Beard Foundation Awards. In 2022, Drewno & his partner were awarded “Restaurateurs of the Year” by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Drewno and The Fried Rice Collective transitioned the popular “I Egg You” pop-up into a full blown permanent nest as a full-service, brick-and-mortar destination. The team opened up the vibrant breakfast and lunch haven in Capitol Hill in December 2023.
DANNY LEE
Chef Danny Lee was born in Washington, DC, and still calls the region home. After a quick career in genetic research, Danny dedicated himself to the restaurant industry, eventually managing a local DC powerspot. In 2006, Danny and his mother, Yesoon, decided to open Mandu, DC’s first full service Korean restaurant, near Dupont Circle. Five years later, the family opened a second location in DC’s Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.
In 2017, Danny started a new restaurant group with Chef Scott Drewno called The Fried Rice Collective. The group’s first restaurant, CHIKO, opened in July of 2017 on Barrack’s Row in Washington, DC. CHIKO serves modern Chinese and Korean cuisine in a fun and casual environment. During the opening year, CHIKO was nominated for Best New Restaurant in the country by the James Beard Awards. CHIKO has since expanded with additional locations in DC, Virginia, and California.
The original Mandu location suffered a fire in the summer of 2017. Due to his family’s history in the building, Lee wanted to stay and rebuild, but open as a new concept. In the summer of 2019, Anju opened, with The Fried Rice Collective partnering with the Lee family. Anju serves eclectic Korean cuisine in a vibrant atmosphere, paying homage to both traditional and modern aspects of Korean culture. Since opening, Anju was named the #1 restaurant in the region by Washingtonian Magazine, and has been nominated for various local and national awards.
Danny was nominated as a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in the Spring of 2020. In the fall of 2021, Danny was listed on the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100, being recognized for the anti-racism initiatives he had taken part of or started. In 2022, Danny and his business partner Scott were recognized as Restaurateurs of the Year for the 2022 RAMMY Awards. In 2025, along with Scott, Danny has been nominated as a finalist for the James Beard Award’s Outstanding Restaurateur in the Country category.
Danny has been featured in several national and local publications and media outlets, such as HBO, Netflix, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Food Network, Men’s Health, Washington Post, Washingtonian, and many more. On multiple occasions, Danny has cooked for sitting US Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the President of Korea. The non-profit organization EmbraceRace has also brought on Danny as their Culinary Ambassador, as Danny helps produce events both locally and nationally to fundraise for the organization.
