Given the restrictions (including 10 weeks were there was no dine-in at all in DC) imposed to stem the tide of the pandemic have threatened the existence of most restaurants, many people have tried to do their small part and frequently order takeout and/or delivery from local spots, and will continue to do so until it’s over. To get an idea of what people enjoyed the most this inglorious year, on Saturday night (12/26/20), I posed a question on Twitter, “Where was your best takeout/delivery meal from in 2020?”; over 200 people responded, including some from outside the DC area.

While some restaurants are choosing to hibernate and wait out the winter months, things are just getting ramped up for Scott Drewno, Danny Lee and Andrew Kim, the founders of CHIKO and Fried Rice Collective. Between opening a third location in the DMV area later this winter and keeping their current locations at Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle running to debuting new breakfast concept I Egg You, the past few months have been focused on innovating and moving forward.

Last week included major restaurant news for Bethesda, the well-to-do Maryland suburb that skews awfully corporate in comparison to D.C. Chiko, the casual Chinese-Korean hit from chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno, announced its fourth total location will land in the Montgomery County town sometime this winter. That followed news that José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup plans to replace the Jaleo outpost there with a second location for Spanish Diner, the egg-centric all-day spot that has been a critical success in New York City’s Hudsons Yards development. Both represent big developments in a downtown where national restaurant groups at Mon Ami Gabi (Lettuce Entertain You), Woodmont Grill (Hillstone Restaurant Group), and Uncle Julio’s take up prime spots.

CHIKO, the first dining concept from the Fried Rice Collective ownership group in Washington, D.C., will open a new location at Bethesda Row this coming winter. The Chinese-Korean restaurant will be located in the former Prima/Taylor Gourmet space at 7280 Woodmont Avenue. CHIKO is led by noted D.C. chefs Danny Lee (Mandu) and Scott Drewno (The Source), and Matchbox Food Group co-founder Andrew Kim.

Chiko, a fast-casual Chinese-Korean restaurant, will replace the Italian restaurant Prima in Bethesda Row.

The restaurant, which has locations in D.C.’s Capitol Hill and Dupont neighborhoods, will open at 7280 Woodmont Ave., according to a press release on Thursday.

Chiko’s menu offerings include rice bowls, sandwiches such as Sichuan hot fried chicken, and larger entrees such as wok-charred wheat flour noodles and “orange-ish chicken.”

The menus for the D.C. locations have most items priced at $10 to $20.

Popular fast-casual Chinese-Korean restaurant ChiKo will open a new location in Bethesda Row.

The restaurant, which offers Sichuan hot fried chicken sandwiches, rice bowls and much more, including vegetarian, vegan and kids items, already has locations in Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle in D.C. and has had concessions outposts at Nationals Park and Capital One Area. There’s also a ChiKo location in Encinitas, California.

ChiKo comes from restauranteurs Drew Kim, Danny Lee and Scott Drewno, who are also behind Korean spot Anju in Dupont. ChiKo’s Capitol Hill location recently won the casual restaurant of the year award at the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s RAMMY awards.

Chiko, a Chinese-Korean fine-casual restaurant is coming to Bethesda Row with its first MoCo location and third overall, according to Washingtonian.

The first Chiko opened on Capitol Hill in 2017 and the restaurant has since expanded to DuPont Circle and a location in California.

Chiko pairs modern cooking techniques with traditional Chinese and Korean flavor and has a menu that includes items like confit duck fried rice, bulgogi tots, shrimp and toast, orange-ish chicken, and more.

It’ll be taking over the old Prima location at 7280 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. Prima opened in May of 2019 and never reopened after closing due to Covid. Prima took over for Taylor Gourmet.

CHIKO, the popular Chinese/Korean restaurant whose Capitol Hill location won the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s Casual Restaurant of the Year award last month, will open its first location outside of the District in Bethesda, Maryland.

The restaurant will replace Italian restaurant Prima, at 7280 Woodmont Avenue, in Federal Realty’s Bethesda Row. Prima closed in April.

CHIKO comes from founders Andrew Kim, chef Danny Lee and chef Scott Drewno, whose Fried Rice Collective also runs Dupont Circle Korean restaurant Anju.

“Fine-casual” Chinese-Korean restaurant Chiko will open its third DC-area location in Bethesda this winter. The popular spot, which just won a RAMMY award for “casual restaurant of the year,” will take over the former Prima space at 7280 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda Row. (The latter restaurant closed in April due to Covid.)

In mid-September, Chiko chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno started experimenting with a new breakfast sandwich business at the Capitol Hill location. Five different sandwiches, built on milk bread from O Bread Bakery, are available from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Preorders go live on Chiko’s Toast page Friday night after 5 p.m.

The pandemic has totally upended the hospitality industry, but the show went on for Washington’s big restaurant awards. The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s hosted its annual RAMMY Awards gala Sunday night, after initially postponing the spring ceremony.

Washington, DC’s annual Rammy Awards show, which was set to happen on Sunday, July 26, has been rescheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The awards celebrate Metropolitan Washington’s best restaurants every year.

The 38th edition of the event will take place with a limited red carpet ceremony at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. However, a large portion of the RAMMY Awards will be held online.

We are entering multiple months of DC doing its part to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Even as restrictions loosen to allow outdoor dining, most restaurants continue to rely heavily on takeout and delivery. And DC has enforced a cap on fees from third-party delivery companies in order to give restaurants more of your financial support. (Ordering from restaurants with their own delivery operations will continue to be the best option, when available.)

As for takeout and delivery, there are options out there for all budgets -- from fast-casual pizza to Michelin-starred Italian cooking and twists on Chinese takeout favorites. Even local beer and spirits can be ordered to your doorstep. Here are some of our favorite DC-area businesses offering delivery, along with menu picks to help with ordering.

What will the Washington dining landscape look like when lockdowns lift, the virus (hopefully) fades, and life returns to some semblance of normalcy? How will customers have changed? What kind of businesses are most likely to rebound? We asked people all across the restaurant industry—chefs, owners, real estate brokers, accountants—for their predictions.

How do you turn instant ramen—which has long been the ultimate budget-food cliche (c’mon, did you really survive on it for all four years of college?)—into something more memorable than just a sodium bomb with some curly noodles? Not only is it possible, it’s pretty easy.

“Adding elements to instant ramen is all about speed,” says Danny Lee, the chef/restaurateur behind DC Korean restaurants Anju and Mandu, plus the fast-casual Chiko. “You need to have everything prepped and ready, because once you start cooking the noodles you have a small window before they will become overcooked and bloated.”

This is an unprecedented time for restaurants and beverage producers, who’ve seen their business models upended in a matter of days. To survive, they’re getting creative: Michelin-starred kitchens now offer curbside carryout, while breweries are taking deliveries into their own hands. Meanwhile, chefs increasingly view delivery apps as a lifeline. When your fridge is looking a little bare, or you can’t think about cooking after a day of working from home, here are local businesses looking for some support.

Truth is, District of Columbia restaurants are far more interesting than that, and have been for a long time. The vibrant scene now attracting attention rose on a foundation built by members of a culinary deep state, and a diverse constellation of restaurants that have flourished here.

Chiko chef and co-owner Scott Drewno has been prepping for crab week since launching the crustacean-filled event last year at “fine-casual” restaurant’s Capitol Hill flagship.

“It’s like Shark Week, only better,” says Drewno, who wants to dispel the notion that crab feasts are only for those 90-degree dog days. “As the season gets cooler, the crabs get fatter, and the flavor is really amazing as it gets later. We always associate crabs with summertime … so the original idea was we wanted to crack some crabs later in the season.”