Restaurant Review: An Asian Chipotle?

When I went to visit the new Asian Chipotle restaurant in Dupont Circle, I ended up walking right past it. Like an idiot.

That's, of course, because its name isn't actually "Asian Chipotle" (although I still intend to refer to it as such). No, the restaurant's real name is "ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen," and it's a brand-new spin-off restaurant owned by Chipotle. If you're worried that a restaurant whose specialty lies in delicious, gut-busting, assembly-line burritos couldn't possibly deliver good Asian food, think again, for I have been to the top of the mountain and have experienced ShopHouse firsthand.

Now, time for a quick disclaimer: ShopHouse's menu is based on cuisines from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. As I have never visited any of these countries nor tasted their food, I can't attest to ShopHouse's authenticity. What I can attest to, however, is the fact that they serve up some very tasty food.

If you've ever been to a Chipotle before, ShopHouse will feel instantly familiar to you. The layout is almost identical to Chipotle's signature bare-bones, functional design. Ordering should also be a familiar process. You walk up to the counter and make one fundamental decision: do you want chicken, steak, chicken-pork meatballs or tofu? Once you've made your choice, everything else falls in place. Type of rice (or, if you prefer, rice noodles), vegetables, sauce, and crunchy toppings. And with that, you have your meal.

For my first meal, I requested grilled chicken on jasmine rice, with grilled green beans and caramelized onions, spicy red curry sauce, green papaya slaw (it's okay, I had no idea what it was, either), and crushed peanuts to top it all off. While there was something distinctly Chipotle about the food, it was also a wholly new and unique taste experience, and I enjoyed it very much. Be careful, though, the spicy red curry sauce is in fact very spicy, and unfortunately, ShopHouse doesn't sell any milk to neutralize the burning (which I feel is a major oversight). I was still feeling it on the Metro ride home ten minutes later. Be warned.

To those of you who find the idea of a simple bowl of rice and toppings boring, ShopHouse also offers sub-like sandwiches. I have yet to try one, but my roommate ordered a chicken-pork meatball sandwich and informed me that it was actually better than the bowl. I intend to order one on my next visit.

When it was all said and done, I walked away from ShopHouse with a full stomach and a very satisfied feeling, even in spite of my burning mouth. I would definitely recommend this brand new restaurant. The best part about it? The DC ShopHouse is the only one in the country (so far), so make the trip, enjoy the food and gloat about it to your friends at other schools. That's what I did, anyway.