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.”

Chefs Scott Drewno and Danny Lee recently expanded their Chinese-Korean fast-casual beyond its Capitol Hill flagship to Dupont Circle (and San Diego). High energy and bold flavors, along with cold beer and booze, make both counter-service restaurants worthy dinner destinations. The new shop has longer hours, with lunchtime rice bowls, a mean bulgogi hoagie (think Korean steak-and-cheese), and, at brunch, XO shrimp-and-grits and bloodies. Great any time: fiery lamb noodles and that now-famous chopped brisket with furikake-buttered rice.

Head over to the new location of this modern Chinese-Korean spot in Dupont on Saturday or Sunday for the new brunch from chefs Scott Drewno and Danny Lee. Feast on dishes such as “orange-ish” chicken and waffles, biscuits and Szechuan-spiced sausage gravy, or XO shrimp n’ grits. Brunch cocktails like bloodies and mimosas go for a wallet-friendly $5.

(Good/Excellent)

Just like the original fast-casual attraction on Capitol Hill, it’s a little Chinese, a little Korean, and wholly delectable. Co-owners Scott Drewno and Danny Lee have another hit on their hands with their Dupont Circle spinoff, which benefits from all the learning that took place on Barracks Row. (Groups have more room to maneuver.) The exercise will be familiar to fans, who can count on pork and kimchi pot stickers and cumin lamb stir-fry, but also some fresh ideas: cold noodles slicked with chile oil and crunchy with roasted peanuts, and a riff on shrimp toast that pairs wedges of crisp buttered ciabatta with springy diced shrimp in XO sauce. Dunk, dunk away.

The CHIKO team has finally figured out a way to turn up the flavor of a cheesesteak, which can get quite boring after a few bites. A salty-sour combination of melted cheese and fermented cabbage cuts through the rich beef and makes your mouth pucker while you chew. Fortunately, the beef is tender enough that you won’t have to exhaust your masticating muscles.

The Washington Nationals open the 2019 Major League Baseball season at home tomorrow, which means hungry fans in D.C. will have a first chance to taste a handful of new options at the ballpark. This year, the team has emphasized a connection with local restaurant groups, notably Medium Rare, Chiko, and Hank’s Oyster Bar.

The organization has also ramped up technological capabilities for ordering through deals with delivery service Caviar, which has a stand offering remote ordering through its app, and handheld credit card terminal Square, which will allow roving hawkers to accept credit cards and Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Chiko co-owner Scott Drewno promises that the second D.C. location of the inventive Chinese and Korean counter won’t stray far from the dishes that built up its following for the past year and a half.

After officially opening with a Valentine’s Day prix fixe last night, Chiko’s Dupont Circle spot will welcome walk-ins for dinner tonight with a menu that’s “about 75 percent” the same as the original in Capitol Hill, Drewno says.

Chopped brisket bowls and “orange-ish” chicken are coming to Dupont Circle next week as Chiko opens its next DC location on February 14. Chefs/co-owners Scott Drewno (formerly of The Source) and Mandu’s Danny Lee bring their respective Chinese and Korean cooking experiences to the modern menu, which will differ in a few ways from the Capitol Hill flagship.