From Adam Express, With Love
Adam Express, a tiny Korean take out joint in Mount Pleasant, is not much to look at. The green brick exterior has traces of graffiti; the rickety bar stools are being held together with chicken wire; and the tired air conditioning unit can barely keep up with the heat emanating from the open kitchen. Write ups from the Washington Post and Washingtonian are proudly displayed on the walls, along with a giant thank you card from a local elementary school, and a primitive drawing of a fish that advertises the day's special as "Fish Soup Cod Fish." Next to the fish sign, a laminated maroon poster proclaims that the Washington City Paper has named Adam Express Best Korean Food in D.C. this year. You would never guess it from looking at the outside.
Still, what Adam Express lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in the quality of food and the great care with which it is prepared. As the neon sign in the window indicates, Adam Express serves Korean, Japanese, and Chinese food. This is enough to make one wary, as it seems to echo the nasty pizza/subs/Chinese food/wings/seafood joints littering Georgia Avenue. But the owners of Adam Express are Korean and excel at both Korean and Japanese fare. I cannot vouch for the Chinese food; in the two years I've frequented Adam Express, I have never seen anyone order it.
The Japanese menu consists primarily of familiar sushi rolls - California, spicy tuna/salmon, unagi, shrimp, avocado, tempura shrimp and tempura soft shell crab. A particular standout is the bulgogi roll, a huge disc of marinated Korean beef, crab, water cress, lettuce, carrots, and pickled daikon. The rolls are made to order using fresh ingredients and are very reasonably priced, ranging from $3 to $8 for six or eight pieces. There is also miso soup, seaweed salad, edamame, and chicken and salmon teriyaki.
While the sushi is just fine, you should really be going to Adam Express for the Korean food. If you want a little bit of everything, try the bibim bap. It's a mix of bulgogi beef, sauteed eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, lettuce, watercress, pickled daikon, and bean sprouts, topped with a fried egg. You mix the veggies and meat with gochujuang — a Korean hot sauce — and rice to create an incredibly fresh and hearty meal. The bulgogi is tender and flavorful from bathing in a sweet sesame and soy-based marinade. It can also be ordered by itself and comes with rice and steamed vegetables.
Tang su yuk is the Korean version of Chinese sweet and sour chicken, and it is a similarly guilty pleasure: crunchy batter fried chicken pieces coated in a sweet, orange-colored sauce. Adam Express' version manages to avoid being cloyingly corn syrupy; it is sweet, but not too sweet, and the sauce is not so thick as to become gelatinous.
Other notable dishes include the dumplings and the seafood pajun, a sort of omelette with seafood and vegetables. The dumplings are available steamed or fried and given the choice between the two, I chose fried. I was not disappointed. The dumplings were deliciously golden brown, nestled together in their little silver take-out container. They were perfectly crisp on the edges and soft in the center, filled with a mix of cellophane noodles, cabbage, carrots, tofu, and minced pork.
Adam Express also offers a number of Korean noodle soups that are worth keeping in mind for when the weather turns colder. The shrimp udong is similar to Japanese soup, a comforting broth of udon noodles, veggies and tempura shrimp. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to drink liquid kim chee, try the kim chee chi gae, a molten brew of spicy cabbage, tofu, and chicken or beef. The challenge is to keep the front of your shirt clear of red spots.
And Speaking of kim chee, Adam Express makes their own. It is crunchy, fresh, and has a bright vinegary tang layered over an earthy spiciness. Entrees are reasonably priced at $8 to $12 for a generous portion.
Arguably, the best Korean food in the D.C. metropolitan area is probably somewhere deep in the northern Virginia suburbs, where most of the Korean population is centered. As far as Korean food in the District, it's hard to find better than Adam Express. It also has one other thing going for it: the people. This is a true mom and pop business, run by an incredibly sweet Korean couple. Pictures of their children adorn the walls, next to an old TV set with bunny ears that is often playing Korean soap operas on VHS tape. Sometimes they'll even offer to change the channel for you. While most of the business is take out (ordering is fast, efficient, and you can even call ahead for pick up), the couple will gladly serve you if you don't mind sitting at the tiny counter on a precariously rickety stool. On the few occasions that I have chosen to eat in, I've watched as the food was lovingly prepared and served. They were utterly delighted when my friend and I practically licked our plates clean, exclaiming, "You liked it?!" Yes, we certainly did.
Adam Express
3211 Mt Pleasant St NW
Washington, DC 20010
(202) 328-0010
Metro: Columbia Heights
Hours
Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.