As I continue to get acquainted with my new city, and even enjoyed my first Arizona Restaurant Week, I noticed one striking difference between Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The food scene. D.C. is steaks and Italian, Phoenix is Mexican and health food. D.C.’s bars are Irish pubs and hotel lobby bars, Phoenix’s are more eclectic.
Obviously both are big cities that have a wide array of food and drinking establishments and can cater to any taste––but there’s a distinct difference. For example, when I Googled “Irish pub near me” from my Phoenix address a British pub was the first result. My inner Irishman was deeply offended while the English half of me softly hummed “God Save The King.”
On a day spent walking down a D.C. street you’ll encounter many hotdog stands. I haven’t seen a hotdog since I moved here but I’ve come across some taco stands. Speaking of walking, it is the preferred mode of transportation in our nation’s capital so restaurants like the Salad And Go drive-through and the Eat Up drive-in would not do well in the area. But food trucks are prolific. As Sean, an Arizona native who spent decades in D.C. said, “what really sticks out to me, is the lack of food trucks.”
But back to more important things––the absence of Irish pubs has been a struggle. I miss the smell of Guinness and the taste of an Irish coffee. I yearn to take slightly too long deciding between soda bread and brown bread.
But while I haven’t come across a decent fish and chips in the valley, Phoenix’s breakfast game is on point. In D.C., you only go to breakfast for work. If you want to socially enjoy eggs and bacon, you go to brunch––never breakfast. Breakfast is for making connections. In Phoenix, I see so many people eating breakfast in restaurants not wearing a suit….initially, it was baffling. Then I tried a few spots and now I get it. Why wouldn’t you want to eat breakfast out every day with your entire social circle with so many amazing options.
This brings to mind a comment another D.C. transplant, Elissa, made about the different food scenes. In D.C., restaurants are places to be seen for your professional advancement. As Elissa said, “When you go to new or trendy restaurants in D.C., you expect to see people you know professionally. And if a lot of people are there, it ends up in Playbook the next morning.” She continued, “People there are on devices emailing their bosses. People here are on devices posting to Instagram.”
These notable differences have solidified my belief that a town’s food reflects the values of the area. D.C. is classic, stuffy, and conventional. It tries to be trendy but that’s hard to do when everyone comes in suits and pearls.
Phoenix is modern, bold, and health conscious. You can show up to the newest restaurant in athleisure wear (as long as it’s trendy athleisure wear!) and not feel out of place. And while Phoenix can certainly provide establishments that are classic, stuffy, and conventional, it offers so much more. A city with such culinary diversity can nourish the soul as well as the palate.
