Two menu items from Annandale are on the Washington Post’s list of ‘essential dishes’ of 2017

Seafood pancake [Joanne Lee for the Washington Post]

Two menu items from Annandale restaurants are on the list of the “40 most essential D.C. restaurant dishes of 2017” published June 8 in the Washington Post’s Going Out Guide.

There’s also a dish from a Bailey’s Crossroads restaurant.

The list, compiled by recommendations from readers, industry insiders, and Washington Post staffers, includes a variety of main dishes, deserts, sandwiches, soups, and snacks from restaurants in Washington, D.C., and suburban Maryland and Virginia.

“All of these dishes are delicious,” states the Going Out Guide. “But they also represent a snapshot of what it’s like to be a diner in this ever-evolving city, where you can find a hearty Eritrean breakfast just steps from the perfect bar snack to go with a glass of Kentucky bourbon.”

Here are the Annandale/Mason area dishes that made the list, with quotes from the article:

Seafood pancake, at To Sok Jip, $14.99, 7211 Columbia Pike, Annandale, 703-333-2861.

“If you order only one dish at To Sok Jip, a bustling, perpetually crowded Korean restaurant in Annandale, let it be the seafood pancake, or haemul pajeon. You might be tempted by the build-it-yourself bo ssam or the fire-red bubbling stews, but this meal — a giant golden orb cut into hefty wedges like a pie — achieves a fantastic balance of flavors and textures: sweet and savory, crisp and tender. Crammed with squid, green chilies, and scallions, it’s big enough to feed two. Then again, To Sok Jip is affordable enough — and delicious enough — that it’s often hard to stop at this one dish.”

SnoCream [Becky Krystal/the Washington Post]

SnoCream, at SnoCream Company, $6, The Block, 4221 John Marr Drive, Annandale, 202-656-6144. |

“This Asian-inspired dessert, available at the relatively new Block food hall in the Virginia suburbs, has a lot going for it. Looks, for one. A mixture of milk and water is frozen into a cylinder, then shaved into ribbons that pile up like the folds of a wedding gown. Add in a slew of customizable toppings — mochi, boba, Fruity Pebbles among them — to such colorful flavors as Thai tea and mango, and you’ve got a highly photogenic and multi-texture treat that also happens to be delicious. It’s lighter than traditional ice cream, too, which means you can eat a lot more in one sitting and feel refreshed rather than, well, guilty.”

Peking duck, at Peking Gourmet Inn, $43 ($22.50 for a half duck), 6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 703-671-8088.

“One thing above all has drawn hordes of diners to Peking Gourmet since it opened, in 1978, and it’s not the photos of politicians and celebrities on the walls. It’s the duck. Plump, glistening, and carved into thin slices tableside, the birds steal the show here, and for good reason. Julienned cucumbers and spicy jumbo spring onions (grown at the restaurant’s farm in Purcellville, Va.) add crunch, while the skin — oh, that delightfully crispy, crackly, and golden-brown skin — is the essential sidekick to the dark breast meat. Sweet hoisin sauce and house-made pancakes bring it all together into a package that delivers even after all these years.”