The DC carryout three-piece: fried wings, beef fried rice and a small cup of mumbo sauce in a stacked styrofoam clamshell, the closing-time order at every neighbourhood spot.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The DC carryout (pronounced "carry-out" as one word) is the city's defining late-night plate-format: a styrofoam clamshell holding fried chicken wings or chicken pieces, a generous mound of beef-and-egg fried rice, and a portion cup of mumbo sauce on top. The format spread from Chinese-American takeaway counters across the city, mainly in Black neighbourhoods east of the Anacostia and along Georgia Avenue, through the 1970s and 1980s. The carryout plate is intentionally engineered as a single $10-12 meal that holds heat, travels in a bag and absorbs alcohol; it appears in every go-go-era reference and in dozens of DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) rap lyrics. Yum's, Wings-N-Things, Danny's Sub Shop and a hundred other carryouts run the format. The chicken should be deep-fried to order, the rice should be sticky, the mumbo sauce should be on top, never inside.
Common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Egg
Tip from the editors. Day-old rice fries far better than fresh; if you only have fresh rice, spread it on a tray and chill it uncovered for an hour first.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Henry's Soul Cafe in Washington DC is the U Street soul-food counter from Henry Smith since 1968, with sweet potato pie sold by the slice and the carryout fried chicken and mumbo wings.
Try: Sweet potato pie, fried chicken, mumbo wings
Tip: The sweet potato pie ships nationally; buy the whole pie at the U Street counter to take home.
Florida Avenue Grill in Washington DC is the LeDroit Park 1944 diner with breakfast all day, the city's cheapest soul food sit-down with eggs-grits-biscuit plates under $15.
Try: Breakfast plate with eggs, grits, biscuit ($13)
Tip: Breakfast runs all day; the half-smoke breakfast plate at $13 is the editorial value meal of the menu.
Oohh's & Aahh's in Washington DC is the U Street soul-food counter from Oji Abbott since 2005, with mumbo sauce wings, fried catfish and the carryout three-piece plate as the editorial format.
Try: Soul food with mumbo sauce wings
Tip: The fried catfish and shrimp with mumbo sauce is the menu standout; takeaway runs faster than the dining-room queue.
More cities are in research. Want wings, fried rice and mumbo sauce (carryout plate) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.