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.
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, 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 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 dozens of DMV rap lyrics. The chicken should be deep-fried to order, the rice sticky, the mumbo sauce on top.
3 editor picks for Wings, fried rice and mumbo sauce (carryout plate) in Washington DC, ranked by editorial score. All Washington DC signature dishes · Wings, fried rice and mumbo sauce (carryout plate) across every city.
Oohh's & Aahh's ★ 4.4
1005 U St NW, Washington, DC 20001
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.
Henry's Soul Cafe ★ 4.2
1704 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009
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.
Florida Avenue Grill ★ 4.2
1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009
Florida Avenue Grill in Washington DC is the LeDroit Park diner at the corner of Florida and 11th since 1944, the city's oldest soul food counter.