Mark's Duck

6189 Arlington Blvd

Falls Church, Virginia 22044

703 532 2125

The name is not very Chinese but the food is as authentically Cantonese as you will find outside of Hong Kong. Mark’s is located at the junction of Patrick Henry and Arlington Blvd in a small one lot shopping center called Williston One. Plenty of parking out front.

There are two specialties here; roast duck and dim sum. Indeed, you can have an entire roast duck to go for $18.50. In most grocers you can not buy a raw duck for that price.

The dim sum covers the Southern Chinese spectrum. They serve it every day (not at night) but the selections reach mind boggling variety on Saturday and Sunday. The best way to prepare for a dim sum feast is to troll through their excellent web site in advance, pick out what you like, and when you get to Mark’s just tell your server and she will bring it directly rather than waiting for the trolleys to make the circuit.

This is one of four Oriental restaurants in my list. Are you detecting a pattern? From a health and value perspective, there is no better food. Compared to European or Latin restaurants, the variety at a good Oriental spot is unequaled. China Town in the heart of DC is not long for this world. Apparently there’s more fortune in condos than there is in cookies. And, as is the case almost anywhere in the downtown area, parking is an expensive nightmare.