Arlington's Charga Grill Ranked No. 1 Casual Restaurant In DC Area By Washington Post

ARLINGTON, VA — Washington Post food critic Tim Carman ranked Arlington’s Charga Grill as No. 1 on his list of the D.C. area’s 10 best casual restaurants of 2022.

Charga Grill, at 5151 Langston Blvd in Arlington, specializes in street food from around the world, with an emphasis on plates of chicken, Carman wrote in his description of the restaurant.

“Peruvian pollo a la brasa. South African peri-peri. And two specimens from Pakistan, Chaudry’s homeland: brined-and-smoked sajji chicken, and skinless charga chicken, which is steamed and flash-fried,” Carman said of the chicken dishes on Charga Grill's menu.

Asad Chaudry, along with his uncle and chef Iqbal Chaudry, do not serve only chicken at Charga Grill, according to Carman.

"They also serve kebabs, curries, quesadillas and more. Their free-form approach might confound those who prefer tidy categories for their restaurants," he said. "But as with the customers who enter their establishment, Iqbal and Asad commit themselves to each and every dish on the menu."

Carman ranked La Tingeria in neighboring Falls Church as No. 4 on his list of the D.C. area's best casual restaurants of 2022 published last week. Located at 626 S. Washington St., La Tingeria owner and chef David Andres Peña "painstakingly layers flavor with his stewed meats, which are paired with mozzarella and tucked into a tortilla dipped in birria oil."

"Yes, these tacos rock. But still, I can’t say this enough: Don’t get sucked so deep into the birria hype that you overlook Peña’s tinga, a mass of braised breast meat whose pronounced spice is counterbalanced by sweet, sweet caramelized onions," Carman explained.