Americans love well-made food, delivered to their doorsteps. And recent immigrants know how to cook but often don’t have access to the marketplace.
The new Woodridge, D.C., food service Foodhini, at 2212 Rhode Island Avenue, offers cuisine from Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos and Syria made in a certified commercial kitchen by immigrant chefs which is then delivered to your doorstep.
Think of it like Seamless, but from your auntie overseas.
Founder Noobstaa Philip Vang said he was inspired to start the service after craving his mother’s Hmong cooking while studying at Georgetown.
“Hmong restaurants don’t exist in DC and I found it nearly impossible to find authentic Thai and Lao cooking,” he wrote. “I wondered why I couldn’t connect with a local auntie or grandma in the neighborhood and purchase some of their home cooking.”
With chefs from everywhere from the Philippines to Tibet, the menu is eclectic. For customers who are feeling adventurous, Foodhini offers a Taste the World subscription, delivering a specially curated family-style meal to your house once a week.
This week’s meal includes Ivorian chicken fricassée and vermicelli and jasmine rice, yatimche with pita bread from Iran and khaw mee stir-fried noodles from Laos.
All dishes can be made vegetarian and there are also special vegan, halal and gluten-free menu items.
Foodhini started as a food incubator inside Union Kitchen in 2016, but moved to its new Woodridge location earlier this year.
For now, delivery is available only within D.C. and Arlington, but Foodhini is looking to expand, and you can request a ZIP code on the website by clicking on the “Where do we deliver” button on the lower right hand side.
You can also pick up food between 4 and 6 p.m. by putting the kitchen’s address at 2212 Rhode Island Avenue NE on the order form and including a note, and you’ll be refunded the delivery fee at pickup.