“Food is the great equalizer. Everyone agrees on good food. It doesn’t matter who made it.”
Recent Top Chef contestant Anthony Jones is now one of the District’s top chefs – and he couldn’t be more excited to return to his DC-area roots. As executive chef at Marcus DC, Anthony has embraced the capital city with dishes that have landed him heaps of praise.
After the apron comes off, here's where Chef Anthony eats, unwinds and finds inspiration in his city.
His Story & History Through Food at Marcus DC
For Jones, food and storytelling go hand in hand – and you feel it the moment you sit down at Marcus DC, the brainchild of famous restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who tapped Anthony to lead the kitchen.
The menu reflects Jones’ upbringing just down the road in Sunderland, Md., a small town in Calvert County with easy access to the Chesapeake Bay.
Every dish carries a story, from personal experiences to past neighborhoods to DC icons.
★ Mel’s Crab Rice is named after the purveyor of a crab truck where Anthony grew up. The chef has fond memories of cracking crabs at a picnic table outside, an experience many Mid-Atlantic region natives can relate to.
★ The Tanner Park Salad is dedicated to Alethia Tanner, a freed slave who sold crops to liberate her family members and created the first school for free Black children in DC. There’s a park named after her right by the restaurant, hence the dish’s title.
★ Chuck B Fried Chicken is Jones’ spin on the dish that customers expect at a Samuelsson restaurant; the roast chicken glazed with Mambo sauce (a DC signature) is named after go-go music pioneer Chuck Brown.
★ The Swampoodle Cookie Sandwich pays homage to the former name of the neighborhood where Marcus DC currently resides. Swampoodle was home to many African Americans after the Civil War before the construction of Union Station reshaped the neighborhood.
★ Rockfish with Virginia Chili is a tribute to Ben’s Chili Bowl and its beloved owner and co-founder, Virginia Ali. Jones adores the half-smokes from the DC institution; the featured chili is 100% seafood-based (and also Virginia Ali-approved).
This or That, DC-Style
Our social team caught up with Chef Anthony and asked him to pick between two awesome, only-in-DC experiences. Check out his answers and click to learn more.
★ Metro or bus? Metro
★ Brunch or late-night bites? After work, late night
★ Monuments or museums? Museums
★ Half-smoke or crab cake? Crab cake
★ Cherry blossoms in spring or fall foliage? Fall foliage
★ Waterfront dining or rooftop cocktails? Rooftop cocktails
★ Coffee or matcha? Coffee
★ Sightseeing the monuments by day or night? By night
★ Carryout or fine dining? Carryout
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