✍️ Congress wants to repeal DC non-citizen voting

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Are Tenant Protections Making DC Rent Higher?

Dozens are signed up to testify at a Council hearing next week about new bills that would shrink TOPA — the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. Critics say the law hinders investment in new housing, and raises D.C. rent long-term. [City Cast DC 🎧]

House Wants to Stop Non-Citizens Voting In DC

The Congressional Oversight Committee passed a bill that would repeal D.C.'s non-citizens voting act. It will now go to the House floor for a vote for the third time in three years. [Oversight Committee/X]

Representative Connolly Dies at Age 75

Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represented Fairfax County, died yesterday at age 75. Connolly chaired the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and championed the Silver Line extension. [Washingtonian]

Yellow and Green Lines Go Automatic

Metro’s Yellow and Green lines will switch to automatic train operations tomorrow after finally receiving approval from its safety watchdog. [Washington Post 🔒]

How Peter Chang Built a Sichuan Legacy In the DMV

Ten years ago, Peter Chang opened his first Sichuan restaurant in the DMV. Now, he has 18. But before Chang became one of D.C.’s most famous restaurateurs — with a restaurant in the Michelin guide and multiple TV appearances — he lived a life in hiding.

Chang's Winding Journey To DC

Chang grew up as a farm boy in rural Hubei, a province in central China, in a house without electricity or a telephone. Like any teenage boy, he was drawn to culinary school at age 18 because, for the first time, he could eat in abundance.

After over a decade of learning from Sichuan chefs and making a name for himself, Chang took the foreign service cooking test. His high marks got him a position as chef at the Chinese Embassy in D.C. in 2001. “There was a family joke,” said his daughter Lydia, “If it wasn’t the U.S., it wasn’t anywhere.”

After his two year contract at the embassy was up, Chang saw an opportunity to build a better life for himself and his family in America, particularly for Lydia, who was in high school at the time. So, under cover of darkness, as if in a Hollywood thriller, Chang and his family grabbed their personal belongings and fled the embassy for good.

Life On the Run

Chang recalls the next 10 years being among the hardest for him and his family. He moved every few months, cooking in the back of various D.C. and Virginia restaurants under fake names, while avoiding Chinese bureaucrats and U.S. immigration officials. Without a formal ID, Chang couldn’t drive, travel, or get proper housing.

Despite all odds, Chang still began to gain a loyal following. Although he never announced where he was, his fans followed him from restaurant to restaurant, recognizing his food by the flavors and dishes on the menu.

When he got his permanent residency in 2011, he finally opened his own restaurant. He started in Charlottesville, opening Taste of China and later Peter Chang’s China Grill, before ending up back in the DMV.

Chang’s restaurants have since become a family affair. His daughter Lydia is a co-owner and oversees business operations, and his wife Lisa is a Chinese pastry chef and helps construct the menu.

Uncompromising Flavor

Chang entered the restaurant scene at a pivotal time for Chinese cuisine in America. For the first time, Americans were starting to recognize there was more to Chinese food than Panda Express.

But, unlike most Chinese chefs at the time, Chang refused to water down Sichuan flavors to adapt to the American palette. He filled his menu with spicy chili braised meats, mala numbing stir-fries, and other traditional Sichuan dishes, and his cult following went mainstream.

What’s Next For The Chang Empire?

Chang has his sights set beyond just the DMV. Two locations are set to open in Philadelphia next year and more are being considered in New York and New Jersey after that. Closer to home, Chang is celebrating his 10th anniversary in the DMV with a special dinner party in June.

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