Frequent Fryers
Jerry and Joe Chen's grandfather told them that Americans say, "Yum, yum, yum" when they eat delicious food. Hence the name of Washington's most durable eatery.
Cover Story
Inside the Yum's carryout at 14th and P Streets NW, deafening sounds bounced off the greasy, once-white tile that covered the walls. Club kids smoking cigarettes stood in a poorly formed line and placed order after order for chicken wings and "mambo" sauce. In the kitchen, cooks laughed at jokes in a foreign tongue and barked out instructions to one another. Middle-aged men in dusty coveralls dozed and occasionally snored as they leaned against the walls--crumpling the Day-Glo signs that advertised specials: "3 wings and fried rice: $2.99." Only when the woman behind the counter shrieked out, say, "Forty-six!" would the activity stop as customers glanced down at little white slips of paper printed with their order numbers.
My first trip to Yum's was as a hungry teenager in need of a cheap, substantial meal after a night of partying. Along with several friends, I stood in the crooked line surveying the back-lit photos of lemon chicken and lo mein while debating what to order. After reaching the counter, each one of us asked for something different, but all of our food shared a common fate--to be dredged through batter, deep-fried, and coated with one type of sauce or another. While waiting for our numbers to come up, we drank Rock Creek sodas and discussed the DJ ("He was a'ight"), the drinks ("Weak!"), and various skanky outfit sightings ("Did you see the girl with the sandals on? It's October!"). ... Continued 
Issue of Apr. 26 - May. 2, 2002
News and Features
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Cover Story - Counter Revolutionary
Feature - Cap'n Crunched
The City - Secondhand Roses
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Nimby Tribunal - Stick Figure
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City Lights
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- De La Soul
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