1. Tobi Lawal

In the first half, Tobi Lawal helped lead the Hokies in scoring, finishing the first half with 12 points. In the second half, Lawal scored two more points but finished with five turnovers which ended up being costly in the teams shortcomings down the stretch of this game.

2. Mylyjael Poteat

Mylyjael Poteat played well in the first half, leading the team in rebounding and was the second leading scorer. In the second half, Poteat and the rest of the team slowed down and got cold, leading to a blown 11 point lead in the second half. Poteat finished the game with a team high 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

3. Team Efficiency

Virginia Tech struggled with getting the ball in the basket tonight, and it was very evident as the Hokies shot 41% from the floor, 33% from three, and 60% from the free throw line. The team has struggled with shooting the ball the last few games, which has seen them lose both by double-digits against stronger opponents.

4. Defense

The Hokies defense struggled tonight against Jacksonville, and it really showed in the second half as the Hokies blew a double digit lead. Part of the reason for this is because of the Dolphins ball movement compared to the more ball dominant first half that they had. The Dolphins shot 51% for the evening, and won the points in the paint battle 44-32.

5. Free Throws

The Hokies missed out on opportunities many free throw scoring opportunities throughout this game, and it became very evident in the second half. For the game, the Hokies shot 12-20 from the free throw line compared to the Dolphins eight free throws where they shot 62% so one could say with more made free throws, the Hokies win this game as they got more attempts at the line than Jacksonville.

Additional Links:

Virginia Tech Basketball: 5 Takeaways From Hokies Loss to Penn State

Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball: Instant Takeaways From Hokies Win Over Rutgers

Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball: 5 Takeaways From Virginia Tech’s Win Over Coppin State

Virginia can’t withdraw from a multistate initiative designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unless the Legislature agrees to it, a judge has ruled, dealing a blow to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to exit the compact.

The ruling, issued Monday by retired Judge C. Randall Lowe in Floyd County, said Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board exceeded its authority when it voted last year to exit the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an effort by 12 mid-Atlantic and Northeast states to reduce power plants’ carbon emissions. Participating states require plants of a certain generating capacity to purchase allowances to emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

Virginia joined the compact in 2020 when it had a Democratic governor as well as Democratic control of the Legislature. In 2021, Youngkin, a Republican, won election as governor but one or both legislative chambers have remained under Democratic control for the entirety of his term.

Youngkin has said Virginia’s participation in the cap-and-trade program amounts to a hidden tax on Virginians’ energy bills.

His spokesman, Christian Martinez, said Wednesday that the state will appeal the judge’s ruling.

“Governor Youngkin remains committed to lowering the cost of living for Virginians by continuing to oppose the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which fails to effectively incentivize emission reductions in the Commonwealth,” he said in a written statement.

Shaun Kenney, a spokesman for Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, also expressed disappointment in the judge’s ruling in a written statement, saying: “We look forward to defending the commonsense repeal of this counterproductive program on appeal.”

The State Corporation Commission has estimated the typical monthly bill could increase by $2 to $2.50 for the years 2027 to 2030.

Last year, before the pollution board voted to end participation in the compact, Dominion Energy, the state’s largest utility, estimated that it had incurred about $490 million in compliance costs from the initiative and recovered about $267 million from customers.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, praised the judge’s ruling, calling it “a win for all Virginians, their wallets, and our environment. Programs funded by RGGI have helped Virginians cut household energy costs, helped protect communities from floodwaters, and have been critical in the fight to cut pollution and address climate change.”

Washington’s Pakistani food scene remains one of its most under-sung strong suits, and it’s only getting stronger. Ambitious Pakistani eateries are blossoming in the Northern Virginia suburbs—and plotting expansions across the District and Maryland.

With them, they’re bringing fried puris ballooned up beside buttery chickpeas and cardamom-scented semolina halwa; sizzling chicken and lamb in wok-like karahis topped with slivers of ginger; and chargrilled chapli kebab patties studded with whole coriander and chilies.

This new class of Pakistani eateries, clustered in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, serves uncompromising food in polished, contemporary spaces.

“Just selling halal food isn’t the benchmark anymore,” says Suhail Kamran, who owns Cha Street Food, in Tysons and Sterling. “It has to taste amazing, and your space and customer service needs to be complementing it as well.” Here are four favorite new-wave Pakistani spots.

Chaska

The second-story open-air terrace has such a commanding view of Dulles Airport that you can make out the logo of each landing plane while you eat. At first, it didn’t occur to owner Waqas Shah, who also runs a pizza shop downstairs, to open a separate restaurant in the space. But Shah—who was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, but grew up in Loudoun County—had been dreaming about opening a serious Pakistani grill.

“We’ve been eating this food since I was little,” Shah says. “Basically, we wanted to offer that to the community, to bring back memories for the folks that are here.”

Although Chaska’s menu incorporates dishes like karahi and even burgers, kebabs are the thing to get. The bright-orange marinade of the chicken tikka permeates the meat, and Shah’s grill cooks also work magic with ground beef, in the form of tubular seekh kebabs and burger-shaped chapli kebabs. The mixed grill offers a chance to try them all, supplemented with fragrant long-grain rice and slow-cooked chickpeas.

Chaska’s lofty location presents challenges—delivery drivers often give up on finding it, and diners have to climb a long flight of stairs—but Shah and his five brothers have worked to make it as welcoming as possible. Inspired by Pakistani truckers’ tradition of decorating their rigs with psychedelic colors and quotations, they emblazoned each step on the staircase with sayings in Urdu. “It’s hard to go to a restaurant where you have to go up the stairs,” Shah says, “so we try to engage people while they’re coming up.”

Namak Mandi

Veteran nightclub owner and restaurateur Sami Khan’s previous projects all have their charms, but most are undistinguished—a lounge in DC and a few Mediterranean and Mexican spots around Virginia. It’s when he chose to focus on something closer to his native home that he created one of the region’s best South Asian restaurants. Namak Mandi, which opened in 2020 on a busy stretch of Leesburg Pike, is named after the historic salt-market district of Peshawar, a crossroads of Afghan and Pakistani cuisines. “People go from all over the country to eat there,” Khan says. “Their karahi is the most special thing.”

Fittingly, karahi—a thick, tomato-based curry—is also the most special thing at Khan’s restaurant. It hits the table sizzling-hot, a fiery chicken stew reduced down to a concentrate at the bottom of the steel karahi pan, which also functions as its serving dish. As important as the karahi, though, is the bread that accompanies it. The oblong naans, fresh from the tandoor, arrive speared on hooks atop wooden pedestals that Khan has fashioned himself, inspired by Peshawari restaurants he’s visited in the UK.

This summer, Khan opened a second location, in downtown DC (1030 15th St., NW). At the Falls Church original, which is decked out with sofa-like seating upholstered with Pashtun tribal patterns, Khan says his clientele is still 80 percent Pakistani. At its newer sibling—which serves an Indian-accented weekday buffet along with Peshawari specialties in a more modern space—Khan is hoping to introduce his food to a new audience.

Cha Street Food

This mini chain has already transformed from a food truck to a storefront in Tysons Corner mall boasting a friendly indoor-outdoor space strung with lights and colorful hanging lamps. Next, owner Suhail Kamran wants to expand his “pandemic idea” into DC and Maryland and eventually up the East Coast.

Kamran says he and his family missed the tea houses of Pakistan—here there’s no obvious American equivalent—and initially called the business Cha Tea House.

“The Indians and the Pakistanis got it, but everyone else thought we’d just have a bunch of tea,” he says. “In Pakistan and India, a tea house has a lot more than just tea.” Cha Street Food certainly does. Its menu hops back and forth between the continents, from paratha rolls to masala-spiced fried-chicken sandwiches.

Kamran, a second-generation Pakistani American with kids born here, wanted to incorporate traditional flavors into familiar American formats. He makes Kashmiri pink chai into a milkshake, loads French fries with spiced keema (minced meat), and flips chapli kebabs and masala potato patties onto hamburger buns. Falooda ice cream is another crowd-pleasing treat. “For our kids,” Kamran says, “I had to make it easy for them to understand.”

That’s not to say the food doesn’t draw heavily on tradition. Before opening Cha Street Food, a few of Kamran’s business partners flew to Karachi with one purpose: to learn the art of paratha rolls from a street vendor. “I don’t know what got into them, to be honest,” Kamran jokes. Clearly, their trip was fruitful: The parathas—wrapped around kebabs, crispy paneer, or grilled chicken—are supple and pleasantly flaky.

Desi Breakfast Club

Even if you’ve never tried halwa puri before, it might become a breakfast craving that never leaves you. For one thing, with this typical Pakistani morning meal, you don’t have to choose between sweet and savory. Use a crispy, air-filled puri, puffed up in the fryer, to scoop alternating bites of halwa (warm, sweet semolina pudding) and masala chickpeas. If you eat meat, opt for a third add-on: chicken keema with green peas.

“If you go to Lahore on Saturdays and Sundays in the morning, halwa puri is on everyone’s mind,” says Malik Ahmad, who opened this all-day-breakfast restaurant in 2021.

While Ahmad was in high school, his parents opened Charcoal Chicken, an exemplary kebab shop that still operates in nearby Chantilly. His love for their cooking traditions, and his American childhood, inspired him to open Desi Breakfast Club, which he thinks of as a kind of diner.

“Diners are everywhere,” Ahmad says. “They’re the backbone of America.”

Ahmad’s place has a sizable menu. Nihari, one of the world’s heartiest breakfasts, is great here—a slow-cooked, gingery beef stew with a slick of orange ghee floating on top. Chai is hot, cheap, and nicely spiced. French toasts, bagels, and omelets are available. But the halwa puri is the destination-worthy plate.

Now Ahmad manages both his parents’ restaurant and Desi Breakfast Club. He’s a testament to the changing nature of Northern Virginia’s Pakistani dining scene. “Charcoal Chicken was a hole in the wall,” he says. “My parents didn’t do any marketing, it was just word of mouth and their hard work.”

But Ahmad, like the proprietors of Chaska and Cha Street Food, is part of a new wave of Pakistani restaurants harnessing social media, coming up with fun fusion dishes, and creating cool design elements to attract new customers. “It’s all these second-generation kids,” he says.

This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Washingtonian.