Austa Somvichian-Clausen

Lead Respect Writer at Changing America by The Hill, City Editor at InsideHook covering Washington, D.C. and New York City. Dynamic freelancer with a deep love of travel, culture, and the environment. Proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.







I'm also a freelance writer and creative consultant living in New York City. My primary beats are social justice, culture, food, and travel, but I've covered everything from the rise of organic marijuana (for National Geographic) to social media slacktivism (for Women's Health in print), and beyond. 


Though I'm currently based in NYC, I've also called Washington, DC and Los Angeles home (and take assignments in both cities). I hold dual U.S. and Icelandic citizenship, so I'm also able to work across Europe without requiring a visa. 


Formerly: Apartment Therapy, National Geographic.

DC

Thrillist •

Two Chefs Channel Their Childhood Memories Into The Stop AAPI Dinner Series

Much of the Asian culinary experience begins long before you take your first bite, when you’re summoned by the scent of crackling fish skin or nutty sesame oil. Or while you and your family are sitting at dim sum on a Sunday afternoon, getting quick whiffs of dishes in silver tins as the carts whizz by. But sometimes it’s as simple as a Filet-o-Fish. “As a kid, I ate a lot of McDonald’s. That’s probably why I love the smell,” says James Beard-nominated chef Kevin Tien, who now owns contemporary
InsideHook •

Learn How to Make a Half-Smoke From the Person Who Made Them DC-Famous

When Virginia Ali and her husband Ben first started brainstorming about the dream of opening their own little restaurant, the first thing they had to do was decide what kind. A full-service ordeal was off the table for them, and Virginia says that hamburger places were a dime a dozen: “We thought we could try the old American hot dog.” One of the many elements that has continued to distinguish Ben’s Chili Bowl over the past 60-some-odd years is Ben’s special chili recipe, of course. Virginia sa
InsideHook •

One Year Later: How Small Businesses Across DC Have Evolved Amid a Pandemic

It’s been over a year now since Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the temporary closure of non-essential businesses — a very long year. During the last 365 days — which have felt more like 365,000 — businesses have been through the absolute wringer. Some of the city’s longest-running establishments, like Howard’s Deli, Cafe Montmartre and DC dive bar royalty The Big Hunt have all been forced to permanently shutter. Virginia Ali, longtime owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, told InsideHook that the last year
InsideHook •

45 DC Chefs Assemble to Fight Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

Since the coronavirus pandemic started last year, many Asian Americans have felt uneasy while out in public. Even for those who were born in this country, and have lived here our entire lives, we knew to be cautious while dining, traveling or even walking through a city during these past 12 rough months. Kevin Tien, the owner and executive chef of modern French-Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit, has felt a particular fear using chopsticks in front of strangers. “Maybe it’s in my mind, or maybe
InsideHook •

DC’s Luxe New Answer to the Corner Bodega Has Arrived

The classic New York City bodega is all things to all people: a one-stop shop for anyone looking for wares ranging from a bunch of bananas and a sandwich to a pack of smokes and a few cans of cat food. They’re also community beacons, drawing people from across a neighborhood together at any hour of the day to pick up their random assortments of provisions. DC now has its own — admittedly rather more upscale — version, as Chicago-based Foxtrot Foxtrot Market has landed in Georgetown, with its si
InsideHook •

How to Indulge in the Cheesy Goodness of Raclette From Home

Like every other chef we know, David Fritsche has had one hell of a year. Luckily for Fritsche, though, he’s had some pretty major superpowers tucked into his culinary arsenal at Stable: cheese and alcohol. Both Fritsche and his business partner, general manager Silvan Kraemer, hail from the idyllic motherland of Switzerland. After meeting nearly 17 years ago and working side-by-side in numerous kitchens, the two had enough — not of each other, of course, but of working for someone else. “We s
InsideHook •

How to Bake a Fish Packet Like Chef Matt Conroy of DC Bistro Lutèce

As a professional chef, you need to be adaptable to, well, everything: the revolving seasons and the ingredients they bring (and the ones they leave behind), changing tastes among patrons, and migrating to new kitchens, whether it was your decision to leave the last one or not. Last year, chefs were given perhaps their greatest obstacle yet, a struggle Chef Matt Conroy knows all too well. “I’ve been cooking for 21 years,” says Conroy. “I started when I was 14 in a diner in Lawrence, Massachuset
InsideHook •

One DC Realtor’s Predictions for the 2021 Housing Market

It goes without saying that Americans have been spending a lot of time at home over the past year. By a lot of time, we mean like, all of it: working from our home offices, hopping on exercise bikes when we’re feeling motivated, dipping into our bar cart’s private stock when we’re not. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that practically the only market to flourish in 2020 was that of residential real estate. Sure, it experienced a brief retrenching at the beginning of the pandemic, b
Thrillist •

How to Safely Celebrate the Biden-Harris Inauguration in DC

The 2021 presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take place on Wednesday, January 20, starting at 12 pm eastern time, following Biden’s train journey from his home in Wilmington, Delaware to the nation’s capitol—a trip the President-Elect took daily for 36 years while he was a U.S. senator. Biden will then take his oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, the same building that just last week was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters, leaving five dead. Thus, i
InsideHook •

The 7 New DC Restaurants You've Gotta Try in 2021

Now that we’ve finally crossed the finish line into 2021, the time has come to catch our breath and take in our new surroundings. Indeed, the dining scene in our nation’s capital has gone through quite a few changes, from the closing of some of the city’s most beloved restaurants to the (hopefully temporary) shuttering of seven iconic Hilton Brothers bars. Yet, in a year that was aptly and frequently called “unprecedented,” new restaurants were somehow able to spring up around the city as well.
Thrillist •

How to Have a Safe and Fun New Year’s Eve in Washington DC

As the highly anticipated end to 2020 draws near, it’s natural to have mixed feelings. Typically, New Year’s Eve is a time to dress to the nines, let your figurative hair down, and clink champagne glasses. It’s a time to now look toward what is considered to be a clean slate, making resolutions about going to the gym every day or finally becoming a vegetarian. This year it comes as no surprise to anyone that New Year’s Eve will look and feel very different. Most important now is to keep yoursel
InsideHook •

Pour One Out for the Shuttered DC Restaurants We’ll Miss Most of All

It’s been a tough time for everyone, but among the hardest hit were the restaurateurs who rely on notoriously small margins to keep their doors open and food on their customers’ plates. To keep a restaurant open during the coronavirus pandemic for any span of time has been an accomplishment in and of itself, as owners have continued to step up to the plate amid quickly changing circumstances and protocols to provide the safest experience possible for diners. From no-contact ordering to makeshif
InsideHook •

13 Superlative Gifts From Independent Shops and Makers Around DC

The holidays are all about giving, and this year it’s more important than ever to put those hard-earned dollars to work, hitting two birds with one stone by shopping local. We’ve all been feeling the effects of the pandemic, but local business owners are indisputably among those hit the hardest. So this year, opt for something made with TLC right in the heart of your own city, knowing that each purchase you make helps to support DC’s local economy and its many struggling independent businesses.
InsideHook •

Where President's Go to Dine in the Nation's Capital

Being the leader of the free world can be a hunger-inducing job sometimes, and for most U.S. presidents that has occasionally meant stepping outside of the White House doors for a bite to eat. From the days that our Founding Fathers used to frequent Gadsby Tavern Inn in Alexandria to Barack and Michelle Obama’s booming influence on DC’s local food scene, hosting a president for a meal has always been an exceptional opportunity for local restaurants to officially put their name on the map. Thoug
InsideHook •

8 DC Restaurants That'll Save Your Ass With a Last-Minute Thanksgiving Dinner

It’s safe to say enough curveballs have been thrown in 2020 to last a lifetime, so we certainly don’t blame anyone looking to take some of the stress out of this year’s holiday dinner. While some see cheffing it up in the kitchen as cathartic (and a chance to avoid extended family small talk for a couple hours), it’s also a time-consuming endeavor that will no doubt leave you with more cleaning time than you originally bargained for. That’s where local restaurants and catering services swoop in
InsideHook •

This Weekend Is a Celebration of Black-Owned Restaurants in DC

The time is upon us to celebrate the third annual DMV Black Restaurant Week, which is already in full swing. The weeklong celebration of local Black-owned restaurants in the area highlights food and drink specials to indulge in while also giving patrons a chance to support some of their favorite spots that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. While COVID-19 shutdowns have affected virtually all local business owners, they’ve been especially harsh for Black-owned restaurants. Resea
Thrillist •

Everything You Can Do in DC This Holiday Season

November 11 - January 3 Various locations Some holiday displays like the iconic Zoolights at the National Zoo have chosen to delay festivities until next year, but there is still plenty of illumination to see this season. Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights is reopening soon, a stunning half-mile of lights through the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, as well as the annual Georgetown GLOW which illuminates the neighborhood with light art exhibits. Cost: Prices vary Of course, please stay home if you
InsideHook •

The 7 Best Restaurants to Open in DC This Fall (So Far)

To keep tabs on every DC restaurant and bar opening is folly. But to keep tabs on the most worthy? Yeoman’s work, and we’re proud to do it. Thus we present Table Stakes, a monthly rundown of the five (or so) must-know spots that have swung wide their doors in the past thirty (or so). Bon appétit. If it seems like a less than ideal time to be opening a restaurant, bar or cafe, that’s because it is. Nonetheless, restaurateurs continue to jump through the numerous hoops required to see their dre
Thrillist •

10 Spooky Ways to Celebrate Halloween in DC This Year

There is certainly a lot to be spooked by this Halloween season—and we’re not just talking about your typical ghouls and goblins. Between a high stakes presidential election and an ongoing global pandemic, getting into the holiday spirit on October 31 is certain to look and feel pretty different this year. Social distancing is still of the utmost importance, and the DC Department of Health even released official guidance on how to have fun while staying mindful during Halloween and Día de los Mu
InsideHook •

Where to Find the Best Fall Cocktails in DC

As we inch closer to winter and the weather grows colder, various elements of our lives naturally shift to accommodate it. We build fires, we don sweaters and we stock our pantries with heavier, more sumptuous foods. Iif you’re a lover of cocktails, this ethos should also apply to what you’re drinking. Come October and November, “refreshing” summer ingredients like Aperol and cucumber vodka tend to slip off menus in favor of flavors meant to provide warmth: bourbon, apples, honey, cloves, cocoa
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