October ushers in some global spice slingers, with a “Caribbean first” chef firing up her most ambitious project yet in downtown D.C. while a pair of local restaurateurs export their Indian cooking — and steamy momos — to Reston Town Center.

Isla A custom chandelier lights up the main dining room at Isla. (Sophie Macaluso)

Self-taught chef-cum-restaurateur Lonie Murdock may be the face of this eye-catching, island-inspired eatery entering D.C.’s dining scene, but some of her favorite Caribbean cooks are at the heart of it.

When Isla debuts Oct. 24, patrons will discover that Murdock’s grandmother’s jerk recipe is behind a smoked and grilled chicken dish; her sister-in-law’s mango-mustard pepper sauce — “We call it ketchup,” Murdock says — materializes when customers request a flavor b

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