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Showing results for tags 'Mexican'.
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Daughter's weeding approaches, and she is scouring the area for catering options. She and my future son-in-law have zeroed in on tacos and related treats as the wedding reception fare, which I applaud. So it was off to Manassas to try a tasting menu of options at Cactus Grill. And it was, in a word or two, muy delicioso. Out came the platters for tasting. First was the dips -- queso, guacamole, and salsa, with house-made chips. The queso was different than most of the velveeta-forward quesos you might be used to, with a white tint and a decidedly Mexican flavor. The guacamole was chunky and obviously freshly made, on a bed of shredded lettuce that actually enhanced it with a extra crunch. The brownish salsa was delectable. Next came the platter of soft tacos, with birria, chicken, carne asada, al pastor -- credit to Lebanese immigrants for that one -- and I added lengua (tongue) and tripa (tripe). All were delicious, and I will return for the tongue and tripe tacos with the missus. They were spectacular. The carne asada and birria were also and will be on offer at the wedding. Three house-made sauces accompanied the platter, and added nice notes of heat and flavor to the tacos. Next came the fajitas, but we were almost too stuffed to enjoy them. Yes, they're more Texan than Mexican, but the wedding guests will have varying tastes and we are trying to accommodate the mean. And yes, there were even some desserts to sample with the churros being decadent and the xangas being obscene. The latter was pretty much a fried cheese cake, and it was ridiculous. The ownership is from Oaxaca, and the genuine side of the menu is authentic and quite good. We didn't try the vast array of dishes like mole negro or menudo, but what we tried led us to believe that the Mexican part of the menu would be worthy of its lineage. Yes, there is also a portion of the menu catering to the local Tex-Mex tastes, like fajitas and chimichangas and the like, but when you come here, focus on the Oaxacan fare and you'll be uplifted.-
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Las Gemalas has two separate operations at Union Market, a fast casual counter (taqueria) and a sit-down restaurant. According to @Tyler Cowen, "The tacqueria is the best Mexican food this region ever has seen. Real blue corn tortillas, everything else authentic, could be mistaken for excellent real Mexican food in Mexico." Since Hurricane Ida turned my New Orleans vacation into a working-staycation, I went by on Monday night to check it out. I noted their website describes the tacos as served "on a pair of heirloom corn tortillas." I ordered 2 tacos: carnitas ($4.5) and tongue & cheek ($4.75). First, I only got one tortilla per taco. A very good tortilla, and had I gotten two, I probably would've discarded one anyway. Second, the tacos are small (the typical size in Mexico (about 5 inches in diameter) but the same taco in Mexico would've cost 75 cents to a dollar) - very much smaller compared to Taco Bamba. Third, I love tongue and I didn't see nor taste any tongue in the tongue & cheek taco. Fourth, the tacos were otherwise pretty tasty (but not necessarily better than all the taquerias in this area). Heck, better tasting than some of the tacos Steve and I had at Pujol.
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https://www.lasierrarestaurantinc.com/ Ok, this review requires an OMG for Annapolis. I will say this place was good, not just Annapolis good, this competes with the DMV, there isn't anywhere I have been in NOVA this good for these dishes, not that I have been everywhere. It is very different than Sin Frontera, it doesn't have quite so many unique different dishes, but it has a lot of staples and specials that aren't in your normal Mexican place either. This restaurant is off Riva Road in a little strip mall by Pho5Up (which I had no idea was there). The staff was so nice. The chips were super crispy and the salsa while close to normal just had something really good about it that made it just a touch better than your normal joint. Mom got Carnitas platter, which looks fairly normal, but the meat was really delicious, and I got Arracheres- thin steak grilled with green onions, poblanos, jalapeno, guacamole, refried black beans and tortillas. Both were juicy, the grilled vegetables were really good, the beans were seasoned really well. Seriously, I have only had one dinner here, but really good. If I had room in my stomach I would have eaten the whole plate, which was huge, and bigger than it looks in the photo. Anyway, if you are in Annapolis and are not trying to eat downtown, this is a good place to try.
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"7:19" is a dramatic tale of survival in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake (which happened at 7:19 AM). One little flaw I noticed is that, when an earthquake happens, everyone pretty much notices it at the same time (I was in the 2011 earthquake here while in *Reagan Airport* - small items were falling from the rafters ... that was a tense couple of minutes. Anyway, three people are talking, and they're slightly out-of-sync when the earthquake starts - these pictures are a total of only about three-seconds apart, so it isn't noticeable except in slow-motion, and yes, it's a nit-picky detail, but they definitely notice something is wrong, one person at a time: 1:25:43 - The pleasant chat 1:25:41 - The man says goodbye, and the older woman notices. 1:25:40 - The man now notices, and calmly says, "Oh, dear!" 1:25:39 - The man calmly adds, "It's an earthquake" as the younger woman looks like she's about to throw up. If you scroll through the four pictures quickly while looking at the younger girl, it's actually pretty funny. I'm quite pleased to add that I saw the 1974 film, "Earthquake," on release, in Sensurround. --- ETA - I suggest thinking twice about seeing this film, as it is one of the grimmest motion pictures I have ever experienced. It's an excellent movie, but you really need to be in the proper frame of mind if you choose to see it - it's something akin to visiting the Holocaust Museum.
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Señor Ramon Taqueria Opens on Baron Cameron Avenue by Fatimah Waseem, RestonNow Looks like the restaurant will open before the signage goes up; it says in the article it is opening today. This strip-mall shares the Home Depot parking lot and this location used to be a Greeberry's, then a Thai (Hibiscus Thai) place and now this. It is a few doors down from Willard's Menu Reston location. Menu looks pretty good, and will have to go by soon to check it out. We need more local Mexican-type places the Anita's and Uncle Julio's get old quickly.- 1 reply
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Andy Hayler's Review
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For many years I'd been chasing my memory of the Zarape de Pato I'd had during Santibañez's reign at Fonda San Miguel in Austin, sublime stacked enchiladas with spicy shredded duck between the layers, and a chile cream sauce.. I even purchased the restaurant's cookbook to try recreating it at home, only to discover that the cookbook was published after he left the restaurant and the recipe in the book was distinctly different. I searched the menus at Rosa Mexicano because he founded the original NYC restaurants, thinking its presence would justify a visit to the DC outpost, despite, um, you know...No dice. I'd given up on the fruitless quest when, a few months ago, I realized he had a new restaurant at The Wharf. It is on the dinner menu (only) at Mi Vida! Reservations are hard to come by, and I'm not typically down near there at the beginning of dinner service to score a walk-in table. So, rain or not, my husband and I took the Circulator down last night for the reservation I had finally snagged. We were rewarded with a window table at the top of the restaurant, with a beautiful view of the water and boats shimmering in the rain. Memories being what they are, it was different than I remembered. For one thing, this has a habanero cream sauce, and I'm pretty sure the older version was poblano. The tortillas are smaller. It's overall smaller, though it's listed on the "sharing" portion of the menu. Perhaps that is because it is so rich (the price is pretty rich too: $15). The consolation prize is that it's closer to the original than any approximation I'd encountered. My husband enjoyed the bite I let him have. It's all but certain that I'd have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been searching for it for 15 years. Finding it was more satisfying than eating it, if that makes any sense. I imagine that next time I order it, my expectations will have realigned and I will enjoy it more. There was other food! Because I almost always order nachos when I see them and their $14 Tatanachos looked good (Crispy Tortillas, Black Beans, Melted Chihuahua & Oaxaca Cheeses, Crispy Ancho Peppers, Pickled Jalapeños, Salsa Verde, Crema, Cilantro), they rounded out my order. They were arranged beautifully on the plate, something my husband commented on a few times. Those were also on the sharing menu and actually got shared. While I stuck with the sharable starters, my husband wolfed down the main course of salmon he ordered, which didn't get shared. (SALMÓN EN SALSA DE PIÑA $26 Pumpkin Seed-Crusted Wild Salmon, Sweet Potato Mash, Pineapple-Tomatillo Sauce). He really liked the salmon and sweet potato pairing. There is much more of the menu to explore: tacos, ceviche, guacamole (whoa, was the server pushing that)...plenty of things to try when the whole enchilada isn't chasing a memory. I hope we can get that table again . -
Top Chef Star’s ‘Le Kon’ Restaurant Opens in Clarendon, by Alex Koma September 6, 2018, on ARLnow.com. That is a tough strip and to me is psychologically less accessible than the rest of Clarendon. I am not in love with the menu, but will try to keep an open mind. Maybe I will stop by for a gin & tonic during happy hour. -
I went here with my family. We ate at Buena Vida. The complimentary chips and salsa were excellent (tomatillo, some kind of smoked red salsa and picked veggies) were excellent. We had elote off the cob, a bunch of tacos and ceviche. Even the beans and rice which we ordered for the kids was great. My favorite tacos were the lengua and the duck carnitas. Service was okay, not the most attentive server. --- Tacos, Tortas, & Tequila (ElGuapo)- 17 replies
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Four years later, I finally tried this place. Twice in the last couple of weeks and I'm sure quite a few more times in the future. A wide variety of tacos are available from the "normal" options (carnitas, al pastor, carne asada) to some more adventurous choices (buche - hog stomach; tripitas - intestines, I think). They also have goat and lamb and lengua and others. Tacos are under $2 (either $1.69 or $1.79, I can't remember). They also have tortas, burritos, sopas, and my wife ordered chilaquiles today which was good and a fairly large portion (she brought half of it home). There are two types of salsa with decent, but not overpowering, heat and a toppings bar with jalepanos, cilantro, onions, beets, and more. I'm going to call this place "authentic". In our two visits, it was busy both times and we, along with one other person on our first visit, were the only non-Hispanics. The cashier speaks some English but certainly isn't fluent. That didn't stop my wife from trying to ask several questions about her order which I believe went mostly unanswered. When the orders are ready for pickup at the counter, the lady only calls out numbers in Spanish. No worries, though, they recognized we might need a little help with that and made sure we got our order when it was ready. Facebook Page- 2 replies
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As a proud former Laurel resident, I've been remiss in not spreading the word about this gem. Tacqueria Los Primos seems to be fairly new, with Yelp reviews spanning back to 2016, as I regretfully hadn't heard of it before moving away. They were packed out the door with hispanic families when I went on a Saturday night, which is of course how I knew they would be good. Part of this is their layout, where you order at a counter directly facing the entrance before getting a number and making your way to a table, which creates a logjam between people coming in and out; nevertheless, the place was popping. Four tacos will run you 8 dollars, and they come loaded with cilantro and onions, with radishes, limes, and interestingly enough thick cucumber slices on the side. The tacos themselves were rock solid (think I had al pastor, lengua, tripe, and chorizo). Other customers seemed to be enjoying their tortas, quesadillas, enchiladas, and other staples. Delicious, authentic, cheap, big portions, what's not to like? Just the fact that I can't pick this up on the way home every night anymore. -
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I can get decent tacos at Bamba. Is there a high end interesting Mexican restaurant in DC (some place that isn't relying on fajitas, enchiladas, table side guac, or tacos to draw in business)? Some place that might actually draw non-gringos? -
Cala (149 Fell Street (Van Ness Avenue) in Hayes Valley) has the worst service at any restaurant I've ever been to, and that is saying something. San Francisco has a wealth of good establishments (despite my feelings (mostly because we've been eating at the wrong places)). After today's experience, strike this one off the list and here is why: * We were ignored for 15 minutes after being seated while FOH staff attended to two large parties in front of us who were seated at the same time we were; * Staff described the menu to the aforementioned parties, we received only grudging, perfunctory treatment; * The pickled vegetables that you see in the picture below were just laid down in front of us with no explanation whatsoever. Just as the server was about to walk away, B flagged her down and asked for a description; * A minute after receiving the vegetables - which function as an amuse-bouche, a waiter arrived with drinks for the five and six-tops in front of us. He managed to smash one large goblet - somehow - while setting down the drinks, and in the process, accidentally doused B's clothes with alcohol. Shards of glass all over the carpet. No apologies whatsoever. * After that incident, they didn't automatically reseat us; when we asked to be reseated, the waiter glared at us as if our request was out of the question, then relented. * Most of the food is "meh". That's a pity because the menu reads well. At heart, it's overpriced Mexican food and there are much better elsewhere with a fraction of the preciousness. * We ordered dessert. After handing us dessert spoons, they also laid down the check in front of us even though dessert was on the bill but BEFORE we had gotten them. Confronted with this faux pas, staff justified that by saying he thought I had asked for the "receipt". Also, I ordered mint tea which I never received. They comped the desserts...small comfort. Stay away from here. You'll thank me later. Oh, you want to see pictures of the food. Ok... Left: apple-ginger mocktini with hisbiscus agua fresca.Right: Hisbiscus agua fresca. Dungeness crab tostada, celery root, habanero. Abalone tostadas, trout roe, purple daikon. These were "fine". They're basically corn chips with stuff on top. Sorry to sound harsh but you might say that the evening was already tainted. Camaronillas with bay shrimp and carnitas. Sopes playeros with black beans, crema and ricotta salata. If you like thick corn cakes with no flavor and almost flavorless beans, these fit the bill. Tamal with pork and achiote. Probably the best thing we ate all evening. The tamal was steamed inside a banana leaf. Opah salpicón with puntarella and cilantro, served with warm tortillas. Basically a do-it-yourself fish taco. Second best thing we ate tonight. Printing your dessert menu on dark blue paper is a great idea if you like your guests using pocket flashlights just to read them. Buñelo with apples and ricotta. My mom-in-law loved it. Flan de cajeta. Rich and intense. Perfect, actually. Blood orange sorbet.
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On my eternal quest to truly know tacos, I stopped in at La Fondita Michoacana a few blocks from my house in the Heights the other day and was not disappointed. Situated next door to Tortas El Angel (another place I need to explore), it ain't much to look at, but all of the middle-aged ladies working the kitchen and register were super friendly, even when my halting Spanish wasn't quite enough to meet their halting English. The standard taco fillings are represented, and served on freshly made flour or corn tortillas. The pastor and barbacoa were fantastic on flour, with a good red and green salsa available (I preferred the brighter verde). Enchiladas rojas were done well, with rather tossed-off sides of rice and refried beans. I'd put the tacos a few notches above Tacos A Go Go, a single notch above Chilosos (though I love Chilosos thick tortillas for breakfast) and on par with Unos Pinches. Tierra Caliente is probably still juuuuuuust a little better. That I can easily walk or bike to Fondita means I'll probably eat here more often than any of the others. -
Severna Park We were meeting friends who came in from Colorado near their parents house in Severna Park. We were having a big group dinner with friends and their little boys, so Mi Pueblo II was a good option, as it is very low key, affordable and casual. Lots of other kiddos there. There is a bar in the back, and it is pretty well stocked, but it isn't the type of place you go to sit at a bar, as it is pretty small just line of bar in the back of a gigantic box restaurant. You go for large heaping plates of rice and beans and various Tex-Mex with a few Mexican dishes sprinkled in. This place was packed at 5-7, but pretty much cleared out after that on a Sunday night, so definitely a family spot. The margaritas were good and they had a nice selection of tequilas, not a mix margarita. I got a special with a tamale, two taquitos, and some nachos with chicken, beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, guac and a sizable dollop of sour cream. This would have been a perfect super bowl meal. The tamal was a bit dry to me, but the filling was really good, and I just like my tamales a bit more moist than some styles. The taquitos were taquitos. The beans were more of a puree, but that was good with chips and guac and shredded chicken, and one of our younger companions really liked them. It was what you would expect for a suburban Mexican restaurant, but it was in no way bad if you go with that expectation. And they handled our huge table really well, with smiles and really positive, energetic service. It was our friend's birthday and they had roving mariachis singing happy birthday, the little boys were happy to wear the sombrero he definitely did not want to wear. They brought him out some ice cream coated with corn flakes and chocolate sauce, and I think the two pregnant women with us pretty much finished this off for him with no complaints. So for what we needed, a place to let us all sit around a big table, with kiddos, have some drinks, tell stories, etc, it was great for that and the food was fine for the purpose.
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A couple with local roots will open a taqueria at 7056 Carroll Ave., currently occupied by a Subway sandwich shop, in Takoma Park: Cielo Rojo Opening in 2019 -
Scenes from this weekend: Enchiladas con mole de pollo - sauce of chiles, chocolate, nuts, shredded chicken, tortillas, onion and queso fresco. Tacos de carnitas - two tacos of braised pork, orange, bay leaf, milk, cinnamon, beer, jalapeño, onion, cilantro and tomatillo salsa. Nopalito 306 Broderick Street (Oak Street) http://www.nopalitosf.com/
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Went to Californios this week for the fourth or fifth time, and it once again blew me away. The food is right up there with the best tasting menus in Mexico City, imo, maybe ranking just-under Pujol in my book. It would not surprise me at all to see this get a second star in the next couple years. Tickets are shockingly easy to come by for cooking of this caliber. Food+tax+service comes to $204/person (at least for the tickets I bought this time) but the wine list is really fun so you'll probably end up spending more. Thankfully, the ticketing system ensures that past-you pays for the food up-front and actually-eating-the-dinner-you only has to pay for booze. You should go. I didn't take photos but this person did: "Mexico + California - The Inventive, Engaging, Stunning Food at Californios [Review + Pics]" on foodtalkcentral.com 3115 22nd Street (22nd & South Van Ness) -
Could folks list restaurants (Middle Eastern, Greek, Mexican, Turkish) that stack their cones with real meat, instead of the processed stuff? I don't care if the meat is frozen; I just don't want it processed. I don't care if it's ground and mixed with spices; I just don't want fillers. I'm talking about something like this: as opposed to something like this:
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Houston is a taco-rich environment, and I had come to believe that at a certain level of goodness, all tacos kind of play at the same level, without stand-outs. I was wrong. The tacos at Tierra Caliente are the truth. These are the Platonic ideal of taco. They are the essence of taco-ness. I sampled 3: lengua, pastor, and barbacoa. Both the corn and flour tortillas are excellent, each spending a little time on the griddle before getting wrapped with the meat and a generous sprinkling of onion and cilantro. Both red and green salsa tasted fresh and bright, with a little bite, but not so spicy as to overwhelm the other ingredients. My only quibble was that the pastor veered a little on the sweet side for my tastes. (I prefer the version I had at Taqueria Tacambaro the next day up in the Heights.) Grab your tacos, head over the the Ice House and grab a beer or Topo Chico. If anyone else can think of a place that consistently tops (or even meets) what Tierra Caliente is putting out, I want to hear about it.
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A few years ago, Don helped me get in touch with Eric Ziebold, who in his vast culinary background once worked for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry. I was going to San Francisco and wanted to know where the chefs go to eat in their time off. La Taqueria was one of those places. I hit it again on my most recent visit this past week, and the beef head (cabeza) quesadilla was as good as it was when I first tried it a few years ago. The beefy flavor was intense and wonderful, beating the heck out of any ground meat that might find its way into a typical beef quesadilla. The line to get in is a testament to the place's reputation, and the lunch counter ordering and minimal seating have not dissuaded the multitudes from descending on some of the best fast-Mexican food in San Francisco.
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We were absolutely blown away by dinner tonight at Cuchara. A kind of last minute decision, with kids in tow, all we needed was a couple beers, a patio, and adequate food. What we got were aggressive, authentic micheladas, perfectly crafted, soulful Mexican dishes, and...a patio. We started with a trio of dishes to share (and the portion sizes really are ample enough for sharing): huitlacoche quesadillas, nopalitos, and tacos chero. The quesadillas resemble empanadas more than what I've become accustomed to, but were filled with delicious white cheese and huitlacoche. Drizzled with cream, these are served with a small side of a smoky and a bit more than medium spicy salsa. The nopalitos are served essentially as a salsa, the cactus paddles diced with tomato, onion, and cilantro, alongside a plate of crisp tortilla chips. The tacos cheer were my favorite of the starters, 3 crispy rolled tacos filled with mashed potato and topped with an eye-opening salsa verde and crumbled cheese. Addictive. The huachinango Veracruzano comes in a small cast iron skillet. A sweet plantain and amaranth cake is topped with red snapper in a rich tomato sauce with peppers (both fresh and pickled), olives, and onion. The perfect balance of all the flavors here reveals a kitchen that knows their game. Sweet met salty. Sour held hands with rich, and everyone played nicely without a cross word. Bravo. Finally, the mole verde won me over by avoiding the dullness I often find with the sauce. Many times, the pumpkin seeds round out any fun sharp edges of the sauce, but Cuchara's version had plenty of piquancy to compliment the tender cubes of pork tenderloin bathed in it. I love getting blindsided by a delicious meal, and Cuchara completely won me over tonight. We'll be back to explore more of the menu (and definitely to try the unique brunch offerings).
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After reading a short blurb in the Washing Post, we decided to try Mezcalero, the new Columbia heights Mexican restaurant. This one goes in the column of "easy to like, easy to be disappointed." We started with a round of very disappointing cocktails. For a place called Mezcalero, we had high hopes for the mezcal based cocktails on the list. Both were so sweet that we could barely get other flavors. Queso fundido was solid but undersalted. The chile relleno was quite good. We had many tacos including nopales (cactus paddles), mushrooms, salmon, and tilapia. The tacos were solid but also undersalted. Service was lackluster. For a neighborhood place, this is reasonably priced and has some authentic options. But it doesn't impress. And it's a very different experience from something like Espita. -
I ate dinner last weekend at Sin Fronteras. My Mother and her SO has been raving about the place, so I was glad to get to check it out. The parking lot of this place was packed, which has to be a good sign. My Mom really likes the Margarita Salmon. She told me to get the Chile En Nogoda which is- A toasty poblano pepper, filled with seasoned ground brisket beef combined with raisins and sweet plantains, topped with our delicious, homemade cold creamy Nogada Sauce served with white rice. It was delicious- it had a really good mix of flavors and was savory, but fresh. I thought the combination sounded a bit strange, but it was really good. Not a huge portion, but just right with the chips and salsa and everything else. My Mom got a seafood soup that I tried which was also delicious- it tasted like a latin version of a bouillabaisse. SO had the tilapia which was also very good from the bite I stole. The guac had more cilantro than I like, (but I don't like any cilantro) but was good. The margarita I had was more than acceptable in size. I loved this place, the interior is a bit like a sports bar/diner cross in feel, very casual. The owner was so nice and wanted to make sure we liked everything, which we did. They take a lot of pride in their restaurant and food. -
I was sure this had been talked about on this thread but apparently not. And if that's the case, the fault is mine, as I'm the person who spends the most time on here talking about taco options on or near the H Street corridor. This place opened up earlier this year in the former Grace Deli spot on the corner of 7th and H. Per Prince of Petworth, they've applied for licenses for both outdoor seating and to serve alcohol, both of which would be nice. In my opinion, right now these are the best tacos on H Street. The tortillas at Impala remain the best, but I much prefer the tacos, and really the rest of the offerings I've tried, at Fresca, although in fairness they are very different establishments (Impala is a full sit-down restaurant with a bar and patio while Fresca is a small, counter-service establishment with minimal seating). So far we've mostly stuck to tacos and tamales, and I need to work through the rest of the menu.- 1 reply
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