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Sol Mexican Grill, Taqueria in the H Street Corridor


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Since we're talking about long-awaited H Street restaurants, it seems that Sol Mexican Grill will be the first of the many Mexican or Mexican-ish spots to open (Impala, Chupacabra, Sol, Far East Taco), as according to this they'll be opening this weekend. I've been to the food truck, which was decent, but interested to see how the brick and mortar does.

http://districtcuisine.com/2013/03/31/sol-mexican-grill-opening-next-weekend/

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The food truck is one of my standby options and very good value (the $7 chicken bowl with lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa roja, salsa verde, jalapenos, please), but like DCDuck I'm not sure how well I see it translating into a brick and mortar destination. I guess since I never make it out to H Street anyway, the point is moot for me. :)

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Even after telling others that Sol was opening, I'd completely forgotten about its existence when I stumbled across it last night when considering dinner options. A couple of notes. One, they're not fully open. The upstairs area, which serves a much more extensive menu than downstairs, won't open for another couple of weeks, until after they secure their liquor license. Related, they don't currently serve booze downstairs. The downstairs menu seems to basically have two parts. One menu, which resides on a big board right above where you order, is essentially their version of the Chipotle menu. You pick your meat (barbacoa, chicken, carnitas, etc), you pick your delivery vehicle (burrito, tacos, bowl), and you then instruct the server on what toppings and such you want. There's a second menu, however, on the opposite wall featuring "Authentic Mexican Tacos" which have Chorizo, ground beef, lengua, Al Pastor, and fish taco options, We went with two each of the chorizo, lengua and al pastor.

In a word, solid. The standouts were the al pastor and the chorizo. The meats were nice and flavorful, the toppings were fresh (and traditional, radish, cilantro, onion). The tortillas were ok, not great, which was the biggest failing in my opinion. The lengua was oddly flavorless, and had an odd texture to it, which was unfortunate since this is typically my favorite taco. Prices are between $2.50 and $3 per taco. While not great, they're at least decent to good, and given my love for tacos and the current lack of decent options near my house I'll definitely be back.

The two menus are handled very differently. If you order off of the Chipotle-style menu your meat and toppings are loaded in out of the plastic bins in front of you while you watch. If you order off of the Authentic Taco menu your tortillas are griddled, your meat is also tossed onto the griddle, and they are topped according to the specific taco you ordered.

Anyhow, this is probably far too many words on a neighborhood taco joint that nobody should travel across the city to eat at, but I did want to report on my first impression of the place. I'm interested to try their larger Mexican menu once the upstairs is open.

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Anyhow, this is probably far too many words on a neighborhood taco joint that nobody should travel across the city to eat at, but I did want to report on my first impression of the place. I'm interested to try their larger Mexican menu once the upstairs is open.

Mark, what you wrote here is beautiful. If only everyone would take the time and diligence to be so thorough (me included). Thank you!

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