DC Corazon

[saf]

So, we tried a new, recently opened, place for takeout on Friday, DC Corazon. (3903 14th Street NW, just south of Little Coco's) As usual, 4 of us spread across 3 houses ordered dinner for pickup at the same time. I was pickup/dropoff person. Then dinner over zoom.

This place is only a few blocks from our house, so will be convenient when dining in is something we do again. The interior decor was really lovely and the bar looked like a nice place to sit. The liquor selection looked good, and the drink list looked interesting. I did not look through the beer or wine menu.

I had a chicken tinga hurache, he had salmon. We also had tres leches cake and mezcal infused flan. Salads and frozen margaritas made at home. Also, my guacamole made at home, as ever, because of cilantro proliferation. One friend had assorted street tacos with a nacho appetizer. The other had enchiladas mole.

The good - the food was tasty. I especially appreciated that my huarache was not buried in cactus. I like cactus, but I don't want it to overwhelm as it can in other places. The prices were good. The food was ready on time. The staff were lovely.

The bad - Nothing really BAD. But nothing outstanding. And my standard problem, too much cilantro. You know, cilantro does not have to go in every Mexican dish. Just once, I want to find an east coast Mexican restaurant that doesn't drown everything (especially guacamole!) in cilantro.  Had I not developed my taste for Mexican food in LA, where this was not a thing, I would not be so obsessed with Mexican food. (It is a favorite cuisine. One of the best meals I have ever eaten was the year I had my birthday dinner at Topolobampo. Even my very dubious husband, who likes Mexican food but isn't as obsessed as I am but bought me dinner there anyhow, agrees that it was simply amazing. Anyhow... Oh, and they managed to serve my dinner with no cilantro involved!) Yes, they left it off my main, as requested. But it wasn't possible to get it left out of the guacamole. And our friend who does not mind cilantro, said that his nachos were so swamped with it that even he found it unappetizing. (I am the only one in the group with a cilantro issue.)

The general consensus - We will be sticking with Mezcalero and Habenero for our regular Mexican takeout ordering, and probably when we return to dining out. The menus at both of those are more varied, and the food quality seems slightly higher. Now, the service at both of those, while pleasant, is far more disorganized. That's OK. They are nice, and that goes a long way. And the food more than makes up for it.(Now if I could only get them to offer a few more things without cilantro. Also to actually have the desserts in stock!)

It's very popular with the folks on the neighborhood list serve, and there was one table on the patio last night (in that windy cold!) and 2 inside.