One's Country

While sipping cocktails at the preview for the Tequila & Mezcal festival, I realized that I have never done a full post on Oyamel, the Mexican bastion of Chef Jose Andres' restaurant collection. This struck me as odd - I go there often, and recommend it plenty. Their offerings for the 2011 festival are a delight - while tequila is Mexico's most emblematic spirit, mezcal is catching on (case in point: my father is aging it in his basement, one of many empty nest projects). The Tangelo (tequila with tangelo, fresno chiles, pineapple and lime) will take you through every sensation that will prime you for enjoying good tequila, and the Crusta Noble should be called a dessert: pineapple juice, vanilla syrup and cherries. If it wasn't for the alcohol it could pass as the fruitsicles of my childhood. The Chimayo brings all my favorites into a glass: tequila, piloncillo apple cider, cassis and lemon. I'll go back to try the Maximilian affair for the name alone. The festival also brings round some special bites, including a modern spin on ceviche a la Veracruzana: the traditional capers and olives are there, but they come with olive air. My favorite was the Huarache de Pato, a small masa cake topped with shredded duck confit.

The editorial line for this blog is simple: we enjoy sharing experiences we enjoyed, and don't bother with those we didn't. Mexican gastronomy in DC is not widely represented in DC (Lauriol Plaza and Rosa Mexicano are better bars than restaurants, Alero is at best mediocre, if you have pupusas on the Menu you are Salvadorean, and District Taco should come around to the District Proper). I've had many good meals at Oyamel, the service has always been courteous, and the atmosphere energetic. It is the sort of place we love to write about.

Perhaps the reason is because Oyamel affects me in a way most restaurants do not - a sensation that Mexican columnist Denisse Dresser once described, "Those who have lived abroad for years know how it feels to walk around with a tight chest. What it is to walk along the steps of small nostalgias and big memories. What it is to miss the smell and the taste and the noise and the light."The dining space, decked out in commissioned folk art, features an imposing Monarch butterfly mobile (Oyamel firs give the Monarchs their home on the long trek between Canada, the US and Mexico) and the bar is festooned with a canopy of cempazutchil flowers. But what always gets me is what the kitchen does - they interpret a long and storied culinary tradition and make it their own with the outmost care and respect for the food and the way it is meant to be eaten. And while no menu can ever be perfect, the kitchen always finds a way to shine a light and have me come back often, hungry for more.


Oyamel Cocina Mexicana
401 7th Street Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20004
(202) 628-1005
www.oyamel.com

Round Up

Seems like fall snuck up on us. A few things we are pondering for the days ahead, courtesy of our Twitter Timeline.

1. We really wanna check out Yards Park.

2. Saturday brunch is the perfect time to try out the Bacon Dishes recommended by Lauren at City Search DC that we haven't had the pleasure to eat.

3. Even though we prefer our produce seasonally segregated, few things beat a morning at the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market.

4. Maria bleeds HOYA Blue. We were featured in The Guide.

5. Next Wednesday we are going to party like we are 200. Cinco de Mayo will have nothing on Mexican Independence Day, the drinking holiday of the food-obsessed.

Winging It

B. and I were walking down Wilson Boulevard trying to figure out where to have dinner. Since the weather was nice, we wanted to sit outside, which gave us several options around the Clarendon metro. We had talked about getting Chicken wings but Hard Times Cafe didn't get us too excited. B. pointed out Mexicali Blues and it seemed like there was much merriment, so we went inside. I perused the menu and verified that they had Pupusas on the menu (my rule of thumb for Mexican restaurants is that they should not call themselves that if they feature pupusas) - but the atmosphere was fun, the wait for a table reasonable, and the menu clearly listed pupusas as a Salvadorean specialty.

I went to get us a round of drinks and verified that the Pan-Latinamericanism of the place extended to the cocktail list, as it had several kinds of Mojitos (Cuban!). I decided to check my gastronomic geopolitics at the door and ordered a mojito for B. and a pomegranate margarita for myself. Pomegranate, more often identified with Persian food, is widely used in several Mexican dishes, including Chiles en Nogada. To my dismay the bartender spoke no Spanish, but I heard plenty of it coming from the kitchen. Though the mojito was nothing special - Rumba Cafe in Adams Morgan serves my favorite one - the Margarita was very good, refreshing but with a kick.

While we waited for our table perched on stools by a picture window I kept scoping dishes to figure out what would pass muster. Anything I saw with yellow cheese I dismissed. Mexicali is the capital of Baja California and Baja cooking is very bright, clean and tasty. B. and I decided to get fish tacos, Baja style (capeados, a form of battered flash frying for the fish, topped with pickled cabbage and a spicy guacamole served on a corn tortilla). For a starter, I was happy to see that the menu did have Chicken Wings, at least for the night, a special called Gloria's Smokey Alitas. The tacos were good, a bit on the greasier side for the fish, but with a great crunch thanks to the cabbage and in need of absolutely no seasoning. The chicken wings were spectacular - I am sorry not to see them on the regular menu. The wings were marinated in a tomatillo sauce (small green tomatoes mixed with green chiles and onions) and an ancho chile, which gave them an incredible smoke. They came with a jalapeno sour cream - I couldn't taste any jalapeno but was thrilled to see cilantro and onions, chopped and diced, mixed into the cream. This is the traditional fresh garnish of most street tacos and for me a surefire sign that it's namesake was either a Mexican woman or a rather inspired muse. I've never had wings like that - a depth of flavor and texture, cold upon almost scalding, smokey on fresh, a truly great and complex starter that hit the spot and even made me a bit homesick.

2933 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia
703.812.9352
www.mexicali-blues.com

Home is where the heart (and the plate) is

Mexico is a place of great culinary diversity, and many apparently simple dishes have complex recepies and require ingredients that even the best Whole Foods or Korean Market will rarely have in stock.

For those of you who want to try something close to the real thing (restaurant with pupusas - lovely, but Salvadorean - not included), the following are Mexican restaurants frequented by the expat Mexican community in DC.

1. Rosa Mexicano (Penn Quarter)
Known for: Margaritas, fresh Guacamole, packed bar, pink interior
Must try: Ice cream selection, queso fundido, mole

www.rosamexicano.com

2. Taqueria Distrito Federal (Columbia Heights)
Known for: Tacos de Chicharron en Salsa Verde, Tacos Al Pastor, Shrine to las Aguilas del America Soccer Team
Must try: Tostadas de Pollo

Corner of 14th street and Oak Street, NW, Cash only.

3. Guajillo (Rosslyn)
Known for: Cowhide chairs, selection of Mexican beers, fresh salsa
Must Try: Antojitos

1772 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA

4. Casa Oaxaca (Adams Morgan)
Known for: Moles, owned by the same people as Guajillo
Must Try: Tres Moles, Tacos de Vegetales

www.oaxacaindc.com

5. Oyamel (Penn Quarter)
Known for: Ceviche, Aguas Frescas, Expensive Tacos, Butterfly mobile
Must Try: Mole Chocolate Cake, Tacos de Cochinita Pibil

www.oyamel.com

6. Taqueria Nacionale (Capitol Hill)
Known for: Being owned by Ann Cashion, Importing Mexican Coke (flavored with real sugar), Misspelling "Nacional"
Must Try: Breakfast tacos, fish tacos

400 N Capitol St. NW, Washington, DC