Mention lunch from a truck and many people think of the many hot dog stands and trucks around D.C. that have questionable sanitation and much more questionable food. The idea of paying $10, $15, or even $20 for a meal from a truck seems crazy. Standing in line for significant amounts of time sounds even more ridiculous. Should a sane person ever pay that much for lunch from a truck? Simply put: yes (but only on rare occasions…). Some of the best lunch time meals can be bought at food trucks around D.C. and are worth the investment of time and money. Let’s examine our two favorites: Jose Andres’ Pepe and Red Hook Lobster Pound. Continue reading
Archive | March, 2012
Chinito’s Burritos: Asian Influenced Tex-Mex
26 Mar
Exterior of Chinito’s Burritos
Asian influenced burritos with fried rice sounds weird. So do Mexican egg rolls. But if you are scared away simply because it sounds unusual, you will really miss out on what first time owner Jin Chong has to offer at the new Chinito’s Burritos (635 Florida Avenue, NE). While eclectic, the food at Chinito’s Burritos is exciting and a nice change from the more typical tex-mex offered by so many restaurants and chains (and quite tasty too).
Chinito’s Burritos takes the typical burrito and puts an Asian spin on it. You fill out what you want on a card (the restaurant is welcoming to its neighbors at Gallaudet University), choosing from either a burrito, tacos, or a box. The burritos start at a very reasonable $3 base and then go up as you add more ingredients (but still stay reasonably priced as you add ingredients). The restaurant always has three types of salsa and guacamole for you to add as well as grilled vegetables, beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. Be sure to add the rice to your burrito; it is the delicious fried rice that adds the Asian flavor to the meal. The meats you can add to your meal vary by day–some include carne asada, ground beef, chicken, and shrimp. Chinito’s Burritos also has several side items from the typical chips and salsa to the more adventurous Mexican egg rolls. The Mexican egg rolls are deep fried and look like a typical egg roll, but when you bite into them they explode with cheese, pieces of tenderly cooked chicken and corn all with a strong tex-mex spicy flavor. Continue reading
Washington Post’s Sietsema Really Likes Boundary Road
14 MarBoundary Road, the newest addition to H Street, continues to make news this week (President Obama visited the practically brand new restaurant last week). The Washington Post‘s Tom Sietsema wrote a very positive review of Boundary Road for this week’s “First Bite” column. Sietsema loves the atmosphere and the food:
So the chef and his team are slicing potatoes by hand for their french fries, which they double-fry in peanut oil and send out with a gentle curry dip. Their minestrone shows off a perfect dice of vegetables, pleasantly crisp, and it avoids the blahs with garlic, vinegar and Parmesan in its seasoning. An entree of ropy hanger steak takes my tongue on a ride, thanks to the spicy kale and choron sauce sharing the plate. The most comforting dish on the menu may be pierogi. Walker got the idea from his mother-in-law in Pennsylvania, lightening her tradition by using quark (curd cheese) instead of sour cream inside the boiled dumplings, which are served over heat-softened onions and are easy to polish off.
We’ve only gone to Boundary Road for drinks so far, but we hope to go very soon (if we can still get in!).
District Cuisine 