Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide

La Sandia, web site, Tysons Corner Center, Level 1, McLean, VA, by Barnes and Noble at the end opposite Bloomingdales (in blue on mall map), 703-893-2222

The new Rick Sandoval place, it opened in May of 2008. I went during the first week and thought it was clearly the best Mexican place around. Sandoval places don’t stay great for long, so now is the time to go.

It’s traditional Mexican rather than fusion but genuine and with high quality ingredients. The tortillas are excellent as is the guacamole and the queso fundido; make sure you use the sauce on the latter, and in a tortilla. I liked the chile relleno, the skirt steak tacos, and especially the carnitas. The chicken tamale was disappointing. The prices are entirely reasonable and in fact cheaper than the other restaurants in that lower level Tysons area. The existence of this place makes me very happy. Beware the crowds, however, at peak times it is very hard to get in here and they don't take traditional reservations.

Mexican

How can I get good Mexican food around here? That is perhaps the most common query I receive. It is getting better just about every month. We are not yet Houston, LA, or Chicago, but your best options are listed in the "Mexican" catgeory.

Also see

• "Non-Chain Burritos," by Emily Heil, The Washington Post, February 5, 2006
  
• "Little Mexico Heats Up: Lively Restaurants, Chili-Packed Markets, Busy Bakeries and Taco Trucks Have Changed The Flavor of Riverdale," by Walter Nicholls, The Washington Post, August 4, 2004
  
• "Tortas, Bolillos, Dried Chilis and More: Go There," The Washington Post, August 4, 2004
  
• Taco Trucks
  
  • Arlington: A reader suggests checking out the taco trucks parked on South 28th Street, around the Gunston Community Center in south Arlington, where a lot of soccer is played on two soccer fields, one an artificial turf field.
    
    
    
    chicken and beef tacos from the green taco truck
    
    
    
    
    beef and chicken tacos from the silver taco truck
    
    
    

  • "Taco Truck," Baltimore City Paper, December 17, 2003
    
  • Denver Taco Trucks
    
  • Oakland taco trucks
    
  • Seattle taco trucks
    
  
  

Los Amigos, 1905 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA, 703-549-7008. Opens for dinner at 6:00 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Yelp]

Not as popular as it once was, time is passing it by. The Chile Rellenos are OK, but I don’t go here any more.

Picante! The Real Taco, web site, 14511-B Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Chantilly Park Shopping Center, Chantilly, VA, 703-263-9533 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp]

Mom and pop Mexican, in Chantilly. This was once pretty good, now it is just ordinary.

Taco Baja Grill, 6136 Arlington Blvd., Willston Center, Falls Church, VA, 703-534-5434 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper | Yelp | Gayot]

Occasionally they reheat bad food so beware. Good atmosphere, though the possibility of leering men cannot be dismissed and indeed is to be expected. Overall it has been eclipsed by the competition.

Tacos Pepito's Bakery, web site (Gaithersburg, MD location), 1762 Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC, 202-232-7121, Adams-Morgan (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo (DC) | The Burrito Blog | WaPo (Gaithersburg) | Yelp]

Also at 107-B East Diamond Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD, 301-990-1541

Recommended on Chowhounds, I have yet to go.

El Charrito Caminante, 2710-A North Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-351-1177, between Pershing Drive on the north and the 7-11 on the south, on the west side of Washington Blvd. (the right side as you're leaving Arlington toward I-395) (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Yelp]

Looks, smells, and feels like a real taqueria. The goat tacos are first-rate, probably the best Mexican dish you can get in Virginia, at least outside of Oyamel. Next in line are the loroco pupusas, but many of the dishes here are no better than ordinary, noting that “ordinary” ain’t so bad. N.B.: there are four high stools and a small amount of counter space, this place is mostly take-out. I also get the passion fruit juice to drink.

El Charrito Caminante

El Charrito Caminante Goat Taco

Chicken Burrito

Beef Burrito

Pancho Villa, web site, 910 S. Main Street, Culpeper, VA, 540-825-5268, branches also in Stafford and Fredericksburg. [The Free Lance-Star | openlist]

That’s right *Culpeper*. Many of the dishes here are only so-so, but they have the best chile rellenos in the area. Get two of those.

"Pancho Villa finds success locally," by Kennifer Buske, Inside NOVA.com, August 9, 2005

Samantha’s, 631 East University Boulevard, Silver Spring, MD, 301-445-7300 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Silver Chips Online | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

Gives every sign of being a yummy, upscale version of a mom and pop restaurant. There is only one catch: the food is bland and uninteresting. Nor is it cheap, as Mexican food goes. A disappointment. A bit Pan-Latin, but not in any way to its advantage.

El Boqueron Restaurant, 2311 Price Avenue, Wheaton, MD, 301-933-4900 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper]

Another Mexican/El Salvadorean place. I haven’t eaten here, but it looks decent.

Chipotle, web site, numerous area locations. [Washingtonian | WaPo | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

OK, let’s get the bad news out of the way up front. This is a chain. Even worse, it is a chain owned by McDonald’s corporation, the fount of culinary evil. That being said, it is pretty good. Fresh and relatively authentic Mexican food, you tell them how to put together your meal. The salsa is genuinely spicy. The carnitas are the best meat. Not much choice, but you don’t need it. I’d rather eat here than almost any other Mexican place on this list.

Matamoros, 2322 University Boulevard West, Wheaton, MD, 301-949-2929 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper | Yelp]

Mexican food by non-Mexican Latins. Above average for the area, but no great shakes overall.

Toritos, 4936 Fairmont Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 301-654-6007 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [openlist | Yelp]

An object lesson in everything that is wrong about Mexican food in the United States.

Rosa Mexicano, web site (music), 575 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-783-5522, a small chain (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

I went once, and was not impressed. It is better than your local chicken fajitas, but much more expensive. It doesn’t come close to what comes out of my own kitchen. The interior is nice, though, and some people will come here for the location and the singles scene. The real eater should head to Kenilworth Avenue (Riverdale/Hyattsville, MD).

Andale, web site, 401 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-783-3133 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

NOW CLOSED

Guajillo, web site, 1727 N. Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-807-0840, near Rosslyn, by the Citgo, in the strip mall, 703-807-0840, usually open. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

It has received consistently good reviews. If you don’t know the real thing, you will be pretty happy here. If you do know the real thing, you will know they are at least making a valiant effort. A quasi-yuppie Mexican place, not a hole in the wall, the mole is probably their best dish. The sauce is excellent though the chicken ends up a bit dry. Check out the amates on the wall.

Tia Queta, 4839 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 301-654-4443 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Yelp]

I am told they have moles and real Mexican food, I am skeptical but will go to find out.

Los Tios Grill, web site, 2615 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA, 703-299-9290, just down Mount Vernon Avenue, from Taqueria Poblano, across from the Del Ray Artisans. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper | Don Rockwell]

A credible-sounding reader says this is very good. It is run by Salvadoreans, but I would not rule out a visit on that basis. That is what culinary globalization is all about, no?

La Flor de Puebla Bakery V, 6300 Kenilworth Avenue, Riverdale, MD, 301-699-8657 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo (scroll down under Bakeries)]

A real Mexican bakery, lovely stuff. I don’t usually cover bakeries, but they also sell chile tamales for a dollar a piece. Worth it every time, stop in if you are in the neighborhood.

Taqueria Tres Reyes, 5403 Kenilworth Avenue, Riverdale, MD, 301-779-6060 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell (also see this) | openlist]

On weekends they open at eight in the morning, as a good Mexican place should. Fully authentic, the shrimp soup is wonderful. Huaraches are tasty too. Superb for atmosphere and people watching, even when the jukebox is a bit too loud. Recommended.

Mixtec, 1792 Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC, 202-332-1011 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

An old Washington standby, but still reliable. Fairly genuine Tex-Mex food in crowded surroundings. At least yummy. Nor is it evil, unlike Lauriol Plaza.

Lauriol Plaza, web site, 1835 18th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-387-0035, closed Mondays. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Economist | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

Formerly they provided good Mexican and Spanish dishes in Adams-Morgan, but now they are execrable. And expensive. A hangout, and a huge one at that, no longer a restaurant. Not to mention the interminable waits to be seated.

Blanca's, 418 S. Washington Street, Falls Church, VA, Rt. 29, 703-538-2466 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Falls Church News-Press | City Paper | Yelp]

Actually an El Salvadorean restaurant, but they also have excellent Mexican food, the best in the area outside of the old Cielito Lindo in Bladensburg. Get the bean burrito. Don't go when you are in a hurry, however. Any of the non-Mexican Latin places that try to make quasi-Mexican food will beat the pathetic American attempts at Mexican food found in this area.

Teocalli Tamale, 336 Elden Street, Herndon, VA, 703-904-9336 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp]

A small place in Herndon where you order at the counter. Vies with the Bladensburg places for the best Mexican food around. Derived from a parent restaurant in Colorado. You construct your own meal, much like Chipotle, but better. Fish tacos, fresh ingredients, real sauces. Not perfect, but right now it is utopian to hope for more. Try it, if you can. Don’t expect a real sit-down meal, though, it is not that kind of place. Ideal for snacking.

La Sirenita, 4911 Edmonston Road, Hyattsville, MD, 301-864-0188, just a bit off Kenilworth Avenue (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp ]

The best chile relleno around, and also the best beans. Excellent posole. I have yet to try the fried quail. The waitress recommends the “stripe soup.” They get an A+ for atmosphere, recommended.

Taqueria El Michoacan, 7422 Old Centreville Road, Manassas, VA, 703-361-6688, open for breakfast too (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo (scroll down)]

This is real Mexican food served for Mexicans. Use the side condiments. Get the pozole (pork soup) on weekends. Very good barbacoa. No, this is not as good as first-rate tacquerias from out west. But there has been a rapid proliferation of real Mexican food in our area, and places like this are raising the bar. The hostess/owner also assures me it will get better. Oddly, they have inherited the barbecue pit from the now-defunct Ben’s; they are thinking about how they might best use it.

El Mariachi, web site, 765C Rockville Pike, by Wootton Parkway, Rockville, MD, 301-738-7177 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

Many (not all) people love this place, and it is usually crowded. I have yet to go.

Costa Alegre Restaurant, 5815 A Greenbelt Road, College Park, MD, 301-474-2278, near Branchville (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Restaurant.com]

I ate here with Jane Galt, who also liked it. Excellent tacos, and get the barbacoa and the beef cheeks, it is a good sign that they serve it. The guacamole was only average but I liked the place, very friendly and good atmosphere.

Taco Rico, 4811 Edmonston Road, Hyattsville, MD, 301-779-8001 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell (scroll down)]

Tacos for $2.00 a piece, including tongue and cheef, cueritos and carnitas. Huaraches of many different kinds. I have yet to eat here, but I can’t wait. In a friendly Mexican neighborhood.

Taco Jalisco, 8645 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA, 703-360-1253, Rt. 1, near Fort Belvoir. A reader recommends this as a good hole-in-the-wall place. I have yet to go. I believe there are other worthwhile places nearby.

Also recommended to me are

• El Charro, 2893 Dale Blvd., Dale City, VA, 703-680-0484
  
• La Jaibita, 8059 Centreville Road, Manassas, VA, 703-330-0577
  
• El Puerto, 7230 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA, 703-768-7340

Caveat emptor, but do let me know what you think, I bet at least one of them is good.

Taqueria Poblano, web site, 2400-B Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA, 703-548-8226, closed Tuesdays. Plus a branch at 2503A N. Harrison Street, Arlington, VA, 703-237-8250, right off of Rt. 29 by the Harris Teeter, this branch open every day but closed 3-5 weekdays. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Falls Church News-Press | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp]

Taquerias have some of the best Mexican food in Houston, parts of L.A., or the southwestern side of Chicago. This place was quite good when it opened but now it is in decline. It is too commercial and the branch is content to serve reheated, not totally freshly cooked food. It is not moving in a promising direction.

Oyamel, web site, 2250 Crystal Drive, Crystal City, Arlington, VA, 703-413-2288, closed Monday, plus they don’t always take reservations (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

Update: The Crystal City location has closed, and the place is moving downtown, to where Andale used to be, near the Verizon Center, on 401 7th St., new phone is (202) 628-1005.

The best Mexican we have, without a doubt. Don’t compare this to your favorite TexMex in Houston but rather to a fancy nouveau place in Mexico City (which is where the chef hails from). The décor is beautiful, and reminiscent of the Camino Real Hotel in Polanco. The word on the new locale is that the place is much smaller but has maintained its standards. I've yet to go back there, but am looking forward to it..

Just about everything is remarkably authentic, they even fight the regulators to get Mexican cheeses across the border, albeit pasteurized ones.

You should get: the seared scallops, cochinita pibil tacos (barbecued, slowly simmered pork), Chile Poblano Relleno, black rice with cuitlacoche (corn fungus, that word is Nahuatl for “shit of the gods,” which is apt). I was very impressed by this place. It is by the folks who brought you Jaleo and Zaytinya and Café Atlantico, but of these Oyamel takes the greatest care to give you the real thing.

El Tapatio, 4309 Kenilworth Avenue, Bladensburg, MD, 301-403-8882, open 10 to 10 every day, don’t you love those hours? (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]

This is a real Mexican place, treasure the thought. In LA or Houston this restaurant would be only average, but that is still great in absolute terms. Get the goat (“birria del chivo”). The best chile relleno around. Very good tacos. A lifesaver, the first Mexican place I can recommend, despite its inconvenient location. It’s right where the old “Cielito Lindo” used to be.

Zengo DC, web site, 781 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-393-2929 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell]

Richard Sandoval and Placido Domingo own this place. Modern Mexican mixed in with Pan-Asian, one of the best places in town. The look is very stylish, and reminds the visitor of Manhattan or Mexico City. A hip crowd. The hamachi is superb, also get the empanadas; don’t say “I don’t like empanadas, they are dull, crusty things.” Swallow each arepa in a single bite. Not cheap, but for what you get it is reasonably priced.