Insatiable • Celeste McCall

Insatiable

by Celeste McCall

As winter tightens its icy grip, we’ve been exploring new and old neighborhood restaurants. In La Cosecha, the Latino market at 1280 Fourth St. NE, Las Gemelas Cocina Mexicana has expanded into a handsome restaurant with a new moniker: Destino. (Across the way, sister eatery Taqueria Las Gemelas continues its fast-casual service.)

This is serious cooking. Executive chef Robert Aikers’ menu showcases “modern Mexican” cuisine, inspired by favorite south-of-the border destinations. Guacamole is updated with spiced pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and flecked with queso blanco (mild white cheese). Even more innovative is wonderfully smoky salsa caju (ground up smoked cashews enlivened with chipotles). Dips arrive with blue tortilla chips.

A tummy-warming bowl of sopa tortilla ‒ a traditional Mexican soup ‒ is replete with shreds of pork, velvety avocado chunks and blue corn tortillas. A meal in itself. A vegetarian quesadilla is packed with Brussels sprouts, kale, cheese and salsa negra. A scattering of hazelnuts provides crunch. Among entrees, torta con jamon is basically a ham and (Mexican) cheese sandwich, spiked with pickled jalapenos. Heartier main dishes are the heads-on prawns, blue corn tamales and pork belly with mole verde. Cocktails? Besides deceptively simple margaritas (one with mezcal), Destino’s bar team concocts a comforting hot buttered rum with passion fruit, a rose daiquiri with Mexican-style rum and a Paloma made with tequila, grapefruit and five-spice syrup. There’s also a largely Hispanic wine and beer selection. The booze-free Jamaica is a delicious mixture of lime and hibiscus tea, attractively served in a tall glass.

For hours and more information, visit www. destinodc.com. Something Old (and New) This comes from husband Peter, who was driving home after a doctor’s appointment:

In Bloomingdale, I stumbled upon a delightful Asian gem at 1831 First St. NW, a few doors away from the Red Hen. The cozy, eight-year-old Aroi Thai and Sushi Bar seats only about 25 diners but offers several dozen Japanese and Siamese dishes listed on an extensive menu. I ordered miso soup ($3) and sumptuous pad thai with six large shrimp ($11.25) washed down with Thai iced tea ($3). Since I was driving, I decided to forego the warm sake from the full bar. My total bill was less than $20. I was not the only diner impressed with the delicious food. One neighborhood family claims to eat there regularly ‒ In Latino market La Cosecha, the renamed Destino serves innovative “modern Mexican” cuisine. except on Mondays, when Aroi is closed. Menu favorites include several kinds of sushi and sashimi, papaya salad, fried rice, cashew chicken, crispy flounder with choice of sauce, spicy eggplant, vegetarian pad thai and drunken noodles. Prompt and pleasant service complements the clean and attractive dining/bar area. Aroi also offers take-out. For hours and more information, check the website: www.aroithaidc.com. Destino’s guacamole is enlivened Nearby, also in Bloomingdale, Side Door has with spiced pepitas and queso blanco, opened downstairs from The Pub & The People escorted by blue tortilla chips. at 1648 North Capitol St. NW. The new retro bar seats 25 guests, who perch on vintage bar stools and chill out over barrel-aged cocktails and a vinyl soundtrack. Check out the pay phone by the tiny bar. For now, hours are limited. For more information, visit www.thepubandthepeople.com. Logan Lowdown In Logan Circle, Dolce Vita has arrived at 1610 14th St. NW, in the spot formerly occupied by Ghibellina. The newcomer is a destination for coastal Mediterranean dishes like luxe Iberico ham, beef souvlaki, chicken tagine, orzo risotto and minty spritzes. The show-stopping new look and fusion

menu that features flavors from four countries (Italy, Greece, Morocco and Spain) is local restaurateur Med Lahlou’s sixth and most ambitious project to date. While his nearby Lupo Verde and Lupo Pizzeria are mainly Italian, Dolce Vita’s menu casts a much wider net across the Mediterranean. For hours and more information, visit www.dolcevitadc.com.

Taco Talk

Nationwide Latino restaurant chain Bartaco has opened at 1025 Fifth St. NW, in Mount Vernon Triangle. Inspired by coastal cuisine in Southern California, Brazil, Uruguay and elsewhere, Bartaco slid into the former Bus Boys & Poets location. (BB&P moved up the street in 2018.) Bartaco’s tacos are stuffed with Argentine chorizo, sesame soy ribeye, and chile lime shrimp and mojo pork carnitas. Also on the menu: guacamole, gazpacho, fried plantains and duck birria. Plus jazzy cocktails. For more information, visit www.bartaco.com.

If You Love Sushi

Takara 14, 1326 14th St. NW (upstairs), a color-soaked spot for sushi and lychee sake, recently opened above Ammathar Thai Cuisine. Pastel-hued stairs lead to the blossom-filled dining room, where Nakazawa alum John Yi prepares house rolls like the Opal (blue fin tuna, salmon, yellowtail, pickled radish enveloped in sesame soy) and small plates like mushrooms sauteed in sake butter. Omakase options include nigiri and sashimi. A $30 wagyu roll is seasoned with sesame truffle salt. Lunch and happy hour bento boxes are filled with bonito flake-filled Brussels sprouts. A spacious two-level bar is festooned with lights, chandeliers and rainbow-hued chairs. Visit www.takara14dc.com for details.

In Bloomingdale, Aroi Thai serves inexpensive Thai and Japanese dishes including sushi.

Family Matters

Family Ethiopian Restaurant, at 1414 Ninth St. NW, is among the latest Ethiopian establishments to arrive in the metropolitan area. Our region hosts the nation’s largest Ethiopian community. Chef/owner Seferash Yegezaw serves such Ethiopian staples as lamb tibs and doro wot, which is spicy chicken, lamb or fish marinated in mitmita (incendiary chili peppers). All entrees are served atop the injera, the signature fermented pancake-like bread which diners use to scoop up food with their fingers.

Seferash Yegezaw moved to St. Louis from Ethiopia when she was 18 and arrived in Washington two years ago with her daughter. She came up with the restaurant idea with her two brothers, Solomon and Moges. The latter died in 2018. “I opened the restaurant in [Moges’s] memory,” she told Eater DC. For Family’s hours and more information, visit www.familyethiopianrestaurant.com.

We’re Back!!

Kiki, an LGBTQ-friendly establishment at 915-917 U St. NW, will soon open, where Velvet Lounge and Dodge City used to be. Come spring, the new hotspot will also unveil a beer garden out back and four separate bars. The new lounge, complete with dance floors, weekly drag shows and a sports themed bar with margaritas on tap, comes from Keaton Fedak, the former general manager at nearby gay restaurant/bar Dirty Goose. For Kiki updates, visit www. dcwannahaveakiki.com.

Winter Restaurant Week

Coming up, Jan. 17-23: the 2022 Winter Restaurant Week. Sponsored by Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), the promotion will highlight special deals throughout the region. Diners will ward off winter’s chill with $40 or $55 multi-course dinners, as well as $25-per-person-multi-course brunches and lunches. As many as 250 restaurants are expected to participate, and off-premises dining will also be available. For more information and an up-to-date list of participating restaurants, visit www. ramw.org. u