See Mother’s Day Special, Pages 12 and

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LOCAL

APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2022 | PAGE 13

Spend Quality Time With Your Mom

Continued from Page 12

7. Get mani/pedis

Spend a relaxing day and treat yourselves to manicures and pedicures at your favorite nail salon to kick off sandal season and the spring weather. Nothing In Between Studio offers non-toxic nail services, free from harmful ingredients such as DBP, formaldehyde and toluene. Their Falls Church location offers manicures and pedicures and their Tyson’s location offers massages in addition to nail services.

8. Visit the Farmer’s Market

The Falls Church Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the perfect place to pick up a last minute gift or some ingredients to cook a Mother’s Day meal! There are also plenty of other local farmers markets if you can’t attend this one. Mosaic District has markets on Thursdays and Sundays.

9. Take a camping trip

Whether you pitch a tent in your backyard or rent a camper and travel, camping is a great way to get out of the house and off of your phones to spend time connecting with each other and nature. Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park camps are great for families with small children as they offer lots of recreational activities with locations in Virginia and Maryland. For something closer, try Lake Fairfax Park Campground or Prince William Forest Campground. You can also add the hikes mentioned above to your camping itinerary.

10. See a theater performance

The Northern Virginia area is lucky to have many incredible theaters nearby, including many right here in the Little City! NOVA Nightsky will be putting on “Proof” on May 6th and 7th and Creative Cauldron will be performing “Into the Woods” beginning Thursday, May 5th. Not only is this a great way to get out of the house and see a performance, but also a great opportunity to support the local arts.

11. Take family photos

When was the last time you had professional family photos taken? When was the last time you even printed a family photo? Why not hire someone to take photos that your family will cherish for years to come. Many photographers also offer special rates for “mini” sessions for holidays such as Mother’s Day so make sure to check them out.

Please pre-order online 48 hours in advance. OPEN SUNDAY MAY 8

Lemon Raspberry Buns lemon zest, raspberry, uffy yeasted rolls, tangy lemon cream cheese icing 6 / $27

Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes strawberry buttermilk cake, spasparkling champagne buttercream 6 Mini Cupcakes / $15 cupcakes + bottle of Brut Rose Cava / $30

Chocolate Cream Pie homemade oreo crust, chocolate custard, whipped cream 9" / $36

B Breakfast in Bed Box I each of the following : Blueberry Crunch Muffin Strawberries & Cream Muffin Cranberry Ginger Scone Cheddar Chive Scone Chocolate Croissant $19$19

Proof & Bake Cinnamon Buns baking instructions & frosting included 6 buns / $26.50

Italian Feather Loaf / $7.50 Honey IPA Rolls 6 / $10

9" / $34

Ham, Gruyere & Spinach Asparagus & Goat Cheese

"CANXA"

BRUT ROSE CAVA

I00% Pinot Noir $20

+ GIFTS FOR MOM

• Whole Bean Coffee • Northside Merch • Loose Leaf Tea & Accessories • Bottles of Wine • Northside Gift Cards

PAGE 14 | APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2022

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

CINCO DE MAYO will take place on May 5th and is the perfect time to support your favorite local restaurant! Pictured on the left is Wild Tacoz owner Teddy Koumarianos next to a board advertising his signature creation, the “tobrcc.” Pictured on the right is the Hal-pastor chicken with pineapple from La Tingeria.

(Photo: Patricia Leslie)

Places to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the Little City This Year

by Patricia Leslie

Falls Church residents have plenty of restaurants to consider for the celebration of Cinco de Mayo next Thursday. That’s the anniversary of the 1862 Battle of Puebla in Mexico when 2,000 Mexican troops defeated 6,000 French soldiers in a David v. Goliath moment which shook the world.

Shaking up Falls Church is the growing number of Mexican, South American, Latin American, Tex Mex and Greek Mexican restaurants which are growing by tacos and burritos in the Little City.

Three new and almost new restaurants have opened only a short distance from most local addresses, all with economical menus, all ready for some fun and some with specials for May 5.

Wild Tacoz and La Tingeria almost face each other at the corner of South Washington Street and West Westmoreland/Summerfield, while over at the “new” Birch & Broad Shopping Center on West Broad Street, there’s a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Taco Rock.

Wild Tacoz (with a “z” to distinguish it from a Texas chain, please) opened up just before covid hit, and word-of-mouth has increased its sales over time just like neighbors talking to neighbors have done for La Tingeria and Taco Rock. To enter Wild Tacoz and smell the tantalizing aromas and walk out without an order is practically impossible.

The eatery prides itself on customer choices: “Everything is cooked to order,” Teddy Koumarianos, the owner/manager/head chef said in an interview at the Wild while preparing to-go orders which kept arriving via a ding-a-ling notice that Uber was coming for pickup.

Koumarianos buys fresh from local Amish farms. He explained: “Here customers make it their own way. They tell us what they want, whether it’s salads, tacos, or one of our signature creations” like a Mexican pizza or a “tobrcc” of tofu, onions, broccoli, rice, cauliflower and corn which his daughter cooked up that appeals to their many vegetarian customers.

A Greek burrito ($9.95) is another “signature creation” and since I’m just wild about feta, a key ingredient, I ordered it with the combination of rice and tzatziki (a yogurt mixture), tomatoes, cucumbers, Romaine lettuce, parsley, and Greek olives. With robust nutrition and a healthy interior, the 12-inch dish was big and appetizing, lasting me 3.5 meals and never seeming stale. (Stored under refrigeration, of course.)

Wild Tacoz has got “wacky sides,” too, including one of my favs, zucchini, squash and tomatoes ($4.95). Perfectly cooked and tasty, I, a faux vegetarian, call it “a faux dessert.”

Across the street, La Tingeria is enjoying huge publicity. Only the medialess could have escaped the press flurry and hubbub about its now famous chicken tinga which the restaurant began selling a while back from a food truck.

David Peña, the chief operator, is grateful now for being laid off long ago at a restaurant where he poured “my heart and soul. I’m never working for anyone else again,” he laughs. “It worked out for the best and helped push me to this,” a start in his own business.

At the former restaurant he would make a family meal of chicken tinga for the staff and, one day, he paused and smiled, an employee asked him when he was going to open up “tingeria. A name I never forgot.”

To eat something besides the famous chicken dish, I ordered the chicken hal-pasto traditionally served with tiny chunks of pineapple, the sweetness which added a dessert-like taste to the delicious tortilla. I also had a sopa corn flour tortilla lightly fried, accompanied by any halal (“permissible” to Muslims) meat, complete with a tangy bean spread, lettuce, cilantro, onions and more ($5).

Nothing was mediocre; the restaurant lives up to its reputation.

As soon as he can hire more employees, Peña plans to open up six or seven days a week. He’s already had to turn down several catering orders because he doesn’t have enough staff.

Over at Taco Rock last Saturday afternoon, it was anything but a “soft opening” which Chef Manny Hernández said was the plan. Constant customers arrived to sit in or out, or at the “in and out” bar and enjoy one of 13 margarita choices. (How about a blueberry, blackberry or jalapeño margarita to go with your blue corn tortilla?)

Since I’m a seafood lover, I could not pass up the shrimp ceviche ($12), which came with with six, fat perfectly cooked shrimps (almost doubling the quantity I expected) marinated in citrus, and mixed with diced carrots, cucumbers, red onion slices, avocado, cilantro and teaser sweet potato pieces, their taste almost absent.

I appreciated the tanginess, crunchiness and the shrimp’s low calorie count.

To extend my enjoyment at Taco Rock and ensure I had enough food to last me three days without eating anything else, I also had a crunchy, fried empanada with chicken ($5) and a delightful fried avocado taco ($4.50) with corn salsa, pico de gallo, cilantro, and sour cream.

For Cinco de Mayo, Taco Rock will have taco specials and sell margaritas for $6 all day. It will team up with Falls Church police and offer free “sober rides” home (up to a $15 limit). La Tingeria will have taco specials, too, but the labor crunch means no holiday specials at Wild Tacoz.

Wherever your taste buds take you to celebrate, it’s only a walk home for Falls Church. No need to drive on a day which is not Mexican Independence Day that some merrymakers may claim after celebrating with, maybe, more than one or two margaritas.

Wild Tacoz, 7167 South Washington St., Falls Church 22046, 703-639-0199, Wildtacoz. com. Open Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

La Tingeria, 626 South Washington St., Falls Church 22046, latingeria@gmail.com. Open Thursday, 12 - 4 p.m.; Friday - Sunday, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m. No phone or website, but they are coming!

Taco Rock, 1116 West Broad St., Falls Church 22046, 703-760-3141, thetacorock. com. Open Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. -10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

• This article is part of the “Restaurant Spotlight” series, which will feature one local restaurant and its menu each month. To suggest that your restaurant be covered, contact Amanda Snead, News Editor at asnead@fcnp.com