Can Opener

For a minute, I truly contemplated okra tacos. But I flinched, in a moment of lame vegetable aisle wimpiness, and so sweet corn became the taco night headliner. "Sweet corn is an emotional food when you eat it picked fresh from the field, just full of feelings, you just sit and you weep" (A Prairie Home Companion). Perhaps at Lake Wobegon. Here in DC, the most I can say is it sure is cheap and crunchy.
   

Speaking of corn, I was excited to see Open City (2331 Calvert St. NW), the overrated Woodley Park cousin of Adams Morgan's underrated 24-hour Diner (2453 18th St. NW) and Tryst (next door to The Diner) trying to work some magic with creamed corn. You see, creamed corn was a childhood staple in our house, served with Heinz vegetarian baked beans and grated Parmesan. Open City's version? A concocted coconut creamed corn side sold for $3.50 a bowl. I'd hate to hate on the yellowy, gooey, crunchy gruel, since I'm a pretty nostalgic fellow, but I'm going to stick with the Gedan corn-and-beans recipe.

There are a few things that I can recommend. The beer flight at Meridian Pint (3400 11th St. NW, opposite RedRocks); the family style lunch specials at the shadowy Magic Gourd (528 23rd St NW, in Foggy Bottom); everything at Pho 14 (1436 Park Rd. NW, in Columbia Heights), the biggest food bargain in DC, and that's including the deeply discounted Morningstar products at the nearby Target; the happy hour cocktails at Bar Dupont (1500 New Hampshire Av. NW), but only out on the patio; the phoenix roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and avocado) ($12), a nice mix of mushy mashed tuna and crunchy fried shrimp, at Perry's (1811 Columbia Rd. NW, in Adam's Morgan), but only up on the roof; the Texas Burger ($11), slathered with smoky chipotle BBQ sauce and topped by pickles, fried onion straws and coleslaw, but with the upper bun brilliantly held aloft by a toothpick, keeping it blissfully unsoggy, served alongside gimmicky but tasty Tater Tots, at Tonic (2036 G St. NW, in Foggy Bottom); and finally, arguably the best meal in South Dupont Circle (other than the once-a-year free burgers and hot dogs and pizza served up in the Circle by the DC police), the barbacoa burrito at Tomatillo Taqueria, the Mexican takeout lunch stand at The Big Hunt (1347 Connecticut Ave. NW), served best with the spicy tomatillo sauce, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole (it's an extra $1 for the avocado) and sauteed onions, but it's cash only and closed from August 9-13.

Salvadoran singeing

Lessons from experimental taco night:

1. The "International Progreso Market" in Mount Pleasant hides the aguacate behind the cashiers.
2. Lazy cilantro chopping leads to chewy tacos.
3. Jalapeño peppers do not mellow after roasting, and anything roasting nearby, including whole poblano peppers, ends up gums-singing hot.

Vetoed

I had bright ideas for a feta pizza with arugula and kalamata olives ("dark eggplant color" with "a flavor that can be rich and fruity"). But I was vetoed, so to protest against the alternative ingredients (shredded mozzarella, caramelized onions and bottled tomato sauce), I did an embarrassingly poor job kneading my Harris Teeter dough.


At the very least, the carbs in today's lunch, refried beans tacos with diced plum tomatoes and shredded cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese, were served perfectly flat. (Side note: though it sells made-to-order papusas, the new Latin market on Ontario and Kalorama does not yet carry fresh vegetables or even queso blanco.)



Chopped salad: Cucumbers, vine-ripened tomatoes, endive and sunflower seeds.

Red cabbage recommended

I suggest, now and again, raw, chopped cabbage for your tacos. Red recommended.

Providence pork tacos

Continuing my tradition of blogging memorable meals that I can't quite remember (either because I was not invited, unable to attend, or simply gulped one too many glasses of sangria), I'm posting (above and below) photos my wife, Keryn Gedan, shot of our friend Andrew Altieri's pork tacos. They're slow cooked in a crock pot with salsa and seasoning, accessorized with fresh fixings including home-pickled jalapeño peppers and other vegetables, chopped red cabbage, onions and cilantro, shredded cheese, refried beans, yogurt, lime and fresh corn salad, fired up by Chulupa and Marie Sharp's hot sauces and served in either corn or flour tortillas.

I'm not surprised to see the elaborate bounty, even though Andrew has two young daughters; Keryn's biologist buddies know their way around the kitchen, including her thesis adviser, renown for his annual cook-what-you-study gala, the Argentine scientists who have toured every butcher shop in New England looking for the best meat for their regular asados, and Andrew's wife, Sharon, whose Saint Patrick's Day feast makes even the historic O'Rourke's Diner, in Middletown, Conn., seem like an IHOP by comparison.

Estilo Salvadoreño

Lest you worry that I popped into Delicias Market tonight simply to check out some bull bits and pieces (or because it was dark out and I was terrified to walk a block down 14th St. to Panam), here is the real reason for my trip: Salvadoreño-style tortillas, hand-made and sold fresh. I filled them with refried beans, onions sauteed in Goya's salsita sauce (with lime), salsa fresca from Giant, locally pickled vegetables, avocado and queso blanco.

Note: The actual tacos were quite a bit less orderly than they appear above, but I saw an episode of Top Chef yesterday at the gym, and apparently "deconstructing" food is all the rage these days.

Pickled tacos

I've had a hard time locating empanada shells around D.C., striking out at both at the Whole Foods on P Street and the Giant by the Columbia Heights Metro stop. (Truthfully, I couldn't even find an employee who had heard of an empanada at either market.) Hunting down fresh tortillas, on the other hand, is a good deal easier. Today, for my black bean tacos, I bought a stack of white corn tortillas from Delicias Market (3702 14th St. NW, by Spring Rd.), where I also picked up some fabulously pickled vegetables ($3.99 for a tall jar), including chopped cabbage, onions, carrots and jalapeño bottled in Virginia. I sauteed onions, cooked up yellow rice and frozen peas, sprinkled on top a bit of cilantro and added fresh salsa (including diced cucumber) from Giant and a bit of Sriracha hot chili sauce.

Latin food, now on the East Side

Providence has a surprisingly vibrant food scene given its size, but when it comes to good Latin American food, you generally have to go to the Latino neighborhoods on the West Side. (In addition to the street food, I recommend Chilangos, on Manton Avenue, and El Rancho Grande, on Plainfield Street.) Options closer to downtown, such as the wonderfully named but otherwise awful Tortilla Flats, on Hope Street, and the criminally overpriced (steak fajitas sell for $15) and bizarrely located (on Atwells Avenue in Federal Hill, Providence's Little Italy) Don José Tequilas are best avoided. (Taqueria Pacifica, having graduated from the roving Taco Truk to a permanent location on Empire Street, inside the AS220 cafe, has a small, but high quality menu that is best suited for lunch.)

So you can imagine how excited I was to read the other day that Twist, on Angell Street in Wayland Square, had hired a new chef, a Californian named Jeff Sesar, who was introducing a "Taco Tuesdays" menu.

The taco menu is impressively creative, particularly for the price, $4 per taco (or margarita, or bucket of mini Caronas). Options include spicy ground beef or chorizo sausage; orange chipotle pulled pork; beer battered fish; grilled carne asada; coconut seared tuna; and buttered lobster.

Sides include salsa verde, pico de gallo, roasted tomato salsa, guacamole, Spanish rice and black beans and corn. Tacos come topped with chopped cabbage and queso fresco.

To be honest, they were not the best tacos I'd ever tasted. The salsa is not freshly made. The tortillas, made of flour, also don't appear to be baked on site. The tuna was a bit dry, the chips a bit bland.

But you couldn't beat the price. Or the cheesy but endearing decorations. The margaritas were delicious. Our waitress was enthusiastic, and the chef, a New Jersey native, even stopped by our table to chew the fat about his peregrinations and culinary influences. So for bringing decent tacos to the East Side (and to make use of the pile of $4 coupons we were gifted last night), I congratulate Twist and offer it my biggest compliment: See you next Tuesday.