If the mounted deer heads don’t make the point, the menu of 20 taco fillings including pork cheeks and pork lips and tripe will: This is no place for delicate sensibilities.
But if you’re game for adventure, a trip to this roadside diner in the heart of Bladensburg’s Little Mexico will let you taste tacos as they were meant to be–freshly griddled, two-ply corn tortillas piled with well-seasoned meat and garnished with cilantro, radish, and a squeeze of lime.
We’re partial to the al pastor (the pork is shaved from a vertical spit and blended with fresh pineapple) and a version with the soft, ropy meat from the leg of the pig. Four tacos run less than $10–and will likely have you thinking about them for weeks.
Also good: Barbacoa (beef), carnitas (pork), and chorizo tacos.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
