Chef Mike Isabella’s rapidly expanding empire will get a Mexican addition with the debut of Pepita in Ballston next year, but you can get a taste as early as this month. As he’s done before with upcoming projects, Isabella will preview the cantina at his G sandwich shop starting October 30, and then again over the coming weeks.
The casual, coastal-inspired plates can be ordered as part of a four-course menu ($40), or à la carte. Dishes in the lineup include crispy mahi-mahi tacos with chipotle and avocado, pork-belly posole verde, and crazy corn (a.k.a. elote) rolled in chipotle mayo, cheese, and corn nuts. Wholly vegetarian menus can be accommodated upon request, while individual meatless dishes include Chihuahua-cheese empanadas or Isabella’s favored meat substitute, cauliflower, here in enchilada form with chickpeas, poblanos, and red-chili sauce. There’s also sikil pak, a mashed pumpkin seed dip, from the long-gone Bandolero days. All can be paired with Taha Ismail’s cocktails, such as a house margarita with clarified lime and smoked salt, or a Mezcal mule.
The pop-up will run October 30 through November 1; November 4 and November 5; and November 7 and 8. Call for reservations.
Find Anna Spiegel on Twitter at @annaspiegs.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
