Pity the poor office workers who slave away in the buildings surrounding Union Station. Come lunchtime, they are faced with a depressing choice of food options. Do they brave the hellish atmosphere of the Union Station food court, a seething pit of rowdy out of town school groups and tourists who think nothing of forking over $8 for charred burgers and greasy pizza? Or perhaps one of the nearby delis, ruled by the soup nazi's soulmates, angry ladies who delight in charging you 55 cents for a measly slice of avocado for your BLT?

All these wonderful choices, and yet some days I still aimlessly wander the area, unable to decide what vendor I would like to hand over my hard-earned $8 to in exchange for poor to mediocre "food." Many a time I just give up and head to McCrackhead central for a McFlurry. Ice cream for lunch. Yeah, I'm still a kid at heart.

Well, my dear Union Station worker comrades, I am here to spread the news of an amazing recent arrival to the lunchtime landscape. TAQUERIA NACIONALE. Yes, a taco shop near Union Station.

On Tuesday, Elisabeth and I ventured over to this shining taqueria on the Hill to determine if it would meet our lofty expectations. She's a Texan, and I, of course, am from the Great State of California, so our standards in regards to Mexican food are much higher than someone from the East Coast. Yes, we are Mexican food snobs and proud of it.

Taqueria Nacionale is located at 400 North Capitol Street, right next to Johnny's Half Shell. As this building also houses Fox News, you might have the unfortunate luck of running into Ann Coulter, but that's the price you pay for delicious tacos. The taqueria itself is rather small (no seating) and the line is out the door for the lunch hour rush. The simple menu is tacked to the wall, large jars of agua fresca line the counter, and the refrigerators are filled with bottled Coke straight from Mexico (made with real sugar).

So far I have tried the beef taco, carnitas taco, fish taco, refried beans, rice, fried yucca, pineapple agua fresca, and chips and guacamole. I did not eat all of this in one day, but rather have eaten there three days in a row. This should give you an indication of how deeply I have fallen in love with this simple taqueria.

My personal preference is the beef taco, with its double tortillas, tender pieces of quality beef, and a smattering of onions. With a bit of guacamole and salsa, it's really the perfect taco.

(I should note, however, that my boss, who is from neither California nor Texas, wanted to know why all the lettuce and tomatoes and "stuff" was missing from his taco. People, please - this isn't Taco Bell. These are simple, authentic tacos that mimic those found on the streets of LA. This is truly the working man's taco - the taco of the proletariat, if you will. We don't need any of that fancy sour cream and lettuce.)

The carnitas taco was delicious, and has become Elisabeth's taco of choice. The fish taco was decent, but could have used a bit more sauce. The guacamole was chunky, as guacamole should be, and the portion was VERY generous - enough for the included chips and your taco. I prefer mine with a bit more spice, but it is nevertheless delicious.

The side dishes do not disappoint either. The fried yucca has become my personal favorite, especially when paired with the salsa verde. You have to eat it relatively quickly, though, as it tends to get pretty cold and gummify.

As for drinks, the pineapple ague fresca is refreshing (especially during the humid DC summers) and a welcome break from the standard soda and bottled water. And yes, they do have horchata, which I will most likely be trying tomorrow. I intend to eat there as much as possible. As in, every day. I have a feeling this will be the D.C. equivalent of El Vergel, that wonderful London establishment that provided sustenance to a Californian living in a city where the burritos were stuffed with sweetcorn and onion rings were considered to be the "Best of Mexico".

Taqueria Nacionale Round-up:

Location: 400 N Capitol St. NW, Washington, DC (Hall of States building)

Service: Employees are friendly and fast. Although the line might be out the door, the wait is short. There are cute animal stamps on the cartons to denote your taco style (pig for carnitas, cow for beef, etc.)

Pricing: Compared to the other food around joints around Union Station, it's cheap. $2-2.50 for a taco, with sides running $1.50. Agua Fresca is $2. The chips and guac will set you back $4, but as I said above, it's a good portion of guac.

Bottom line: Californian and Texan approved (read Elisabeth's review on the Washington Post site)...and that's all you really need.

Posted by Lindsay at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments? (3) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Those of you who followed my adventures in London might recall how I constantly bemoaned the lack of decent Mexican food in the British Isles. A similar - although much less severe - problem plagues the city of Washington, D.C. If you were to ask most D.C. residents where you could have some great Mexican food in this city, they would most likely recommend Lauriol Plaza. I really have no idea why people think Lauriol Plaza has great food - it's overpriced and definitely unworthy of its claim to be the "best Mexican food in D.C." I think it receives so much praise because everyone drinks too many margaritas while they are waiting an hour for their table, and when it actually comes time to eat, they are so drunk and hungry that they don't realize how mediocre the food really is.

Fortunately, I have found a solution to my cravings for Mexican food in this Mexican cuisine wasteland: Tacos Pepito's Bakery. Tacos Pepito's has two locations - one in Gaithersburg, MD and one that is ONLY ONE MILE AWAY FROM MY HOUSE. And the best part? Free delivery for orders over $10. Yes, that's right...great (not to mention cheap) Mexican food delivered straight to your door (which is nice when it's 10 degrees outside). My roommate Mike and I decided that Saturday evening would be the perfect time to try out Pepito's, which we first learned of through a menu that had been placed in our mailbox. It was a hard decision, but I finally opted for a steak burrito, while Mike went for the flautas and carnitas taco. After our first initial bites, we declared Pepito's a place that, unlike Lauriol Plaza, would be worthy of claiming the title "best Mexican food in D.C." I'm not going to write some long post describing the flavors and textures of the food, but it did remind me of many take-aways/restaurants that you would find in California (Remember, California is the standard from which all others deviate, therefore Mexican food in California = amazing). One thing is for certain: this house will definitely be a frequent customer of Pepito's.

The details:

1762 Columbia Rd. NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

(202) 232-7121

The menu

There seem to be a ton of Mexican restaurants in Columbia Heights (there is a large Hispanic population in this neighborhood), so I'm sure we will be sampling all of them. And yes, if any of them are praise worthy, I will spread the word via lindsayfincher.com.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments? (2) | TrackBacks (1) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Yes, they do exist. One thing I really miss about California is tasty, cheap Mexican food like the kind you would find at Taco Shop or Robertito's. Well, I have found a place here that will satisfy my taco cravings until I return to California.

I was looking over my "Cheap Eats in London Guide" to see what restaurants were in Borough, my new neighborhood. I came across an entry for El Vergel, a cafe which was described as having an "inventive, broadly South American menu" that also included a few Mexican dishes. I took one look at the takeaway menu and decided that I HAD to have lunch there on Monday. I ordered the chicken tacos, tortilla chips, and guacamole. The tacos were excellent - they didn't have any scary British ingredients like sweetcorn or kidney beans, and you could taste the freshness - this wasn't any ridiculous and disgusting fried food like they have at Chicken Cottage (KFC ripoff) or the various other fast food eateries that are located in Southwark. The tortilla chips were homemade (no Doritos, thank God!) and the guacamole was great. Plus, the food was reasonably priced: �6.30 ($11) for my tacos, tortilla chips, and guacamole (not a bad deal in London). AND BEST OF ALL, it's located just a 10 minute walk from my dorm! I think I will be eating here everyday...of course I have to try the beef tacos and the tostada, but the empanadas and Chilean village bread also sound very good.

The one downside - it's only open Monday through Friday, 8am-3pm. Guess that means I'll be eating pub food on the weekends. Nevertheless, THANK YOU EL VERGEL!

Posted by Lindsay at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments? (4) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

As I mentioned in my previous post about Greenwich, we decided to partake of some Mexican food after an exciting day of observing clocks at the Royal Observatory. I've decided that as a service to the internet community, I will always post a "review" of any Mexican restaurant I visit in London. So, today's location is Cafe Sol in Greenwich.

First thing I noticed about Cafe Sol: Dude, where's the chips and salsa? Yes, that's right - NO FREE CHIPS AND SALSA. This is a MAJOR faux pas in my book. No self-respecting Mexican restaurant in the US would fail to provide its diners with complimentary chips and salsa!

As for the menu, it included a variety of "Mexican" and "Texan" food, with the Texan food consisting of steak, ribs, and BBQ hamburgers. The Mexican dishes were fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas and mini-chimichangas. The appetizers were nachos, chips and salsa (still pissed off you have to pay for that!), a weird dip thing that listed hummus as an ingredient (I love hummus, but in a Mexican restaurant? I think not!), and some non-Mexican appetizers such as stuffed mushrooms, chicken wings, and "Texas" corn on the cob.

I was considering the mini-chimichangas, but noticed that they came with mushrooms and was a bit freaked out, as I couldn't imagine mushrooms in a chimichanga. I was debating over asking for the mini-chimichangas without mushrooms, but I wasn't sure if the food was, how shall we say this, pre-made and then heated up in an oven. Besides, I hate mushrooms, and seeing them as an ingredient totally turned me off from the chimichangas. Next, I considered the burrito, but this listed sweetcorn as an ingredient! Ewwww. I'm not a big fan of sweetcorn (especially when it is in a burrito), but apparently it is Britain's 2nd favourite culinary vegetable, which explains why they add it to EVERYTHING!

I finally settled for the lunch special, which allowed you to choose an appetizer and certain main courses for �5.95, (a rather good price for London). I opted to have the "muchos nachos" for my appetizer and the shredded beef tacos for my main course.

Surprisingly, the "muchos nachos" were actually quite decent. They used some great cheese, included guacamole and sour cream, and provided plenty of jalapenos. The one drawback, though, was the type of chips they used. They weren't doritos, but were damn close, as they had some weird cheese flavor. UGH! Why can't these places just use regular tortilla chips??? Taline mentioned that they deserved an "A for effort", but this review is going to be brutally honest and focus only on the food. I'll admit that their nachos were some of the best I've had in London, but sadly, their use of these faux-Doritos knocks the nachos grade down to a B-.

As for the tacos...well...see for yourself:

LOOK AT THOSE TACO SHELLS! THEY ARE FROM A FREAKIN' TACO KIT YOU CAN BUY AT THE GROCERY STORE! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! Seriously, it is not very hard to make your own taco shells. Even a horrible chef such as myself could do that. And notice how the taco dish is served...they don't even make the tacos for you, they just throw some pre-made taco shells on a plate, add a bowl of meat, a handful of lettuce and cheese, and a small dollop of sour cream! Wow, thanks!

The portion sizes were horrible. As you can see, the meat came in this small bowl, and there was hardly enough sour cream for two tacos! The meat itself was not too bad, but there simply was not enough for three tacos. (Of course, they provided enough lettuce to fill six tacos, go figure!) Also, where are the beans and rice? This is a staple for every taco meal! Due to the above factors (and especially the pre-made taco shells), Caf� Sol's tacos receive a big fat F.

Ummm what a cute mural:

Interior shot:

So, if you're looking for some excellent Mexican food, you won't find it at Cafe Sol in Greenwich. I'm still searching, though! Taline says there is a place called "Nachos" that I must try. Looking forward to it...

[Edit: Just remembered that Gayle left a comment on my previous rant about Mexican food:

"You should try Cafe Sol on Clapham High St. Well worth the trek down to South London. The only decent Mexican in London! Beware though, it should not be confused with its sister restaurant in Greenwich, as although they are related the Greenwich one is definitely from the dodgy side of the family!"

Hahaha...yes, Greenwich was definitely dodgy! Damn, wish I had remembered this bit of advice. I'll have to give the Clapham High St. restaurant a try.]

Posted by Lindsay at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments? (7) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I give up, the British are hopeless when it comes to Mexican food (or shall I say, Tex-Mex?).

After a long day of studying ethnic conflict, the stagnation of the Communist Party under Brezhnev, and other mind-numbingly boring topics, Crystal, Taline, and I headed off to a nearby pub for dinner. For an appetizer, Taline ordered the "Mexican platter" which apparently consisted of nachos.

This is what the waitress brought us:

Our first reaction was "Oh no, that's not ours. We ordered the Mexican platter" to which the waitress replied "This IS the Mexican platter."

Now you may be thinking, but Lindsay, where are the nachos? Why are there onion rings on that plate? And what are those things that look like reject chicken McNuggets?

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post about nachos, many British people do not understand that the vital ingredient of nachos is CHEESE. So where's the cheese? Well, on this "Mexican platter" there was no cheese, therefore the pub needs to take a big fat black marker and cross "nachos" off the list of items included in the Mexican platter.

Secondly, the chips were Doritos...even worse, though, was the fact that they were COOL RANCH FLAVORED DORITOS. UGH! What self-respecting Mexican platter has cool ranch Doritos? That's right, none...unless you are in Britain.

And look at those small bowls of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. Are they serious? We could dip maybe four chips into that thing of guacamole before it was gone! And the guacamole, of course, is the pre-packaged stuff you can buy at Sainsbury's or Tesco...not really deserving of the name guacamole.

About the onion rings...uhhh I really have no idea why there are onion rings on a Mexican platter. They weren't on the menu. I can honestly say that I have NEVER been to a Mexican restaurant that served onion rings. However, this was not too surprising, as I had already noticed that Tesco included onion rings in their "Best of Mexico" section of their online grocery store. This "onion rings are Mexican food" business needs to stop...NOW.

As far as the things that look like McNuggets, they were breaded peppers stuffed with ricotta cheese, which is very authentic, considering ricotta came from...oh right, ITALY, not Mexico.

You're probably thinking "Well, duh, Lindsay, you shouldn't have expected there to be real Mexican food in a tacky British pub in the center of London. How about the Mexican restaurants in the UK?"

Right...Mexican restaurants. There are a few that I know of in the city. One is Chiquito's in Leicester Square (a HUGE tourist area). I haven't eaten there, but have had drinks there, and the atmosphere is so ridiculously funny. There is a girl that walks around wearing a bandoleer filled with shot glasses (instead of, uh, shotgun shells) and two holsters that carry big bottles of Jose Cuervo. When you order a shot, she makes an announcement and blows on a whistle or something. It's really authentic, especially with that British accent she has...makes me feel like I'm back in SoCal.

One place I have eaten at is Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden. I've been there twice, and so far, have not been very impressed. It is a decent meal, and a nice change from British/dorm/take-away food, but is nowhere near authentic.

First off, you only get one complimentary small bowl of chips and salsa (and they act like this is a big deal...oooh, a free bowl of chips, thanks!). If this restaurant was located in California, it simply would not survive due to this issue. Unlimited baskets of warm chips and big bowls of salsa are CRITICAL for a Mexican restaurant, and Cafe Pacifico truly fails in this regard.

Second, the menu is kind of weird. "Lobster & Papaya Quesadillas with Mango Cream" freaks me out. Like, whoa, where did THAT come from? Also, they have "Mango, Jalapeno, and Brie Quesadillas." Uhhh...brie? The, uh, FRENCH cheese that ALMOST KILLED ME?

There is also a whole section of the menu dedicated to "Modern Mexican" (whatever that is) and a ton of seafood dishes, which I don't particularly like. I had the chimichanga the last time I was there, and while it was decent, it was sooooo small. I couldn't believe it! It was maybe half the portion you would get at a restaurant in California. And the refried beans tasted like they were from a can (which they probably were).

Also, Cafe Pacifico is insanely overpriced for what you are getting (I know, I know...it's in Covent Garden, and should therefore be expected). If you ever want to try the fajitas there, perhaps you should first drop by your local bank to take out a loan...you might need it once you see the bill.

Oh, the drinks there are good...especially the pina colada (VERY hard to find good pina coladas here) but at �4 per drink (aprox $7.25), you might want to have just one and then head down to the Three Tuns for �1.70 pints of Strongbow.

I came across this review of Cafe Pacifico that a British guy wrote. He mentioned that his wife is from LA, so he's probably had some real Mexican food:

"They deserve to be sued by the Mexican embassy in London for the insult to Mexican cuisine. They make Taco Bell look like cordon bleu. Save yourself money and have a McDonalds, it will taste better and be spicier. If you value your taste buds eat elsewhere."

Heh...gotta love the British.

So, basically, my experience with Mexican food in the UK had been rather disappointing. Right now I'm craving some greasy taquitos from Robertito's in Oceanside (oh, you know what I'm talking about...the ones slathered in guacamole and sitting in refried beans and rice...sooo good, yet so unhealthy).

I wish I could import entire restaurants into this country. I'd take El Mirasol, Las Casuelas, El Gallito, and La Gran Fiesta from the Coachella Valley (R.I.P. Taco Shop), Old Town Cafe from San Diego, and Anita's and Robertito's from Oceanside. Then the British will be able to enjoy some REAL Mexican food.

I should probably mention that this problem is not confined to London, though. Washington DC's Mexican food sucks, too. And don't leave a comment saying that "Lauriol Plaza is good", because it's not (I don't care what the Washington Post says), or "There's a place in southeast you should try..." because I have, and it sucked. I did have some amazing fajitas in Moscow, though...go figure.

(If you have come across good Mexican food in London, though, let me know, because I would be willing to try it out...yes, I'm that desperate for some good Mexican food!)

Posted by Lindsay at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments? (18) | TrackBacks (2) |  Subscribe in a reader |

In my previous post on the UK's lack of nacho cheese, Christopher left the following comment:

What is a "nacho"? What is "nacho cheese"? and what on Earth is "Tostito's Salsa con Queso"???

I shall now proceed to educate my British readers on the finer points of nachos, the irresistible Mexican snack that has a special place in my heart.

First, what are nachos? I direct you to this excerpt from Wikipedia:

Nachos in their simplest form are usually tortilla chips covered in melted cheese. Common additional toppings are:

* Ground beef
* Jalape�o pepper slices
* Refried beans
* Salsa
* Guacamole
* Sour cream

(For the history of nachos, and some nachos related triva, please visit the Wikipedia article)

I divide nachos into two major categories: shredded cheese nachos (really the "authentic" nachos) and processed cheese nachos. I shall focus on the processed cheese nachos, as this is what the United Kingdom is lacking.

Nachos, in their simplest form:

Nachos SUPREME:

The godly nacho cheese dispenser:

But of course, not everyone can have a nacho cheese dispenser in their kitchen, so we must purchase our processed nacho cheese in smaller quantities, hence I now introduce you to Tostitos "Salsa con Queso", which is just a fancy way of saying "processed nacho cheese in a jar":

Put some in a microwave safe bowl, heat for 30 seconds...add tortilla chips (and any other of the above listed ingredients if you so desire) and presto, instant nachos!

And for the exceptionally lazy Americans, Tostitos even has a snack kit:

Processed cheese nachos are most commonly found in: Taco Bell, convenience stores (7-11, AM/PM), Target, movie theatres, baseball stadiums, Kim's bonfire parties, high school cafeterias

Goes well with: large quantities of Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Slurpees

Nutritional information: Trust me on this...you don't want to know

Now, believe it or not, I have actually had "nachos" in the United Kingdom, however, the British are known to commit several nacho-related faux pas:

- First we must dispell a myth: Tortilla chips are NOT nachos. Yes, they constitute a vital ingredient of nachos, but they themselves are not nachos. So kindly refrain from calling my tortilla chips nachos...(ahem, Saalim)

- Many movie theatres here serve nachos, but the cheese is often akin to the tasteless Velveeta variety. Any sort of spiciness is missing, and this is completely unacceptable if you are going to call a snack "nachos."

- I've tried nachos in several pubs here, and I must say that they are quite a step up from the movie theatre nachos, as they often include sour cream and salsa. In addition, they use shredded cheese instead of processed cheese (well obviously, since there is none in the UK) so arguably they are closer to the authentic nacho recipes. However, using swiss cheese on the nachos is a big no-no, and the British should really make an effort to include refried beans and ground beef. I think with the right amount of effort, we could have some great nachos in pubs throughout Britain.

- And finally, spaghetti tomato sauce must not - I repeat NOT - be used in place of salsa when serving nachos. Spaghetti sauce and salsa are NOT interchangeable ingredients (and yes, this is directed towards a certain dining establishment in Surrey Quays!)

In addition, since we are on the topic of Mexican food, I shall now share with you the ridiculous foods that can be found on the "Best of Mexico" section on Tesco's website (for those of you not familiar with Tesco, it's a large UK grocery store chain that also offers online ordering and delivery).

Basically, I think Tesco needs to hire me as a consultant for their Mexican food section, because whoever is in charge of it now is doing a very bad job, as they have somehow managed to classify the following foods as being the "Best of Mexico":

- onion rings
- garlic baguettes
- sweetcorn
- Parmesan cheese
- potato wedges
- breaded mushrooms
- BBQ ribs
- potato skins
- jambalaya
- Mexican style bean burgers (don't even want to know what those are)
- fettucine alfredo
- fried chicken

ATTENTION TESCO, these do NOT belong in the "Best of Mexico":

And what's with the American flag on everything? Does plastering the American flag on packaging really sell the product?

These are acceptable for placement in the "Best of Mexico", even if they are ready made meals :::groan:::

So, hopefully this lesson helped break down the mythical snack known as nachos...

Edit: Ryan suggested I post pictures of what real nachos look like...good idea, as I wouldn't want the Brits to think that processed cheese nachos are the norm...so here are some "authentic nachos" (notice the shredded cheese):

And now all the Californians know why I ate Mexican food for 2/3 of my meals when I was back in California for winter break...I can't believe I'm to the point where I'm actually craving Taco Bell. Ugh.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments? (12) | TrackBacks (1) |  Subscribe in a reader |