Two Texans Go For Fajitas at Haydee's

Haydee's Restaurant

3102 Mount Pleasant St NW

Washington, DC 20010

Half A Nom (.5)

Cost: $10-20 per person

In all fairness, Matt and I are both from Texas. We grew up eating tacos and fajitas all the time. As you've read earlier in this blog, we have found a few places with delicious Mexican tacos, but Mexican tacos and Tex-Mex tacos are very different things. Mexican tacos always come on a corn tortilla, never include lettuce or cheese and are often served with a lime and salsa. Tex-Mex tacos on the other hand are what you think of when you think fast food Americanized Mexican: slow tortillas or hard shell corn tortilla with meat, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Don't be fooled by Taco Bell, the Tex-Mex taco CAN be a beautiful thing.

Another dish that is mostly a Tex-Mex creation is the fajita. They straddle the line literally and figuratively being born mainly out of Rio Grande border valley. Traditionally grilled skirt steak (carne asada) served with tortilla, grilled onions and peppers. As the dish spread chicken, additional vegetables, shrimp and even other seafood have been added to the mix.

So as two Texans the time had some to try and find quality Tex-Mex in our nation's capital. We heard rumors of such eats at Haydee's in our very own neighborhood. Armed with a near expired Living Social for $40 dollars and mucho hambre (much hunger), we went.

Like many places in DC and specifically Mount Pleasant, Haydee's serves a mix of cuisines, specifically Tex-Mex and Salvadorian. They're definitely going for the hole in the wall, bar, live music venue mix with their atmosphere (we sat next to a framed photo of the Taj Mahal side by side with Aztec looking art and Christmas lights). Therefore in addition to the tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, burritos and chimichangas on the Tex-Mex side and fried plantains and pupusas on the Salvadorian side, there are also some bar classics: wings, burgers and chicken sandwiches. For this visit we stuck to the Latin American inspired fare.


What We Ordered:

Before ordering we received the common complimentary chips and salsa. As appetizers we choose the fried plantains and shared a cheese pupusa.

While Tex-Mex tacos are great, I think the ultimate Tex-Mex item are fajitas so that was high on the priority list. We got the chicken and steak since I'm not much of a shrimp eater and salmon fajitas is both nontraditional and an unappealing use of salmon in my opinion.

We did need to sample some of their tacos, so after reading Yelp reviews I decided to get the tilapia tacos.  Finally we went for the chicken chimi, because what better item finishes up a gluttonous feast like a burrito fried and smothered in cheese?

Extra watery Salsa

The chips and salsa should be evaluated separately. The chips seemed fresh and had a nice level of salt to them, but the salsa was extremely watery. My roommate commented that even in Texas it's often like that: "restaurant style", but this was probably majority water.

Golden brown and delicious Fried Plantains

The fried plantains were by far my favorite item on the table. They were golden, brown and delicious without excess grease. We ate a few, but saved the rest as a palate cleanser and dessert.






The pupusa was nothing special, but delivered what was expected: a thick tortilla filled with cheese. We didn't really taste much beyond the cheese (probably Monterrey jack), but as a queso fan I was pretty happy about that. I'd probably add the pork if I was to go back and order a pupusa again.

Fish Tacos: all you could see is the grilled onions
and cheddar cheese.

Onto our main course starting with the tilapia tacos. Fish tacos should be treated differently than meat especially since fish tacos are primarily a Baja California and south California dish. The flavors at best are often more tropical with citrus and some sort of slaw or fruity salsa. Haydee's tilapia was over salted without much else going for it flavor-wise. It was served with a lot of grilled onions which would've been great with meat, but seemed off to go with fish. I have to admit, the grilled onions ended up being my favorite part of this dish. Finally it was topped with cheddar cheese. Forget what you've seen at Taco Bell: cheddar cheese is not the right cheese for good Mexican food especially not a fish taco! I couldn't even finish this dish despite my best efforts.

Chicken and Steak Fajitas with some grilled onions hiding

Time to turn our attention to purpose of our quest: fajitas. Fajitas are always a show stopping dish when they come out on a skillet with grilled onions covered in a cloud of smoke and steam. You can hear them coming from the kitchen with their distinct sizzle. Hard to resist this tantalizing feast for the eyes, nose and ears! That said, even Chili's has managed to make decent fajitas with a beautiful presentation smell and even sizzle. Haydee's on the other hand only managed the lesser three senses and failed horribly on taste. The steak was tough and chewy and both meats were over seasoned to the point that all I could taste was salt and blandness. Again the saving grace was the grilled onions, but I would've liked most. The accompanying rice had grains that were overcooked and others that were undercooked. A few of the undercooked ones crunched as my roommate tried to eat them.

Chicken Chimi(changa). Look at all that cheese!

Finally the chicken chimi(changa). At this point we were both getting full, but we had ordered food and we weren't going to let it go to waste. After the heartbreaking tacos and fajitas, this was a pleasant surprise. The chicken was extremely moist and while still overly salty the flavor wasn't bad at all. While it's a bad stereotype of Tex-Mex, I really have a hard time not enjoying a fried chicken burrito covered in cheese. That's exactly what this was.

Horchata

An extra note: I also ordered some horchata, a Mexican version of a Spanish drink made by blending rice, cinnamon and water to create a sweet, milky drink with a cinnamon flavor. The horchata was gritty and watery. I would be pretty confident to guess they made this simple drink from a mix rather than doing it themselves. I've made horchata and it's ridiculously simple to do even in large volumes.




What We Thought:

Well as you can probably tell from my taco, fajita and horchata rants, we weren't impressed. As noted we're both born and bred Texans so we might be biased, but I'd say we're well traveled when it comes to the roads of fajitaland. I would honestly prefer to go get fajitas at a Chili's or go without then return to Haydee's for theirs.

They obviously have a few decent dishes and perhaps their bar food is decent. I also hear from friends and from Yelp that they have strong Margarita. If you're looking for a booze filled happy hour or to get trashed enjoying some live music, maybe Haydee's is for you?

Judgement:

Despite a few ok items, we were overall unhappy with our meal. Things were either watered down literally and figuratively (the salsa and horchata) or they were grossly over seasoned mainly with salt. The fish tacos were not what was expected which could've been a good thing, but in this case wasn't. And seasoning aside, the fajita meat was tough and chewy. For all that I have to give Haydee's only half a nom. If you're absolutely desperate for food, but mainly looking for drinks or live music Haydee's might be worth walking a few blocks. Otherwise stay away.

Korean Delights at Adam Express

Adam Express

3211 Mt. Pleasant St NW

Washingtion, DC 20010 

Nom Nom Nom (3)

Cost Per Person: $10-15 per person

Last night the roommate and I were being lazy and wanted to hide from the cold so we opted for another take-out smorgasbord, but after the lackluster trip to Mayflower, and with the return of winter we also decided to stay close and go with a safe bet. All reasons to go to my usual lazy dinner takeout place, Adam Express! Don't be fooled by that statement "usual lazy dinner takeout place" because among the reasons Mount Pleasant is amazing is that my lazy takeout spot serves absolutely incredible Korean food.

Adam Express is an experience I think everyone who lives in DC, or at least northwest DC should have sometime in their time here. I have heard many friends say that there are very few quality legitimate hole in the wall places in this city. Adam Express shatters that claim. The seating is much more of a waiting area with stools that can seat at most 6 people, but I would suggest dining in there sometime; it's a lively cozy place to people watch.

Speaking of people watching, there are two other reasons that keep me coming back aside from the delicious food. Their names are Bae Hyolyuk and Boo Hyang, the husband and wife (respectively) who own and run the place with only each others help. While occasionally difficult to understand, they are an incredibly cute and kind couple. They seem to genuinely love their jobs and seem to gracefully work together knowing what each other needs and wants often without uttering a word. Even if the food was mediocre, their smiles and laughter would keep me coming back.

But the food, oh the food. I will revisit Adam Express and explore their Chinese and Japanese menus in further detail, but as they are a Korean couple, I tend to stick to their Korean menu. For now that's what this post will focus on. Quick note, though, if you're curious: the sushi in my experience was mediocre so it's only worthwhile if you live nearby and dying for sushi and the Chinese is slightly better than takeout. Higher quality meat, less grease and fresh veggies.

Back to the Korean dishes. I am by far not an expert on anything Korean. You can see their menu here, and if visit them you can also see beautiful pictures of most of their menu to aid you in the decision process. My personal favorite is the Chicken Bul Go Gi which is a very spicy chicken dish mixed with a lot of veggies including broccoli and kimchi. It always leaves my mouth on fire in the best way possible.

For the uninitiated or less adventurous I would suggest the Tang Su Yuk (Korean styled sweet and sour chicken) or the Kan Pung Gi (Korean styled spicy fried boneless chicken). The latter is still really spicy, but both are far more similar to Chinese (or Americanized Chinese) dishes than the rest of the Korean offerings. If you want to go for authentic the Bibim Bap (assorted vegetables, marinated beef, egg, steamed rice and Korean styled hot sauce) and you can find out more by reading the adorable children's book Bee-bim Bop! that usually sits somewhere in the dining/waiting area at Adam Express.

Vegetarians: The menu does contain a few dishes that are vegetarian liked a Korean steamed tofu, but the variety is limited. I have never had a problem asking for a substitution of chicken in place of beef and am positive you could do the same for tofu.

What We Ordered: Wanting to sample as many signature items as possible while also being somewhat adventurous we ordered 4 items: Bibim Bap (of course!), Bul Go Gi (thinly sliced boneless rib eye steak marinated with Adam Express's special sauce), Chap Chae (vermicelli noodles, shredded beef, vegetables sauteed in specially seasoned sauce) and  Kim Chee Gee Gae Soup (kim chee, pork, tofu, green onion and rice).

From left to right: Chap Chae, Bibim Bap, Bul Go Gi
In the back: Kimchi, Kim Chee Gee Gae Soup, rice.

The Bibim Bap was great, a lot of deliciously prepared veggies, tender beef with the nice contrast of the fried egg. If you can tolerate spice you would be missing out by not adding the hot sauce. Don't let friends mistake the hot sauce for ketchup though! It may look similar, but it's far more flavorful and far far far spicier than any ketchup I've ever met.

We opted for the more traditional beef version of Bul Go Gi and while it was satisfying, this may be one of my least favorite dishes. The beef is incredibly tender and moist, but lacks flavor. I had to mix in some of the kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage) to give it the extra kick I wanted.

The meat for the Chap Chae was the same as the Bul Go Gi, but the Chap Chae had a lot more veggies and the vermicelli noodles provide a nice change in texture and is a fantastic carrier of delicious sauce. Vermicelli noodles are made from rice, are incredibly thin and often are clear, but with the Chae Chae sauce they took on a brown color and were incredibly flavorful. I will definitely be ordering this again when I'm in the mood for beef over my standard Chicken Bul Go Gi.

Finally the Kim Chee Gee Gae Soup. Kimchi, in my limited experience, is synonymous with Korean cuisine. Even if an individual dish doesn't come with it, you cannot have Korean food without fermented spicy cabbage and from all reviews I've read Adam Express makes their own. The cabbage retains a nice crunch and even folks like myself who shy from cabbage normally should love it's complex flavors after the fermentation process. The soup uses the incredible earthy, spicy, aromatic flavor of the kimchi to create one of the best broths I've ever had. Think the best vegetable broth, but thicker, stronger and spicier with tofu, pork and rice. I can definitely see this curing any ol' cold and will likely be ordered next time I get the sniffles!

What We Thought: I guess it's obvious by now that Adam Express is a big personal favorite and my roommate is quite a fan as well. Aside from the Bul Go Gi beef lacking some flavor, there is not much I can say negative about this place with two warnings:

1. The wait at Adam Express can be substantial. When you call, normally Bae (the husband) answers the phone. Normally he says 15 minutes, and I give him 30 minutes. If he says more I take that number and multiply it by 1.5. Last night he told us 30 minutes and the food took almost an hour. During slow weekday times he might say 10 minutes and legitimately mean 10 minutes, but otherwise call substantially ahead.
2. As I said, the couple are the only folks who work at Adam Express and they are incredibly sweet, but putting in a phone order can be very frustrating. Know exactly what you want and be very clear about it when you call in an order. If at all possible, attempt the names of the dishes because describing them may not be good enough.

Judgement: Adam Express, unsurprisingly makes me go nom, nom, nom! For the price, I can't think of anything better that I've had in Mount Pleasant (yet). The cute old Korean couple, the cozy hole in the wall restaurant and amazing food are all strong positives. The only thing keeping me from issuing more noms is the long wait and often frustrating ordering process. Many times I've tried getting the Kang Pang Gi, but ended up with the Chicken Bul Go Gi. I still enjoyed my meal and vowed to learn the name of the dishes, but eater beware.

Adam Express is not somewhere to go when you need food fast (Adam Slow, But Amazing is more like it), but if you have the time and want great Southeast Asian food at low prices for DC, you can't go wrong. Now if you excuse me, I have some Chap Chae leftovers to devour.

Stay hungry my friends.

Chinese Takeout a la Mayflower Chinese

Mayflower Chinese Carry-out
3066 Mount Pleasant NW
Washington, DC 20009 

Nom (1)

Cost per person: $5-$10 (depending on meal/hunger)

I have to admit my bias as a foodie. Ever since I was exposed to Thai cuisine and learned to love sushi in high school, it has been rare for me to crave lackluster Americanized Chinese take-out or delivery. Every so often, though, some combination of grad school, laziness or just the almost irresistible promise of crispy egg rolls steaming hot dipped into sweet and sour sauce dancing on my taste buds that beckons me to decide it is time to order some General Tso's or Chicken with Broccoli to get my fix. Feeling the need for an MSG* coma, my roommate and I called Mayflower at the south end of Mount Pleasant and trekked over to pick up our feast. 

The Basics: This is your deluxe Chinese-American carry-out with the fried chicken/hamburger/seafood/sub sandwich add-on package. We decided to leave the non-Chinese dishes to another day. Mayflower offers no thrills, just a few table so in theory you can dine in. Like most guests, though, we only used them while waiting. 

Speaking of the wait, it took 16 minutes from the moment I got off the phone placing my order to when we got our 4 dishes, 2 orders of egg rolls and order of soup. While I firmly believe food is worth waiting for and receiving so much food so fast is problematic, this is Chinese take-out!

The menu does have two options that aren't always standard take-out fare. Moo shu being the less uncommon, but scanning the menu we spotted Yat in it's many forms (i.e. standard yat, chicken yat, pork yat, etc.) "What is yat?" we asked and after some Googling we found this on Yahoo Answers: "Yat is thick noodles in a brown sauce, with whatever kind of meat you order it with." Unfortunately Wikipedia failed us on this one and that answer turned out to be right or at least close enough to what we ate. 

Many items on the menu especially the lunch special hover around $5 and some of the dinner combinations are closer to $10. Depending how hungry you are or what you want I doubt you'll spend much more than 10 dollars. For soda drinkers, they give you a free can of soda for $15 or more spent, 2 cans for $25 and we received 3 cans for our $30 bill. 

Vegetarians and calorie counters, like Pica Taco I hope to go back and try some of these menus, but for now know that there was a good diversity of dishes for vegetarians and a handful of steamed dishes that were described as non-fat.

What we ate: Using Yelp reviews and our typical Chinese ordering habits we picked the sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, General Tso's chicken, egg rolls, wonton soup (one reviewer sang its praises) and beef yat (too curious not try it).

In the deli containers: wonton soup and beef yat. On the left: orange chicken with fried rice and a lone egg roll.
On the right General Tso's Chicken and sweet and sour pork with fried rice.

What we thought: I have to say it again, this was standard cheap greasy Chinese food and not much more. The General Tso's was our consensus favorite, but while both the orange chicken and the General Tso's were labeled as spicy both were quite tame. The General Tso's had a little hint of spice and the orange chicken had a slight citrus flavor, but otherwise these two dishes were nearly identical. 

Orange chicken with fried rice.

General Tso's Chicken with steamed rice.
We were fond of the barricade of broccoli.

The sweet and sour pork was fried flavorlessness. With no sweet and no sour this dish was just cheap pork coated in batter. Our clear consensus least favorite dish.

Flavorless sweet and sour pork without any veggies.

The yat was a delight though! Still not better than our mediocre General Tso's chicken, but it was packed full of seemingly fresh vegetables like baby corn, snow peas, a variety of mushrooms, water chestnuts and more. We couldn't tell if the sauce was supposed to be a broth or if it was just really thin, but it was watery, fatty and bland. I would eagerly order yat at another establishment to see the same concept done well. 

Beef yat with all it's wonderful veggies,
but also with it's confusing sauce/broth type liquid.

 Another high point were our egg rolls. The filling left a lot to be desired, but the exterior was golden, brown and delicious with a satisfying crispness. A small, but appreciated touch was the sweet and sour sauce being given to us in a deli container rather than in packets. Made dipping easier.

Golden, brown and delicious egg roll.
Well, at least, on the outside.

To be fair to the wonton soup I had it last after taking a short nap after all this gluttony. I was impressed with the shear size of the wontons, so if you're a huge wonton fan this might be the soup for you. Sadly though the broth was watery and flavorless, the meat was unsurpsingly questionable and the wonton wrapper didn't make up for it with either flavor or consistency.

Wonton soup

Judgement: A solid single nom for Mayflower Chinese Carry-out. Definitely not worth the trip, but if you live on the south end of the neighborhood and are craving a greasy Chinese fix, you would probably be fairly happy with Mayflower, but if you're looking for slightly better Asian eats, I would head up to Adam Express for some Korean food or even for their Chinese-American interpretations. You could also pick delivery or grab a bus to Eastern Carry Out in Adams Morgan for a similarly greasy, cheap, yet better tasting meal.

*Mayflower clearly advertises they don't use MSG, so don't let my joke mislead you. 

Tacos, Tortas and More at Pica Taco

Pica Taco
1629 Columbia Rd. NW
Washington, DC 20009 

Nom, nom and half a nom (2.5)!

Cost per person: $10 or less

Being from Texas, I have salsa in my blood and the memory of many tacos in my heart. Moving to DC was exciting and wonderful, but heartbreaking to leave my love of tacos behind. I arrived in August 2009 and immediately sought out some tasty morsels to fill the taco shaped hole in my soul, but alas everything I tried in DC and Silver Spring (where I lived at the time) made me miss the small taquerías of Dallas and Austin more than I ever thought possible.

Eventually, a wonderful thing happened: my friend Rachel invited me to live with her for a few months in Mount Pleasant, an amazing neighborhood filled with Peruvian, El Salvadorian and Mexican eateries. I tried to regain hope, but the Cafe Citrons of Dupont and California Tortillas downtown had left me crushed. One day I read a DCist article entitled Desperately Seeking Tacos and renewed my hope to find well seasoned, cooked meat with simple veggies wrapped in a soft corn tortilla and topped with delicious salsa in the district. I am happy to report that Pica Taco in the area between Mt. Pleasant and Adams Morgan as well as Super Taco & Bakery in Adams Morgan have fulfilled my cravings as much as I could have ever hoped in DC.

Our feast with drinks and salsa

The Basics: Pica Taco is located at the corner of Argonne Place and Columbia Road in a "park" wedged between those streets and Harvard at the very south end of Mount Pleasant. The inside can seat about 14 people, but it has quite a bit of outdoor seating so when the weather is nice it would be a great spot for people watching or you can head across the street and take one of the benches in the park. Their menu has all the Mexican classics we've come to love in America including burritos, tamales, tortas (a very substantial sandwich) and of course tacos. The prices are really good for DC, but still a little higher than taco loves from the southwest might be expecting. With a drink and tip $10 should be more than enough to satisfy hungry eaters.

There is also a second location on Florida Avenue and 14th in the U Street area.

Breakfast fans take note: they also serve breakfast tacos and breakfast burritos! I will definitely be reviewing those later. They also carry a selection of bottled agua frescas, Mexican Coke (real sugar!) and horchata (though the horchata is canned, one of the reasons they get 2.5 noms rather than 3 noms).

Vegetarians, I plan to do a strictly vegetarian visit, but rejoice... Pica Taco has a respectable sized vegetarian menu packed with dishes that sound quite delicious.

Clockwise from top left: Lengua (tongue), Al Pastor (pork),
Pollo (chicken) and Barbacoa (beef) tacos

What we ate: My roommate, Matt and I split the Al Pastor (pork cooked like doner kebab or shwarma), Barbacoa (braised beef), Pollo (stewed chicken) and Lengua (beef tongue) tacos. We had hoped to also try their tilapia tacos, but they were out.

Chorizo Torta

We also tried a chorizo torta. Chorizo for the uninitiated is a flavorful pork sausage often used in Mexican cuisine and a torta is a sandwich often served with similar meat to the tacos, onions, Mexican fresh cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and beans.

What we thought: The tacos were fantastic. All the meat was prepared nearly perfectly. Even the lengua which I often order for authenticity, but rarely enjoy was incredibly tender and flavorful without the often off-putting texture that usually comes with tongue. The chicken was packed full of flavor and the overall winner of flavor was definitely the beef. Unfortunately the beef was also the least tender despite most reviews saying it was braised for hours.

Clockwise from top left: Pollo (chicken), Barbacoa (beef), Lengua (tongue) and  Al Pastor (pork) tacos

The garnishes were perfect though. Not only were they the tradition cilantro, onion and radishes with a lime wedge on the side, but the cilantro and onions were prepared in a way to provide a really fantastic crunch as a contrast to the tender meat.

Overall we loved the tacos, the two negative comments I could make was the lack of fresh tortillas. These were clearly not anything special aside from the being a platform for the fillings. All in all, not horrible, but for anyone who has had incredible tacos closer to Mexico know the difference fresh or house made tortillas can make. The other comment was best put by Matt when he said the tacos really needed some of the house green salsa to make them shine. I happen to think you need salsa on a taco so I don't mind, but if you prefer sauce-less tacos be warned you might be missing out on flavor.

Pica Taco's delicious,
but fiery green salsa

Quick note on the salsa: it is fantastic! That said, it does pack a bit of a punch so use sparingly unless you're someone loves fire.

The torta was a new item for both of us. Despite not being a huge fan of raw onions, avocado or baked beans, the flavor was great. (I know all my fellow Texans are shaking their heads at me for those comments, sorry?) My one issue would be the texture of the sandwich. Between the beans, avocado and chorizo the sandwich was overall very mushy. I would've liked some more cilantro for crunch like in the tacos or maybe pickled jalapeñoes, but if you like all those ingredients I don't doubt you'll love this sandwich.

Judgement: If you live in this area or are passing through are are craving tacos you really need to go to Pica  Taco for a bite, but I wouldn't say they are worth a special trip unless you are desperately craving a taco. The meats are as flavorful as they can be and overall very tender, the garnishes are traditional and well executed and the salsa packs a punch of heat and flavor. The tortillas on the other hand are definitely phoned in.

The tortas are a delicious twist on a sandwich with Mexican flavors, but had a very uniform mushy texture that is hard to overcome if you don't love all the flavors contained within.

For that I had to give it a nom nom nom rating or 3 noms, but call me picky if I'm having authentic taco experience I want some horchata! It's a rather simple drink to make and a perfect pairing for tacos. For that and for the tortillas I'm giving Pica Taco two and half noms.

Next up... Mayflower Chinese!