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 |
 |
| 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 |
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment