By DCist contributor Celeste Dawn Mitchell
In May, we bemoaned D.C.’s lack of street meat and wondered if it damaged our credibility as a legit city. While New York has enough food carts to command a dedicated blog, we stagger consumption of our precious half-smokes so as not to burn out on them.
With another alternative on the scene, we can be a little less whiny about our predicament — at least on weekends. When rollin’ through Mount Pleasant, we stop at the corner of 16th and Lamont streets for chicken empanadas, pupusas, taquitos, and other Latin American favorites for the snacking. The handful of carts at this informal street market have no visible food licenses and no affiliation with the massive Shrine of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church behind them. It appears to be a “live and let live” among the carts, the cops and the church.
Our staples are the chicken empanadas (three for $3) and the chicken taquitos (three for $4). At our favorite stand (the one beside the red truck), Elena pulls home-fried empanadas and taquitos out of a plastic drawer and drops them into a Ziploc sandwich bag. Next, she tops them with ensalada de repollo (a cabbage slaw) and a shredded cheese she calls simply “Spanish” cheese. Finally, she douses it all with a special tomato sauce from her thermos before sealing the bag, creating an adorable little snack pack for munching on the go.
After watching the spectacle that goes into making Crazy Corn, sheer curiosity drove us to try it. Our corn on the cob was skewered, smeared with mayo, sprinkled with shredded cheese, and finally, drizzled with our choice of ketchup or barbecue sauce (we chose both, the greedy bastards that we are). We unwrapped the foil and nibbled typewriter style, so engrossed in the sweet, tangy, juicy bites that we forgot to ask if that mayo was lowfat. Eh. Sweater weather is coming soon enough.
We also dug (sorry) the yuca con chicharrón — wedges of fried yuca root mixed with chunks of fried pork. Again with the slaw and the cheese and the sauce and the bag. We just aren’t used to seeing our street food so thoughtfully assembled.
One caveat: the only “refrigeration” here comes in the form of the patio umbrellas shielding the carts from the sun. So when our inner germophobe strikes, we head home and nuke our grub in the microwave.
Latin American food carts
16th and Lamont streets NW
Sat. and Sun., 8 a.m. to sunset
