Photo by joyosity.
Dish of the Week: Elote
Where: El Chucho, Standard, Satellite Room, corn stand at 14th and Newton
We hope you did your patriotic duty and fired up the grill yesterday. After all, it wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without plenty of grilled meat, corn on the cob, and watermelon. If you grew up in the Midwest (like me), you know there’s no better food that a grilled ear of sweet, tender corn slathered in salted butter. Sadly, the corn in D.C. is never as sweet and delicate as the stuff of my childhood, but D.C. does have plenty of elote, or Mexican corn on the cob.
Elote takes plain old corn on the cob to a new level by topping it with cheese, chili powder, lime, and mayonnaise. For corn purists, this may sound like an abomination. But the salty cheese and sour citrus heightens the sweet and nutty corn, while the mayonnaise adds some gooey richness. You can grab an ear of elote at a couple restaurants around town, from a street cart vendor in Columbia Heights, or make it at your next barbecue.
Small Bites
Can I get that Manhattan animal-style?
Many restaurants are known for have secret off-menu items, including Starbucks and, perhaps most famously, In-N-Out Burger. But secret cocktails= menus? Yeah, that’s now a thing. Black Jack (1612 14th Street NW) is rolling out a monthly secret cocktail menu. This month’s secret cocktails include a Caipirinha, Daiquiri, Daiquiri Suze, and Old Tommy Elder, all priced at $10. Be sure to order them by name; if you ask about the secret menu, staff will feign ignorance. You can keep track of what’s being served online.
BBQ and baking
Stop by Jackie’s (8081 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring) this Sunday from 1-5 p.m. for its third annual BBQ and Bake-Off. Enjoy all-you-can-eat barbecue (Texas brisket, North Carolina pulled pork, and St. Louis ribs) as well as plenty of sides and veggie options as well. The meal is $20 per person and kids under $10 eat for free. If you’re handy around flour and sugar, Jackie’s will also be conducting a bake-off that afternoon. Bring your entry over by 4 p.m. for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant.
Frida Kahlo in food
Oyamel (401 Seventh Street NW) is celebrating Frida Kahlo’s birthday today through Monday. The restaurant will offer a special dinner and cocktail menu inspired by a birthday dinner Kahlo cooked for herself in 1942. Dishes include Sopa Seca de Fideo, fried vermicelli noodles in a pasilla and tomato salsa with queso fresco and avocado; Tamal Rojo, ancho chile flavored tamales stuffed with braised pork; Revoltijo, shrimp sautéed in a guajillo and ancho chile sauce with nopales and potatoes; and Mole Amarillo, boneless pork cooked in a yellow mole sauce of guajillos, tomatillos, hoja santa and avocado leaf.
