Dish of the Week: Tamale
Where: El Centro D.F.
In the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America, tamales are a Christmastime tradition. Families gather for the repetitive task of stuffing masa or corn flour—often with meat or other ingredients depending on the region, into dried corn husks and steaming the little bundles as a staple of Christmas Eve dinner.
Around the streets of Mount Pleasant and other neighborhoods with strong a Salvadorian presence in Washington, vendors can be found selling the delicacy street-side—prepared in home kitchens, wrapped in foil, stuffed into coolers, and available for a buck fifty or two. These tamales Salvadoreños typically have shredded chicken in the middle of their corn flour base.
A Texas or northern Mexico style tamale is thin and has a high ratio of meat filling with it corn, whether it be a pork, beef, or another stewed mix.
In time for the holidays and extending on a special menu through January, El Centro D.F. is featuring tamales inspired by a recent trip to Oaxaca. Tamales from central Mexico are typically doughy and fluffy. Here, the base is a moist, crumbling sweet corn dough made with masa and kernels of sweet corn with butter and condensed milk, topped with garlicky shrimp. Instead of the wet chocolaty mole sauce one would expect to find, a dehydrated mole is sprinkled on top the dish to add an essence of Oaxacan flavor while keeping the finished product drier.
The one that particularly stands out from the restaurant’s Destination: Oaxaca menu is a tamal de hoja santa. Hoja santa, or sacred leaf, is an aromatic, velvety herb related to the black peppercorn family. Native to the tropics of Mesoamerica, the leaves can grow very large and are perfect for wrapping things in. Here, the edible green wrapper is stuffed with a smoky Oaxaca cheese.
Small Bites
Fishnet becoming Drift on 7th
What was once Fishnet will reopen in January as Drift (1819 7th Street NW) on January 7th. The owner thought the Shaw location was more conducive to a casual, full-service concept than the counter service business they had been doing. The focus of the menu will be on sustainable seafood, such as invasive blue catfish, served at affordable prices with no menu items priced above $20.
Beer Grain Crust at Pizzeria Paradiso
Step 1: Collect spent grains from beer making. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit! And donate the proceeds to the charity Bread for the City. What exactly is step 2, underpants gnomes out there may be asking? Make special pizza crusts out of the beer grains! The crusts, made from grains donated from the DC Brau brewing process, are available at all Pizzeria Paradiso locations through December 24. Plus this Wednesday at the Georgetown location, you can bring in canned goods for donation to Martha’s Table and get a can of beer and some free pizza in return.
Low-Batch Spirits Cheaper than Mainstream for Macon
The beverage program at Macon Bistro & Larder (5520 Connecticut Avenue NW) has been swapping in lower-batch production spirits for mainstream brands as their go-to pours and lowering the price point of drinks because of it. Instead of Bulleit Bourbon, for example, which they can get at $32.99 for a 750ml bottle, they’ll now grab Traverse City Whiskey Company’s bourbon for $5 less—and it has a higher alcohol content to boot.
