Chicatana

A front-row seat to sublime Mexican cooking Why go here with so many Mexican competitors nearby? Because the three young owners are doing something different - ants are sprinkled throughout the menu, for instance - and incorporating touches you tend to see in fancier places, in pricier parts of DC. Drinks are made with fresh-squeezed juices and almost everything is cooked to order, a process you can see if you park in front of the kitchen counter. Picture street food made with flair: gorditas arrive in a slender, hand-painted box and tortillas are shaped from masa harina, pressed so thin you can read through them and brushed with lard before they land on the griddle. Im a fool for tacos stuffed with beef tongue braised for hours in cloves, bay leaf and garlic.