An Extra Order of Tortillas

AC and I love to spend the day in Georgetown just eating. But it can be a bit troubling when we’re trying to decide where to have the big meal for the day. We’ll contemplate what we had for breakfast or for dinner the previous night, as if that will help our decision. We’ll discuss pros and cons. We’ll even do the “I don’t care, you decide” back-and-forth routine. Funny thing is, 100 percent of the time, it ends up being Don Lobo's Mexican Grill, an authentic Mexican diner.

We love places like Don Lobo’s. It’s a tiny, dark place, kind of shabby, with probably no more than a dozen tables. And more often than not, we’ll see a few employees kicking back with a sopapilla or plate of tacos shooting the breeze with their peers. Upon entering, the gracious host (who clearly recognizes us, but is too polite to say anything) greets us with a smile and immediately brings out the homemade chips and salsa and a couple waters to start. This kind of warm welcome inspires me to tuck the napkin in my collar, grab my knife in one hand, my fork in the other, and get ready to tie it on.

A meal at Don Lobo’s starts out with one of the tastiest salsas in town. It’s a thick tomatoey puree flecked with bits of the charred coating from the roasted peppers, giving the salsa a powerful smokiness. The chips, largely unremarkable at most places, are made on the premises and are right out of the fryer—crispy, a bit greasy, and tough enough to stand up to the piping hot salsa (the salsa really is served piping hot) and chunky guacamole.

As per usual, we have our standbys, but we always force ourselves to branch out. For the favorite, we always share an order of beef fajitas. The beef is unbelievable. The strips are marinated in some ungodly mixture (Tom Sietsema claims pineapple juice is a key component) that makes for the most tender and tasty strips. The marinade is so flavorful that AC will often take pieces of the tortilla and/or the homemade chips and scoop up the juices straight from the blackened skillet so he might savor them on their own merit. I’ve eaten hundreds of Mexican meals in my lifetime, and I have never seen this bizarre activity take place other than at Don Lobo’s with AC.

But what really makes this meal worth crossing the Key Bridge for are the homemade tortillas. It's amazing that such a seemingly unremarkable sliver of a restaurant can produce what are easily the best tortillas in the DC area. About five inches in diameter, these made-on-the-spot corn tortillas are moist, super thick, almost doughy even, and can withstand the overdose of peppers, onions, and nicely charred beef that we are accustomed to eating in one handful.

Unfortunately, each order of fajitas comes with a measly three of these wonderful creations, so, naturally, we always make sure to ask for an extra order. And if you don't order the extra tortillas at the outset and then decide you require their services later, you'll be stuck with a few sad storebought tortillas. That's right- the real handmade tortillas require about 15 minutes of prep time and can't simply be produced on demand. Trust us. We found out the hard way.

And we always get the chicken enchiladas in a red mole sauce. In my experience, enchiladas can be a gamble. There have been so many mediocre enchiladas in my life that I rarely consider it an option. But there are times when the sauce or preparation will sway me. In this case, it was the red mole sauce. We have enjoyed many a mole at various places in various states, and it’s always different. This one, in particular, ranks very high. The thick sauce has a mild flavor of roasted chilis and blankets tender chicken rolled in yet another homemade tortilla.

If there’s even one tiny cubic inch of space left in our stomachs (and frankly, even if there’s not), we’ll likely order some sopapillas, those delightful fried doughy pillows sprinkled with powder sugar and accompanied by a sauce that seems to be a mix of rum, butter, and honey. It’s hard not to love any kind of fried dough, but the sopapillas at Don Lobo’s are among the best we've had: puffed up with heat, thick at the edges, doughy, and slightly chewy, the perfect medium for absorbing the rum, butter, and honey sauce. It’s a great way to end the day because after this meal, we’re done.

Visit Don Lobo’s Mexican Grill at:

2811 M Street NW
Washington, DC  20007
(202) 333-0137

-AK