Friday, May 6, 2011

Local Outlet on El Centro D.F.: "Bringing Mexico to DC without the drug lords and fire ants"

As U Street Girl had mentioned, the folks over at El Centro D.F. (Masa 14's Richard Sandoval and Kaz Okochi) were successful in making their Cinco de Mayo grand opening last night. And from the looks of the line, getting a table at the new 14th Street taqueria is going to be a might bit difficult.



Did anybody manage to squeeze their way in last night? If so, was the months of anticipation worth it?

How are the local journos reacting to the opening, you ask? Well, the most interesting description of the new tacqueria thus far comes courtesy of DC scene publication "Dining Bisnow," which described El Centro this way:

El Centro D.F. is bringing Mexico to DC (without the drug lords and fire ants).

I must say, this city has gone long enough without a drug lord- and fire ant-free tacqueria, and I for one am glad that someone was able to step up and fill the void.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got in but left when we found out they were charging a $20 "cover" which we thought was tacky for a restaurant opening.

rahul said...

So tiresome reading stereotypes of "drug lords" and fire ants" = for your information ther are thousands of taquerias in Mexico tht are not populated by "drug lords". Onteh other hand there are plenty of clubs here that are - ever been to the Park? As for fire ants, Mexico City is at 7,000 ft. and is not full of tropical fire ants. Should we sy every place in DC is full of rats and cockroaches?

Anonymous said...

Well the $20 cover was for free appetizers and drink specials. I've heard the apps were all really good, but have not been yet myself sadly...

Anonymous said...

Then not exactly "free" if they're charging you $20. When restaurants open, the custom is to provide free food, or let customers explore what they might want to eat first, before you "tell" them what they should eat. We were also turned off by the cover and left.

Anonymous said...

Rahul needs to lighten up. It was a joke.
I went there last night, the food was good, the drinks were good, sevice was uneven but I am sure that will work itself out. Pretty reasonable considering the prices in our hood I will go back.

Anonymous said...

I see a place with a line down the block and a $20 cover, I keep walking.

Anonymous said...

The Grand Opening Was A Disaster.

Where to start -- the $20 cover, inexperienced bartenders making drinks, long wait times at the bar, long line to get in, appetizer shortage, annoyingly loud music, and bouncer's inability to manage the door made opening night a huge disaster.

El Centro better get El Organized if they want to be stay open. Three floors of space requires a loyal following. I wish them luck; they will need it.

Anonymous said...

We went Friday night--the first night for real food service. Of course it was opening night but our waitress was clueless. The food delivery was a mess, it took us 45 minutes to get our guacamole. But the bonus was we got to watch the kitchen help drag two full trash bags through the entire downstairs dining space to get them outside to the trash--that should have never happened. The meal was OK. Some at the table did think it wasn't any better then Baja Fresh! Since at a TEQUILERIA one would think they would have a tequila menu. There wasn't one mention of the stuff. We had to ask our waitress about it AND she didn't know anything about the tequilas. Hopefully they have improved all this. THe best thing so far is the fact that you can make reservations for the dinning room. Going back thursday with a group to see if its improved.

Anonymous said...

we walked in and had a 30 minute wait this week on Saturday, which was nice. reservations were full but we got in anyway. drinks on the patio were okay. my main complaint is that the guacamole they serve you si not a very substantial portion. their mocajetes are shallow and though they say they make it at your table, the presentation is far from what you get at rosa mexicana, which i don't even really like that much.

that being said, we ordered two helpings of it, and two other app's, a round of drinks and dinner for four, which ended up being about $100. not bad.

As for Rahul, i think it's safe to say ever place in DC is full of rats. Cockroaches is a gross exaggeration.