Quick Take: Taqueria Distrito Federal
With little fanfare, Taqueria Distrito Federal last Friday celebrated the grand opening of its new location in downtown Silver Spring. Located on the ground floor of The Crescent on Wayne Avenue, this is the first of three new restaurants (along with Pete's Apizza and La Madeline) to open on the stretch of Wayne between Georgia and Fenton. Combine these with Ghar-e-Kabab, and you've got some decent dining options on this block, which will in the distant future be anchored by our new library.
 |
| Carne Asada Tacos |
I don't like to do full-fledged restaurant reviews, as I'm not particularly qualified, but here are my first impressions of TDF:
The Good:
- Significantly better option than Skew Works. I overheard another patron tell the proprietor that the former occupant of the space was "the worst restaurant ever." Ouch.
- Serves proper Mexican-style tacos. This is something that I feel downtown S.S. has long been lacking. (Can we get an empanada place now?)
- Tacos were good.
- Serves Mexican Coke and horchata.
- Very friendly staff.
The Not-as-Good:
- Retains some of the operating room ambiance of Skew Works. In fairness, it's early and they have done some re-painting, but eliminating the glossy white walls and installing some softer light bulbs would go a really long way.
- TVs. I get this in a sports bar, but why do so many restaurants these days have TVs installed in the dining area? It's distracting. I don't need to listen to CNN talking heads prattle on throughout dinner. Years ago I bought one of these for that very reason. I need to break that thing out again.
In all, TDF is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. I'll definitely be going back, and it probably would make a good takeout option. I grabbed a menu, intending to post it here, but haven't gotten around to scanning it. Will try to do so this weekend.
Posts
34 comments:
Their flan is great. It's made with cream cheese and is sort of a hybrid of traditional flan and cheesecake.
The TV's were going while we had dinner, but were showing the movie Elf. Does that make it an elf bar?
I'm glad they have a TV. And they play NFL games. With the volume up. That's a rarity around here.
NFL games are exempted.
The original TDF has a small TV in there for futbol matches. I'm assuming it's for the same reason. The owner is a huge Mexico supporter during World Cup.
We just had lunch and it was very good. TVs were not on. I thought the decor has improved quite a bit from Skew Works but still is a bit cold feeling. We will be going back again for sure, service was nice and the food was great.
Sport on TV Volume Troll is the greatest troll ever!
Food is fantastic and honestly Skew works was terrible.
Someohow this place with very little decor place seems so much more LIVELY when walking past it on the street. then again that could be because there are actual people eating there.
Thanks for the review. Put me down as +1 for an empanada place.
How was price point?
Beer? Margaritas?
The tapas place next to Ray's is also excellent. Great food with great service.
Now all we need is a Beer Garden!
Ate there tonight. Really delicious, inexpensive and fantastic warm attentive service. I bet once the big construction projects get going next door this place will be packed with construction workers at lunch seeking authentic Mexican food (even though many of them will be central american).
Very delicious! Some one needs get them some rosetta stone english manuals though.
I love this place. Unlike a lot of overrated overhyped Silver Spring eats this place is very welcome, original, fairly priced, and GOOD.
I thought TDF was just alright. My husband and I tried 6 different tacos, got some bone and cartilage in the pork ones, and everything other than the chorizo was a little bit dry. I think the biggest problem is that we felt unlikely to choose it over our myriad other local Mexican options (even Chipotle), even considering the delicious Mexican Coke. But the waitstaff were very nice and attentive.
We also tried by La Malinche (the new tapas place next to Ray's) which was much better, albeit a little pricey. We loved their bruschetta-type appetizer and the croquettes were fabulous. Good price for a big pitcher of sangria, and we got great service. Definitely we'll be heading there regularly.
I'm happy I'm not the only one who was disappointed with this place. 5 of us had lunch there on Tuesday and no one enjoyed it.
That's because the two anon above me probably haven't tasted authentic Mexican before.
I could be wrong but its sometimes a rather large shock in the difference in how things taste.
Yeah if you are expecting Tex Mex, which Chipotle is, don't bother with TDF. If you want real traditional Mexican, do bother with TDF. Price point was $2.80 per taco, which is a bit high in my book but whatevs. Very tasty and I'm glad they're in DTSS... welcome to the hood!
Ken Cho is correct. Tex Mex people just dont have a clue and will probably hate it.
They probably want a don pablos here as well
Why are folks comparing a taco place with a tapas place? The two are totally unrelated. Why not compare TDF to Mamma Lucia's or Lebanese Taberna?
I don't think anyone was comparing the two places, Anon. I think they were merely mentioning the two new places that had opened in DTSS most recently. Both places have been discussed quite a bit in the comments of late.
Exactly no one compared them....
just tried it last night.
really great
Has Sligo been eaten by Zombies again?
anyone who doesnt like the food here is an uncultured fool
Tried last week. The staff was friendly, and the tortillas were pretty good, but the meat in both the carne asada and shrimp tacos was dry and tough. Not braving the more adventurous options (tongue, etc.) if the basics aren't good.
Will give it another chance because, since it's soooo convenient, I really want to like it.
Re: Has Sligo been eaten by Zombies again?
No, not this time. I am on a brief hiatus until the end of the year. I've also been 5K miles away for a lot of the time, so I was a bit removed from Silver Spring goings-on. I'll be back in the new year.
Sligo - does anyone know what happened to the Scion restaurant that was supposed to go into 1200 East West? They were doing work for a while, but all work has come to a standstill since November. I hope they didn't pull out. That would be disappointing.
That's a good question. I'll look into that.
Love their food, but hate their taco shells. Can they do some homemade stuff instead of the shells that come out of a package, pretty please? Their fajitas are amazing otherwise. Price points are good - I think it was $12-13 for a whole meal of chicken and steak fajitas with rice.
He time of life is short ; to spend that shortness basely, it would be too long rs2 gold, It's great to be great, but it's greater to be human Runescape Gold, One meets its destiny on the road he takes to avoid it rs gold.
Suppose someone gave you a pen — a sealed, solid-colored pen.You could not see how much ink it had D3 Gold, think Positive Thoughts Every Day Buy D3 Gold, the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches Cheap D3 Gold.
No matter the ending is perfect or not, you can't disappear from my world eq2 platinum, In you life, there will at least one time that you forget yourself for someone, asking for no result eq2 plat, no company, no ownership nor love.Just ask for meeting you in my most beautiful years eq2 gold.
It's a serious question D3 Power Leveling and one you're likely not asked all that often Diablo iii Power Leveling, successful in each endeavor D3 PowerLeveling, take a look at what you do each day and ask yourself "why am I doing this?"
Post a Comment