La Loma

Close buddies of BOOF, Twin and Nattag and I always try and get together but this does not always happen as often as we would like. however, with my DC departure imminently approaching, we knew that we had to make something happen very soon. we all finally found a day that we could meet up for drinks and because I was trying to use up all/most of my groupon/livingsocial deals before I left, I recommended Lounge 201 by Union Station for happy hour.

Unfortunately, as I reached Lounge 201 on one of many blisteringly hot DC summer days, I came to found that they are randomly closed for "special events" on mondays, none of which were actually occuring. weird. so sadly, i was unable to use my groupon, but with so many great places in such a close vicinity, we walked a little farther up Mass to a Capitol Mexican spot, La Loma.

La Loma sits in Capitol Hill on Mass just south of Stanton Square Park and just north of Union Station next to two other restaurants, Bistro Cacao and Cafe Berlin. I had previously been to La Loma before with BOOF buddy, ea, before BOOF officially began and really enjoyed myself. the best feature of these three restaurants are their large front outdoor patios. All three have very expansive outside seating and because it is in the front rather then in the back, it allows for a nice amount of people watching. however, the bushes are a little high in most areas so it limits outside people watching you eat. On summer evenings and afternoons, it can be one of the most pleseant places to be in DC with the hustle and bustle of the outdoor patios of each restaurant.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, it was really really really hot and humid outside (go figure DC), so we opted to sit inside in the nice air conditioning. sigh. The inside decor is very "traditionally mexican" (whatever that is supposed to mean) with bold color choices on the walls, a few cacti throughout but nothing too unexpected. we weren't really hungry so we just ordered the strawberry margaritas and the guacamole.

the margaritas were good and a perfect way to cool off on a hot hot summer day (did I mention that it was hot outside?), but not the best margaritas I have ever had and nothing to call home about. however, we did only start off with a half pitcher and we ended up ordering another half pitcher, so they had to have done something well.

the complimentary chips and salsa were decent, but the salsa was a little watery which I am not really a fan of because it makes it that more difficult to scoop the salsa on your chip. however, i could not stop eating the chips and salsa. the guacamole was nice and fresh but i do wish we would have been given a little bit more for all the chips that they put on the plate. the guacamole was served with a special more phyllo texture chip that was so good. i could just ate a bowl of those chips and been a happy camper. they should really make those chips the highlight of their restaurant because they were heavy enough to withhold the weight of the guac and not crumble but light and airy all at the same time.

all in all, i would maybe go back to la loma for a meal, especially because of its convenience. when I was there before, I am pretty certain that I had the Veggie fajitas which were tasty but nothing above average. there are plenty of things to do in the are (see, Cafe Berlin) but i would only recommend La Loma for a cheap bite, not necessarily for quality Mexican. Go to Casa Oaxaca for that.

Grade: B-/C+