Mi cerveza favorita es Modelo Especial A Fork in the Road: El Paraiso (DC)

Our final stop on the walking and biking tour was El Paraiso. According to Paulette, the two most popular types of cuisine in DC are El Salvadorian and Ethiopian...what a bizarre combination! We stopped here for a snack and it was love at first bite.

There's nothing I love more than small bites with a cerveza to wash it down. Paulette traveled El Salvador and Nicaragua for a few months, therefore, anything she suggested, I was gonna try. We split pupusas revueltas con queso (small thick tortillas stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pork or just cheese served with cabbage) and platanos fritos (fried plantains served with sour cream and beans).

I had a pork/cheese and plain 'ole cheese and I must say I enjoyed the plain cheese much, much more. Don't forget to shake Tapatio hot sauce on these!

The restaurant decor is nothing special sans the murals and soccer games as 'music'; but the women are sweet and speak mostly Spanish, so having P there was key :-)

Next time I head to DC, I'm eating a full meal here: El Paraiso 3908 14th Street NW
http://elparaisorestaurantsdc.com/menu.html
No reservations needed

A Fork in the Road: Florida Avenue Grill (DC) You Can Take the Girl Outta the South...

My best friend Paulette took me to Florida Avenue Grill in DC this past weekend and this place was, simply put, THE BOMB! It isn't a brunch-y spot of U Street that feed the yuppies of DC. It's a gritty, old diner with red plastic stools, an overpowering air conditioning and most staff have been working there 18+ years - praise Viola Poindexter!

My dad grew up in Georgia, so biscuits & grits were staples of our breakfast. One order of two fried eggs, sausage patties, grits and biscuits and Pronto!!! Now, if you don't care to clog your arteries in a single meal, don't eat here. There must have been an entire stick of butter used between the biscuits and grits, but it was heavenly. I prefer sausage links to patties since my past experiences have proved to be less than edible; but these patties were generous in diameter and soft. The grits, creamy. The eggs, salt & peppered. The home potatoes were excellent, another perfectly seasoned side as well as the Scrapple looking well-seasoned. For those unfamiliar with Scrapple, it's a side usually composed of everything left on the grill - to include onions, potato, bacon, sausage, egg, just about anything.

The highlight of my meal was when the man with reflective lens Oakley's (or a knock-off) sat next to me at the counter and ordered the "Michael Jackson Beat It" special. He even jumped in our photo at the end of the meal!

So, if you can stand the strong gust of A/C, then you'll enjoy wonderfully personable staff and the Southern breakfast ROCKS! Did I mention meals aren't more than $6.95 and you can charge it?

Florida Avenue Grill
1100 Florida Avenue NW Washington DC 20009