Oyamel Cocina Mexicana and Navy Memorial, Washington D.C.

I had a most delicious lunch at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana last week after visiting the National Gallery of Art. I met my blogging friend Cathy of nomad, interrupted at the museum and we had a fun time viewing all the impressionism. Please check out my post on that at the link.

For lunch we opted for this great Mexcian place just a couple of blocks from the museum. We felt a little awkward when asked if we had a reservation. Luckily they did have a table for us. Our waiter advised us on how to order our meal. They feature antojitos, or small plates of food. It is suggested that you get 4-5 antojitos to share then each of us choose a protein from the other side. We opted for two items to share and we each chose an item from the other side of the menu. Everything was fantastic! Come along and see what we had for lunch that day. First some restaurant scenes:

interesting things on the wall including words in Spanish

the butterflies gave it an airy feel

5 kinds of ceviche!

bloggers unite

We chose Frijoles refritos con queso: Slow-cooked refried beans stuffed with melted Chihuahua cheese, served with Mexican cream and fresh tortillas and Papas al mole: José Andrés’ favorite potato fries in a mole poblano sauce of almonds, chiles and a touch of chocolate, topped with Mexican cream and queso fresco. I loved both of these! Cathy chose a shrimp dish and I had a chile relleno but I’m not finding either on the menu online so I can’t copy the descriptions here. They were both very good! Albeit a little spicy. I didn’t get a photo of Cathy’s shrimp but here’s the rest of the food:

frijoles that looked like something you’d never eat

yummy spuds with sauces

my chili relleno

The rest of the photos in the restaurant were of the ceviche bar. I’m not sure how it works but it sure was pretty!

: Oyamel Cocina Mexicana

On our way to the metro station we bumped into the Navy Memorial. There were these 3D sculptures coming out of the wall that caught my eye. I’m so glad we went that way or we’d have never seen this memorial.