EDA'S Latin Food

Eda’s Latin Food Brings Nicaraguan Recipes and Culture to the D.C. Area | Eater DC

"Tucked into an industrial park in Manassas, Virginia, I found a small Nicaraguan restaurant whose counter is decorated with wooden blocks carved and painted to look like nacatamales, a bold window display of plantains, fried cheese, and pollo asado, and hand-painted portraits of the yellow-and-white sacuanjoche and a volcano. Co-owner Damara Downs, a former Managua schoolteacher, runs a classroom-style kitchen where cooks undergo two weeks of training to master homestyle methods: nacatamales made from seasoned corn masa and lard ladled into plantain leaves; queso frito made only from queso fresco so it’s thick, lightly caramelized, and with a soft crunch; and gallo pinto given a rich dark color by day-old white rice and small red seda beans boiled with garlic and fried with oil and onion. Nacatamales and bajo (a party dish of carne, plantains, and yuca cooked in banana leaves) are offered on a special weekend menu and must be ordered in advance — people have come from New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania to buy large quantities — and the menu also includes cultural staples like rojita soda and fritanga plates. More than food, Eda’s stages cultural events (La Gigantona, La Purisima) and functions as a gathering place for Nicaraguans around the Beltway; after opening in 2015 it quickly found ardent local support, weathered a pandemic shutdown with steady community backing, and remains focused on preserving and sharing Nicaraguan culinary and cultural traditions." - Eater