Mecho’s Dominican Restaurant Sells Chimi Sandwiches From the Los Hermanos Family | Eater DC

"Located in a brand-new building inside the Shops at Dakota Crossing, Mecho’s Dominican Kitchen (2450 Market Street NE Suite #801) occupies 2,400 square feet and is named after the owners’ mother, Mercedes “Mecho” Compres, whose recipes started the menu. I found that Mecho’s offers four kinds of chimis — none of which are sold at Los Hermanos — including the chimiclásico, a beef burger on a sesame seed bun filled with cabbage, shredded carrot, sautéed onions, and Mecho’s salsa rosada; versions with chicken and pulled pork shoulder use the same condiments in classic torta rolls. Although the brothers say you won’t find a vegetarian chimi in the Dominican Republic, they introduced one here with grilled cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, sautéed onions, and the same pink salsa, “a good option that’s not, you know, rice and beans,” as Aris Compres quips. The restaurant seats about 70 inside and 30 outside, sells alcohol (including a happy hour from 2–6 p.m. with three $5 frozen cocktails — daiquiris, margaritas, and piña coladas — and $3 beers such as Dominican Presidente), and even offers smoothies made with a shot of Dominican rum. Aside from chimis and drinks, the menu mirrors Los Hermanos with Dominican breakfast platters like mangú with salami, mofongos that can be topped with pork belly chicharrón, fried chicken, or shrimp, and the twins are testing out pig’s feet and cow’s stomach on a limited schedule. Visually, the space keeps the red and yellow link to Los Hermanos and adds dark blue from the Dominican flag, and I noted a mural by Dominican painter William Bautista depicting a lively Caribbean street scene modeled after loyal patrons." - Lenore Adkins