A New Taqueria With Technicolor Tortillas Replaces Troubled Hot Spot Emilie’s | Eater DC

"After months of upheaval and a public split between majority owner Sam Shoja and opening chef Kevin Tien, the once-splashy Capitol Hill communal dining venue Emilie’s has been shuttered and rebranded as Paraíso. The split with Tien — whose menu previously blended Japanese, Latin American, and Southern influences and featured dishes like Vietnamese pork steak alongside ranch-fried chicken and Sichuan green beans — led to severing the partnership; Tien now leads the high-end Vietnamese restaurant Moon Rabbit at the Wharf. Chef Hamilton Johnson replaced Tien but left two months later as the team faced pandemic-related financial realities (Johnson now holds a top post at Michael Schlow’s Glover Park Grill). Despite those challenges in recent months, Emilie’s had pivoted to double as a market, selling preprepared dishes, local produce, bottled cocktails, and wines from woman- and minority-owned vineyards before the space was turned over to the new concept." - Eater