The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
"Culinary couple Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy opened Pascual last year in Capitol Hill with the Popal Group. The hearth-focused menu honors Coss’s native Mexico City and the chefs’ combined experience working at top-tier Mexican restaurants. Smoked chicken and whole grilled fish shine on the seasonal menu, but vegetables are also given special treatment whether they’re roasted whole or fill the rotating selection of tamales. Oaxacan flavors are also present throughout the menu, with tlayudas topped with in-season vegetables and classic mole sauces in many dishes. Coss flexes her pastry muscles with must-try desserts, like the colossal cinnamon-dusted buñuelos that never leave the menu. The Popal Group is also behind Adams Morgan’s Afghan hit Lapis and French Georgetown gem Lutèce." - Tierney Plumb, Emily Venezky
