Johnna’s Pick of the Week: Rosa Mexicano (National Harbor)

Before this weekend, we could not understand the hype surrounding Rosa Mexicano. That is, until, we came face to face with the National Harbor’s Rosa Mexicano. The setting is beautiful with patio style chairs lining the outdoor dining area and a cool, fresh view of the Potomac as you sip Tequila. The inside decor isn’t much to talk about except if you sit in the right seat, you too can get a nice glimpse of the waterfront as you dine. Reasons we fell in love with this place over the weekend?? Well besides the fact that the view is beautiful and when the weather is warm it’s always fun to sit outside with a Margarita or two (while the breeze from the Potomac lightly touches your shoulders…), the food was delicious.

It was a large group of us (*It’s that time of year to celebrate graduations around the clock…), so our expectations for the service were very low going in. We were delightfully surprised however to find some of the most attentive service for a group of 16. We didn’t have to send the staff back for missing orders and it wasn’t a big fiasco when one of our guests had special meal requests. Before this dinner, we hated guacamole as in “ugghhh, disgusting, we’ll pass…”, but Rosa National Harbor changed our minds. The restaurant is known for great guacamole that they make right there at your table with fresh avocado, tomatoes and onions amongst other fresh ingredients. We ended up eating half the bowl. By ourselves. Enough said. The Flauta de Pollo (*Small, rolled crispy tacos topped with salsa verde & sour cream) were a nice treat in between waiting for the entrees too. The entrees ranged from grilled organic salmon over black beans and french cut chicken breast topped with a wild mushroom-tequila cream sauce (*This was our absolute fave of the day besides the guacamole…). But they didn’t stop here, dessert was even more inviting. It was a rich, creamy cheesecake with cajeta sauce (*which basically tastes like caramel) in the center.

We were impressed. The Rosa Mexicano in D.C. does not compare to the one on the Harbor. We don’t know if this is due to different management or the newness of the one on the Harbor, but this is definitely worth the drive. We would go back and this time we are sitting in one of those comfy looking patio chairs…

Picture source: http://www.rosamexicano.com/ChefsCorner/Recipes/tabid/89/Default.aspx#guacamole_en_molcajete