In the last few years we seen an impressive increase in restaurant diversity in the D.C. area. Laotion restaurants, a new Malaysian restaurant, more vegan dining options, and as a of few weeks ago, a Puerto Rican restaurant. La Famosa, located in Navy Yard, offers an all-day dining experience, with guava-filled pastries, tropical fruit milkshakes and coffee for breakfast and a menu full of Puerto Rican platos for dinner.
Puerto Rican food isn’t known for its vegetarian fare, but at La Famosa chef Joancarlo Parkhurst makes sure that vegetarians are included in the best way possible. The stars of the menu include the bolitas de queso, little fried cheese balls that melt in your mouth and serve as the perfect partner to one of the restaurant’s rum infused cocktails, and pastelillos, stuffed and fried turnovers, which are a great munching snack as well.
Chef’s mofongo however is the pinnacle of the menu.  Plantains, fried and then mashed with impossible meat, garlic and salt, is the ultimate combination of sweet and savory, with a dense, chewy texture and so much umami. Rice and pink beans, cooked in tomato sauce, are a great accompaniment, as are crunchy tostones, fried green plantains served with a fragrant, bold, garlicky and citrus-infused mojo sauce.
For dessert the passionfruit mousse is tart, sweet and dangerously creamy. Enjoy it with a cup of coffee – or another pina colada!
