Rosa Mexicano Restaurant, National Harbor, MD

As I mentioned in a recent post, my husband, our dog and I were in the Washington D.C. area a few weeks ago.  Before reaching D.C., we spent a few days in National Harbor, MD, just across the Potomac river.  National Harbor is a micro-city, founded just fifteen years ago; the project was spearheaded by a committee of developers, which were granted permits challenged by the Sierra Club, for environmental impacts and the challenge that it inflicted on the continuity of the Potomac Heritage Trail.  In spite of its controversial start, it has become a major convention site, and also has the largest casino floor outside Las Vegas.  In the photo below, from left:  The waterfront has a lively marina (fishing, kayaking, cruises, etc.), and the pier leads to the Capital Wheel, were riders might get a view of monuments and other landmarks in D.C. from the top.  During the summer months, there is a free concert series at the riverside stage, with live performances. The Jumbotron is a monumental screen with local information, free movies and sport coverage; concealed behind the giant screen, from this point it may be seen a piece of an equally giant shiny sculpture:

“The Awakening”, by J. Seward Johnson, Jr., is a magnificent sculpture, consisting of five cast Aluminium pieces depicting a giant, struggling as he emerges from the sand, installed originally in Hains Point, D.C., and relocated in National Harbor in 2008:

And just next to these attractions, across from our hotel, a Rosa Mexicano restaurant may be seen as part of the landscape:

Rosa Mexicano is a restaurant chain founded by Josefina Howard, a Spanish-Cuban chef and entrepreneur who grew up in Spain; after both her parents were killed during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), she left for Mexico, where she lived for twenty years, falling in love with the country, and its cuisine.  Ms. Howard then moved to New York City, in the United States, where she started a couple of food ventures before opening her first Rosa Mexicano in 1984, making culinary waves as the first upscale Mexican restaurant in New York; I remember it being mentioned on TV in Mexico, crediting this restaurant as being a haven for authentic Mexican food in the US, beyond tacos and burritos.  

Rosa Mexicano means “Mexican pink”, a shade of bright pink that has been used in Mexican textiles and crafts for centuries; the name was coined also in New York City in 1949, during a fashion show of Mexican designer and painter Ramón Valdiosera (1918-2017).  

Throughout the years, other restaurants under the Rosa Mexicano brand were founded, in New York, and other US cities, and Ms. Howard continued her involvement until her passing in 2005.   As stated on their website, they continue their founder’s vision of bringing upscale dining that honours Mexican cuisine, with  influences from contemporary and global trends.  In the photo below, the Menu at Rosa Mexicano, National Harbor, MD:

One day we did not have much time for lunch, so it was very convenient to get a quick bite from across the street from the hotel.  Their lunch main dishes included tortas (Mexican sandwiches on crusty buns); Quesadillas on wheat tortillas, or intriguing cauliflower cassava tortillas; chicken flautas (crispy tacos), and salads, amongst other things:

I chose the torta with crispy chicken milanesa (a breaded cutlet); the description said that it came with queso Oaxaca (string Mexican cheese from Oaxaca), black beans (refried) and sliced avocado, which were inside the bun along with the breaded chicken, as well as pickled jalapeño, shaved cabbage, tomato, and waffle fries, which were served on the side, including a small portion of ketchup, as well:

In terms of authentic flavours, the milanesa, beans and vegetables were good, but the contemporary twist of soft bun instead of crusty was not of my liking.  The waffle fries and ketchup were definitely not part of a traditional Mexican plate, although nowadays many stands and restaurants in Mexico do serve fries with their offerings.

Another day, we got take out dinner, and ate it at the hotel’s patio, again, very convenient.  The main dishes listed were not many, but all sounded interesting:

I have posted about the Tampiqueña steak; a dish favoured by steak houses in the late 1900s, no doubt that item has been there since the beginning.  I also have several posts about Pipián , including verde (green).  We ordered the Pork Carnitas de Cazuela (clay pot pork confit), and the Roasted Mushroom Huarache:

The carnitas were nice (photo below, left), although they made the common mistake of shredding, like pulled pork, instead of chopping, the traditional way, so every bite of meat has some of the flavourful browned exterior.  The tomatillo salsa flight (photo below, centre from left) of roasted with chipotle, avocado, cooked and pico de gallo were all delicious and creative.  The Habanero pickled red onions were not very spicy, a nice touch to add flavour to the tacos we made with the handmade corn tortillas (photo below, right):

Huarache is a leather strap sandal, and the dish pictured below was given that name in Mexico in the 1970s, from the size of the corn dough oval that holds all the toppings, long and as big as the sole of a sandal.  This version was a very nice twist of traditional huaraches, which are fried with lard and only have refried beans and red or green salsa on top; the corn base was not fried at all, just grilled, and in addition to refried beans, it was topped with a medley of mushrooms and sautéed spinach, pasilla sauce, and finished with fresh cabbage and radish slices:

The balance of rich mushrooms and pasilla peppers, with the fresh and light taste of the spinach and raw veggies makes this huarache a delicious vegan option on their menu.

All in all, I thought that Rosa Mexicano (National Harbor, MD) kept true to the original mission of the restaurant, which is to promote Mexican cuisine, presented in contemporary ways, incorporating trendy flavours and ingredients.