They say if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Boy, were “they” wrong because Mi Cocina is one you actually need to get into to take the heat. Yes, it is officially upscale Tex Mex. No, not your circa-1980’s Tex Mex and no, I won’t name any chains. Dishes to try at Mi Cocina range from true favorites like guac and chips to tamales and enchiladas. Take a look:
- Ceviche de camarones ($8.95)
- Tacos de brisket ($13.95) Shredded brisket oven-roasted overnight and served on flour or corn tortillas with cheese, rice, salad and avocado.
- Tacos de camaron ($14.95) is chile-lime seasoned shrimp and cole slaw a la Mexicana served in corn tortillas with avocado, salad and rice.
- Asada de pollo con mole, grilled chicken breast with Oaxacan mole sauce, arroz y refritos ($13.95)
- So big, the Deluxe 57 ($13.95) is served on two plates, in true Texan form. Bring your appetite and your appetite’s appetite. There’s a cheese enchilada, chicken enchilada, beef enchilada, beef taco and cheese taco, rice and beans.
- Wash it down with a Dilemma and sweeten the memory with flan.
Photo: Kelly Greene
Mi Cocina
Various locations

1969-2014. As a child, Kelly was founder and president for life of the “Clean Plate Club.” Later, in college, she ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 6 days straight. Third-generation Washingtonian Kelly caught, cleaned and cooked her own seafood. She saw centers–convention, capital, shopping–rise and fall. And she could probably tell you what restaurant “used to be here,” but she never met the President. This refined (finicky?) fed found the ways and means to fine dine with a good wine.