Practical food is easy on the wallet and quiets the stomach. But does it satisfy the tastebuds? That depends on what you order.
La Bamba (8241 Georgia Ave), a practical Guatemalan joint, knows how to work the seemingly easy stuff. The chicharron de carne (below, $8) hits with massive chunks of mostly lean pork, although any health advantage of lean meat is obliterated by the frying process.
The leaner pieces can be dry, but the chunks with more marbling (read: fat) are moist. Either way, the pork’s simple preparation and minimal seasoning show accentuate the meat’s natural sweetness.
The chicharron is served with fried cubes of yucca, the potato’s denser, starchier cousin. The yucca cubes have crisp, slightly sweet exteriors and moist interiors. It’s surprisingly good.
On the down side, La Bamba’s practical kitchen bombs when it comes to items with more complicated flavors.
The chorizo con arroz, huevos y frijoles (spicy sausage with rice, eggs and beans, $6.50) is a mess. The sausage arrives minced beyond recognition and in a pool of its own grease (below). It’s got a heavy hit of tomato and salt, and on one occasion, had a slight undertone of rancid meat.
The eggs, scrambled then minced, are freshly reconstituted from the box, which doesn’t say much for their flavor. The rice is — well, rice.
Both meat dishes arrive with refried black beans topped with strips of cold queso blanco (white cheese). The beans are smooth and savory, but the cheese lends nothing to the beans’ flavor or texture.
Practical Guatemalan food warrants practical decor, and La Bamba has lots of that. The simple table settings, drop ceiling and loud music are official seals of La Bamba’s hole-in-the-wall status.
The restaurant’s odd location — in a seemingly abandoned, two-story, gray and red throwback from the 1980s — punctuates its dive character.
The pleasant and quick service, as well as the cheap prices, make up for the lack of ambiance.
La Bamba, 8241 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, (301) 589-3712.
Photos by Ron Pace for The Silver Spring Penguin. Originally published Jul 18, 2007.
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I don’t eat at La Bamba, but I appreciate its existence, for all the reasons El Penguino cited.
But regarding the picture that accompanied the article: it reminded me a little bit too much of this: http://www.impawards.com/2007/hostel_part_ii.html
I haven’t been to this place in years so I can’t really give an educated opinion on it. I didn’t stop going for any particular reason. I just never had anything here that stood out. It was place I’d meet up with some of my guatemalan friends who patronized it, I think, purely because it is a Guatemalan place.
After a certain hour, this place starts to become more of a bar than a restaurant. If you are going to try it, I recommend going earlier rather than later.