Yeas & Nays spent Sunday evening feasting on chocolate-tinged enchiladas and spicy tacos at Mike Isabella’s Bandolero pop-up preview in Penn Quarter. Housed in LivingSocial’s new event space, the makeshift restaurant served up a bevy of Mexican small plates and imaginative cocktail pairings. Favorites included the sopes, topped with lamb and chipotle goat cheese, and the mahi mahi tacos. The dishes will be on the menu when Bandolero opens full time in Georgetown this spring.
A smiling Isabella popped by the Yeas & Nays table to make sure we were enjoying chimichurri-topped hanger steak and, more importantly, that we were suitably liquored up. “We have strong margaritas and a lot of tacos,” he said. We assured him we were taking full advantage of the cocktails. Isabella excused himself, saying his face was burning after accidentally rubbing it with chilies, but he resurfaced later with the guys from O.A.R., who were playing a show downstairs.
