Azúcar Restaurant, Bar & Grill

Azucar,
an ambitious but unpushy Mexican and Latin American restaurant in Silver Spring, makes clear at first glance that it is more than a cute-look taqueria (though there is a complete list of tacos, fajitas, burritos and the like). The mostly white bistro-ish decor and banquettes have been stripped out in favor of a spare gallery style, with walls of solid eggplant and persimmon broken by slightly offbeat black-and-white photos.

The menu showcases the cosmopolitan Creole style that evolved from the various European regimes and traders in the New World -- Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian -- and even reclaims from fast-food disgrace some homier indulgences. A dish of queso fundido , for instance, was rich with crunchy bits of skirt steak and bare of the usual layer of cheese-melt oil and served with hot flour tortillas rather than packaged chips. (As it happens, the chips, brought with roasted salsa, are notably thin and tasty.)

BY:

THE WASHINGTON POST