WASHINGTON — When former food bloggers Bettina Stern and Suzanne Simon opened their taco tent at the in 2013, friends and customers questioned their decision to exclude meat from the menu. Some even suggested they serve 鈥渏ust a little bit鈥� of bacon or sausage crumbles as a taco topping.
But they ultimately went聽against that聽advice.
鈥淲e started without [meat] and found that we really didn鈥檛 need it; we decided that it wasn鈥檛 necessary,鈥� says Simon, co-founder of the plant-based taco concept . 鈥淲hy add it just to add something on that people think needs to be there?鈥�
Now, just two years after Chaia鈥檚 launch, their veggie-only commitment is聽rarely an issue聽for the business鈥� new and returning customers.
鈥溾�榃hen are you coming out with your meat taco?鈥� That is never a question,鈥� Simon says.
At Thursday鈥檚 lunchtime market by the White House, Chaia鈥檚 customers include everyone from market regulars, to nearby office employees to President Obama鈥檚 staff. (White House chefs Bill Yosses, Susie Morrison and Cris Comerford have all eaten at Chaia.)
On Sundays in Dupont Circle, Stern and Simon sell about 900 tacos in the span of four hours to the FRESHFARM Market crowd.
To keep up with demand for their vegetarian 鈥渇arm-to-taco鈥� concept, Stern and Simon are opening Chaia鈥檚 first storefront this summer in Georgetown.
Traditional tacos with a twist
Under Chaia鈥檚 market tent, Stern, Simon and a staff of about 20, grill homemade corn tortillas and stuff them聽with a variety of seasonal vegetables. The business鈥� menu, which consists of three different taco varieties, is constantly rotating.
鈥淓verything is so driven by what we can get from the farmers,鈥� Simon says.
Popular combinations include mushrooms with feta and a red sauce; zucchini and olio picante with farmstead cheese and radish; and creamy braised chard and potato, served with a green sauce. Microgreens and a chipotle yogurt sauce top the tacos, but even those are contingent on what鈥檚 available from local suppliers.
鈥淭his week we鈥檙e working with asparagus, and we鈥檙e tweaking our sauces and our garnishes to play off of something that is very seasonal right now,鈥� Stern says. 鈥淪o we will do this taco for a little while and then we will move into the next order of vegetables that are going to start popping up.鈥�
Seasonal聽vegetables are the base for Chaia鈥檚 tacos, but Simon says the salsas, fresh herbs and grilled corn tortillas are what make them unique and tasty.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e all sauces that we learned to cook in our home kitchens, really, and just also by loving to learn while we travel,鈥� Simon says. 鈥淕etting to know a culture 鈥� food is such a good way to do that.鈥�
Plans for Chaia鈥檚 new restaurant
When Stern and Simon open Chaia鈥檚 new restaurant in Georgetown this summer (it will be just below Wisconsin and M streets), they plan to make聽more than three kinds of tacos available. One thing that won’t change, however, is Chaia鈥檚 dedication to聽an all-vegetarian menu.
鈥淣ow we have lists and lists of what has come into season at certain times, so we can actually plan our menus in advance and have a pretty good sense of what we鈥檙e going to be making before things start popping up and growing,鈥� Simon says.
Sticking to vegetarian tacos is something that Simon says is important to Chaia鈥檚 identity, and it鈥檚 part of the influence the two found while traveling in Mexico.
鈥淭hey use a lot of squash; they use a lot of greens; they use a lot of corn. If you branch outside of what the American menu is [in Mexico], it鈥檚 a country that鈥檚 so rich in traditional recipes and cooking and seasonal food and fresh ingredients. 鈥� That鈥檚 kind of a side of Mexican cooking that we didn鈥檛 really recognize until our radar was on vegetables.鈥�
Chaia鈥檚 menu at the new Georgetown location will also feature聽some seasonal side dishes, juices that make use of , and locally roasted coffee. Stern says seasonal sweets will also be available.
鈥淭here are very few fruits, locally, in the middle of winter, but there will be things that we鈥檒l work on to have some additional items,鈥� says Stern about the planned dessert offerings.
Stern and Simon plan to work a Dupont favorite into the restaurant鈥檚 menu: a breakfast taco filled with a fried or scrambled egg.
The homemade grilled tortillas will still be featured聽at the Chaia storefront 鈥� Stern and Simon even built two hoods to accommodate the grilling, since it鈥檚 such an important part of the experience. 鈥淭he theater of pressing hand-grilled tortillas is really lovely and the smell is delicious,鈥� Stern says.
The new restaurant, located on the canal at 3207 Grace St., will also have a second-floor space that the two owners hope to use for special events.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited that it鈥檚 slightly off the beaten path and kind of a little gem to search out, although clearly visible from many different directions,鈥� Stern says. 鈥淲e even have a little bridge leading to our shop.鈥�
Tips for tacos at home
Stern and Simon鈥檚 best advice for making vegetarian tacos at home is to find your favorite in-season vegetables for the base of the taco, and roast or grill them. However, prior to putting them in the oven or on the grill, Simon says make sure you dry them off so they don鈥檛 end up steaming. Then, toss the vegetables with oil and plenty of salt.
鈥淰egetables are not going to be good if they鈥檙e just boiled and plain, or if you just cut them and put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven and let them steam,鈥� Simon says.
The two cooks say you can either make your own corn tortillas (they use a mix of masa, water, salt, and a little olive oil 鈥� a process that Simon says takes about 10 to 15 minutes), or use your favorite brand.
And they recommend using a creamy cheese, such as the FireFly Farms Allegheny Chevre, to add additional flavor and texture, as well as your favorite salsa and some fresh herb garnishes.
And of course, they say a farm-to-taco meal — especially one on Cinco de Mayo — is best washed down with a or a .
