I pride myself on being in the know about the latest culinary offerings in the city.  I may not make it to all of them in a timely manner (I vow to change that) but I definitely am aware of whats here and what is to come.  So color me surprised when a date night ended up at a place I had never heard of…a VEGETARIAN…VEGAN…TACO…place I had never heard of.   I give you, Chaia Tacos.

Who run the world? Girls. Chaia is led by and run by females. SOLD! What began at a D.C. farmers market has grown into two locations (Georgetown & Downtown). Coming from a show at the Kennedy Center, we opted for the Georgetown locale.

Obviously popular, there werent any seats available when we walked in, the menu is short and sweet. None of that assembly line stuff going on in Chaia, they took the guess work out of the taste combinations by offering seasonal and fresh flavor profiles that follow the farm to table recipe. Or as they say at Chaia “Farm to Taco.”

Because I am participating in Dryuary, I was not able to partake of the adult beverage offering, but the hibiscus tea that I did have? I would go back for that ALONE! Not cloyingly sweet, but satisfied my inner Goldilocks by being just right. Refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to my selection of the Taco Trio.

I am from the train of thought that when experiencing a restaurant for the first time that you cannot form an opinion on the place by ordering your all the time one dish that you always get. So I ordered a little bit of everything. The black beans with jalapeno and crema, the potato fennel soup with chili aioli and the Taco Trio:

• BRAISED MUSHROOM-feta, roasted tomato habanero salsa and cilantro

• CREAMY KALE AND POTATO-pepperjack, poblano crema, tomatillo salsa and pickled red onion

• ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH-goat cheese, chipotle yogurt and mint

I will be honest here…I actually enjoy plant based meal options but more often than not you have to doctor it up a bit. A little salt here, a squeeze of lemon there, something is always needed to elevate the taste. That was not the case at Chaia. Literally every single thing was delicious upon first bite/sip. My companion for the night would stamp that sentiment and he is not even vegan/vegetarian! He has mentioned returning about three times since Friday and this man LOVES ribs so thats saying a LOT!

Affordable, delicious and in the heart of one of my fav shopping locales? I will definitely be revisiting Chaia to try the other menu items (I am kicking myself for opting out of their dessert menu) and I suggest you do the same.