This place is in my neighborhood and I have seen it for years but honestly the portion of the shopping center it is in, Culmore, isn't the place you would usually found someone like me (a non-Latina) but I went there by happenstance Friday night. I needed a birthday cake but my usual bakery (Tiffany's at Seven Corners) had already closed as it was past 8 PM.
My boyfriend and I were heading to Giant for a cake but we were gassing up across the street and he spotted the word "Panaderia" (bakery in Spanish). He speaks Spanish and we decided it was worth a try since we were NOT looking forward to a cake from Giant and we also thought that it would be an adventure to go inside.
The adventure began outside the store where we had to pass at least 8 loitering locals that were quite confused to see me walking into a store in that shopping center at nearly 9 PM on a Friday night. Upon entering we discovered that we had found the obvious hidden jewel for Culmorians because the place was packed. Nearly every formica table was full with people eating dinner. It is always a good sign when the locals patronize an establishment in droves.
We proceeded to the bakery section, which is at the very front of the store. The bakery has a section of traditional baked goods that Latinos love, which are mostly various sweet breads. I did a quick search for some Guatemalan milojas but they did not have those, much to my disappointment. They have a cake case in which there were some pre-made personalized sheet cakes and some cakes that had various fruits on top. The cakes with fruit came in three different sizes and they also had individual slices available. We got a cake with white icing, coconut on the sides, and fruit (mango, peaches, strawberries, and kiwi) on the top. It was about a 10" cake and cost $20. The young girl working at the bakery counter wrote on it for us. I am pretty sure she did not speak English so my BF handled the entire transaction. I am so glad we stopped because the cake was delicious! It was moist, light, creamy and not too sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed it as did everyone else who tried it.
While we were in line the guy behind me actually said "What brings you in here?" I told him we needed a cake and had spotted the store from the gas station across the street. I then asked him "Do I stand out that much?" He admitted that I did and then proceeded to tell me I should try their soup and papusas. He said they can't be beat in the No Va area.
I love me some papusas and we already have plans to try their papusas in the coming weeks. I will update this review when I have done so.
Bottom line is that this place may be a hidden jewel but if you are not a Latino expect to have quite a lot of eyes on you and expect to need a translator to order. On my next visit I will test them by having my BF keep quiet. I do know enough Spanish to order food but I will try to order in English just for this Yelp review.
Update 10/11/12
I went back to the Chicken House to try out the papusas and my opinion is; they are AWESOME! I got cheese papusas and they were very large and loaded with yummy cheese. They offer cheese, reveltas and bean at $2.25 per papusa. I was even able to order in English and the girl at the counter had no problem communicating with me. We took some seats while we waited for our order and got to observe the crowd, which was quite interesting. Especially the obnoxiously drunk man that insisted on bothering the girl at the counter by whispering over the counter to her incessantly. She just kept shooing him away. No need to eject the drunks in this establishment.
I also checked out their menu and they have lots of yummy offerings. We saw many customers purchasing soup and it looked insanely good. It came in big huge bowls that were loaded with veggies and other treats. It is on my list to try next.
I am now a fan of the Chicken House in the lovely Culmore Shopping Center. It is like traveling to Central America without the long flight. I have even revised my star rating to 4 stars based on the delicious papusas I was served. I say be adventurous and try this place out. As long as you aren't pretentious I think you will enjoy the experience and you will definitely enjoy the food! read more
