I’ve already discussed the fact that my happy place is inside taquerias, tortillerias, really anywhere in NoVA that I can get Mexican food that actually reminds me of Mexico. It was this inclination that brought me to Tortilleria El Molino in Manassas Park. I thought I was going there for tacos. After all, I knew they would be enclosed in tortillas made onsite.
But life has a way of leading us in unexpected directions. Or, in this case, screens posted above the counter do. Besides an appealing range of breakfast items, including huevos rancheros and chilaquiles, the screens also showed photos of the restaurant’s $12 carnitas platter. I realized that the garlicky, porky smell that filled the small dining room was emanating from a tray of the meat. Sold!
The line at Tortilleria El Molino moves slowly, but the food arrives at its pick-up window swiftly. A heaping plate of bone-in carnitas may be what was on my mind at first, but as soon as I picked up the scorching-hot, foil-wrapped pack of homemade corn tortillas, I knew that they would be something special. The slick, soft wraps were an apt vessel for the crisp, meltingly fatty pork. I squeezed lemon on each piece, then piled them inside the pequeno tortillas along with lettuce shreds and cilantro. I’d picked up the herb along with powerfully spicy salsa verde at the salsa bar. Just a small swab of the tomatillo-based salsa was enough to light my mouth on fire. Al dente rice and creamy refried beans helped to tamp it out.
I was surprised to notice that not many of my fellow diners ordered tacos, as I’d been planning to. But I saw one Styrofoam container after another being stacked full of crunchy carnitas. And when I was eating them, there was no doubt that I was in my happy place.
8456 Centreville Rd., Manassas Park
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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