El Aguila soars

by Ivy Farguheson

Photo: Julie Wiatt

El Aguila
8649 16th St, Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-588-9063 • www.elaguilarestaurant.com
Sunday through Thursday 11am-11pm
Friday & Saturday 11am-2am
Sunday brunch buffet 10:30am-3pm

If you're like many people who crave good Latino cuisine, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg on it, you may be disappointed by the slim pickings at City Place or anywhere else in Montgomery County. Nothing against Chipotle, but you want a meal—sit down, good service, tasty beverages, good conversations without screaming over music and, of course, fantastic food. Such a place does exist in Montgomery County and it is at El Aguila, the Salvadoran/Tex-Mex restaurant in Silver Spring.

Photo: Julie Wiatt

Raquel

As soon as you walk into El Aguila, you realize that you've come to the right place for some really good food. The waitresses are friendly, the ambience is not great, but not bad, and the smell of food instantly makes you glad you didn't have a big lunch. In fact, if you did have a big lunch, you'll get hungry again anyway, because the food at El Aguila is worth loosening your belt buckle. It is that good and you don't even have to take out a small loan for it.

Whether you're alone or with a group of friends in town for the weekend, you will want to take the time to try the appetizers. A test of any good Latino restaurant, especially a Central American one, is whether the platanos are done well, sweet and fried enough, but not too sweet or over/under cooked. El Aguila passes this test with flying colors. The platanos are served alone or with frijoles and cream (beans and sour cream), and either way, the sizes are enough for sharing with others. Just be careful. They're addictive and, along with the chips and salsa, can cause you to eat too much before your entree greets your table so sharing may be the optimum choice.

Photo: Julie Wiatt

Sizzling shrimp fajita

Along with assumingly typical "Tex-Mex" cuisine (tacos and nachos), El Aguila also serves some great fajitas, especially their "Fajitas de Camarones" (shrimp fajitas). The shrimps are unbelievably flavorful, but not spicy, which is perfect for fajitas, and their sizing is perfect for one person in one sitting. They do serve beef, chicken, and lobster fajitas, but it's their fajitas de camarones that allow you to taste absolutely every pepper, onion, and seasoning placed remotely near the shrimps on the sizzling plate. Definitely worth purchasing on any visit.

If seafood is not your thing, and neither is Tex-Mex, don't worry. The Salvadoran cuisine is most certainly worth a taste. Whether you want to try pupusas (the corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, pork, or beans), chicken enchiladas, or tamales, this restaurant certainly gives you options. Burritos, enchiladas, beef, chicken, and pork specialties are all available, but the combination plates are the best option if you're unsure of what you really want to eat. Unlike the fajitas, though, the combination plates, especially combination #4, are not for one sitting only. With a plate filled with a chicken enchilada, a chile relleno, rice, beans, and guacamole, you will want to ask for box for the next day's dinner. All of the servings are huge and taste even better later on, so, just think, you'll be paying for two meals in one and who doesn't love that?

Photo: Julie Wiatt

Flan and xangos are the perfect finish to a meal at El Aguila.

Plus, you must save room for dessert. If the serving of platanos is the litmus test for any Central American restaurant, the flan is the litmus for any Latino restaurant. Like their platanos, El Aguila passes the flan test with many flying colors. After eating servings of food with enough seasonings that you will find yourself later craving a bottle of Gatorade, a serving of some sweet, but, again, not too sweet, flan, will definitely hit the spot. This flan is perfectly creamy and simply slides down your throat. But if it's sweet you want, go for the order of Xangos, a pastry dessert filled with bananas and honey. Don't eat this alone, though. Your body won't be able to take it, so sharing is the best practice when ordering Xangos.

Photo: Julie Wiatt

This mural at El Aguila helps transport diners to a Costa Rican beach.

If there is any criticism of El Aguila, it is the option for the vegetarian in your group. They will be greatly disappointed, especially if they are true vegetarians. El Aguila does serve a veggie burrito, a veggie quesadilla, and they offer a vegetarian combination plate, but they are not as flavorful as the meaty dishes. While the carnivores will be "oohing" and "aahing" over their meals, the poor vegetarian will be wondering what the big deal is about and will prefer Chipotle to the options available here. Perhaps in time, El Aguila will increase their vegetarian menu, but as of now, the said vegetarian may want to skip this meal and wait for the next outing.

As for the rest of us meat-eaters, El Aguila is worth the drive to 16th street in Silver Spring. The free parking, the options, the friendly staff, and the not-so-long wait time for your food make this a great place to eat. And to practice your Spanish. It's not a necessity to eating at El Aguila, but you'll want to come back again so you might as well pick up another language.

Comments:

First I want to say that you should NEVER compare El Aguila Restaurant
to something like Chipotle. Chipotle's food is not even Mexican. I don't know if the person who wrote to article is Latino or not. El Aguila Restaurant is one of the best restaurants in the DC area and it represents us Latinos very well. The
enviroment is great and everyone is friendly all the time. The food is GREAT all the time. If you are a Latino pers, you don't care about the vegetarians. If you want grass, go to the fields and get plenty of it.

— Carlos from Bowie

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