Classic tacos at Bodega, covered in onions, cilantro, and avocado salsa. | Bodega Mexican street tacos, Miami-style bar food, and margaritas on tap liven up the sleepy downtown D.C. neighborhood A new taqueria and tequila spot from Miami is ready to shake up the quiet nightlife scene in Foggy Bottom. Bodega Taqueria y Tequila opens up with an all-day casual counter in the front and a party-filled speakeasy in the back on Friday, January 24. The tenth location of the taqueria has the same elements that made it a hit in South Beach and Chicago: Mexican street food with a 305 twist, a focus on the perfect margarita, and wacky decorations. Bodega A stuffed burrito with a side of queso. Co-founder and CEO Jared Galbut says the brand’s distinct look of ordering from a cut-in-half airstream below a marquee with hilarious quotes grew organically and is now installed into every location that he’s built with his cousin and co-founder, Keith Menin. “It’s very hard to find, it’s a pain in the butt,” Galbut joked about the huge airstream. The RV facade is the first thing you see when you walk into the new 3,800 square foot location, but you’ll have to search little harder to find the industrial back of house door covered in graffiti by D.C. artists. That understated entrance, which was disguised like a porta potty door at the first location, leads into the speakeasy serving up spicy and passionfruit-spiked versions of the classic margarita. “You walk in the back and it just feels like a really cool, relaxed, fun bar, where you can get great margaritas, great cocktails,” Galbut explained. “It’s not a nightclub... we want people to just feel comfortable, like you don’t feel so pretentious.” The relaxed lounge will still host late night DJ sets and stay open as late as local ordinances allow, with hours extending till 2 or 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The food served across Bodega is “90-percent Mexican street style tacos,” an homage to the seven years Galbut spent in Chicago managing hotels and falling in love with casual taco trucks across the city. He brought in Cuban chef Bernie Matz to develop the menu with a dash of 305 flavors like chimichurri, salsa rosado, black bean refrito, and more Latin American ingredients from the melting pot of Miami’s food scene. Bodega Cheesy grilled dorados tacos are filled with beans, pickled cabbage, yuca, and other fillings. Bodega Crispy dorado tacos, queso-covered nachos, and sweet jalapeño wings pair with all kinds of tequila-based cocktails. “I joke the first tasting was like, the worst tasting in my life, ever,” Galbut says. “And then we went through 900 tastings after that, until we got it perfect. And we both looked at each other and went ‘this is it.’” There are classic tacos like al pastor topper with pineapple and cooked down carnitas, but also playful smoked brisket and coconut shrimp tacos that integrate new flavors. The best deal might be the two for $7 dorados, crispy tacos fried up on la plancha and filled with cheese and beans, smashed yuca and pickled cabbage, or roasted corn and cotija cheese. There are also stacked burritos (including a late-night variety filled with three types of meat), quesadillas served with multiple dipping sauces, birria tacos and consommé, and plenty of typical bar food apps like nachos and sweet chili jalapeño wings. Bodega Pitchers of margaritas and beer are available in the laidback lounge, along with fancier cocktails. Galbut hopes that the normally priced tacos ($4.75 to $6), salads ($14), and bean-and-rice-based bowls ($15-17) will draw in young professionals looking for an easy lunch or dinner by the office. Earlier in the week, there are budget-friendly deals for nearby college students, like Taco Tuesday (three classic tacos for $12 and two dorado tacos for $5) and Margarita Monday (two-for-one margaritas, $30 pitchers, and $5 frozen margs). Margaritas have proven to be both a happy hour and late night favorite across all Bodega locations. “We sell 95% that, and maybe the rest of the cocktails is 5%,” Galbut clarified. “You know, you’re coming for the experience that you love, and who doesn’t love a great margarita?” While he loves a spirit-forward drink over a sweet one, the founder says they finally settled on “the right middle ground” between agave, strong tequila, and refreshing lime juice for the house margarita. The original recipe is on draft, but bartenders can also mix up custom spicy, cooling cucumber, or sweet watermelon versions as well. While a casual taco spot by day turned margarita-obsessed local bar by night may seem out of place in dead-on-the-weekends Foggy Bottom, Galbut hopes Bodega brings something new to the central neighborhood. George Washington University students are already knocking on the door “every five minutes,” Galbut said, asking when the taqueria will finally be open, and when they flew down their new landlords, Boston Properties, to check out their original Miami location the agency “got it right away” and immediately wanted them to open the downtown location. Bodega Trays of meaty nachos also make an excellent late night snack. While setting up the two locations in Chicago, an obvious first expansion to bring the tacos back to where they were inspired by, Galbut flew through countless cities and debated where they should expand to next (Nashville is coming up), but he had a “gut feeling” about D.C. “I know everyone could say, look at the foot traffic here, and what’s here, and blah blah and all these technicalities,” he said. “But I just went there and I go: I think this is it... That’s kind of the nature of Bodega, you know, that’s how we’ve grown... It’s just really authentically organic.”