on our first night in d.c. we arranged to have dinner at maketto, which came highly recommended as a d.c. foodie hotspot. nestled behind the facade of a hip hop-fueled sneaker shop, this out-of-the-box fusion of cambodian and taiwanese food is off the freakin’ charts.
due to my own human error (gasp!) i misunderstood the reservation policy and we wound up having to snag seats at the bar. this was the biggest blessing in disguise, because our server/bartender was so awesome. this guy was seriously good at his job – mixing cocktails with expert precision served straight up with a side of passion. this guy would describe flavors and i swear it was almost as if you could taste them right then and there. we knew we hit the jackpot.
to start, we tried the pork steamed bao and the wok fried noodles with pork belly which were outstanding. my hubby tried the maketto fried chicken as his entree, and i opted for the spicy laab over bone marrow & rice. laab essentially means ‘salad’… however, this meal was anything but. if i remember correctly, maketto’s version of laab is minced pork & beef. the meal had a strong lemongrass flavor, which was balanced perfectly by the marrow. it was definitely an “out on a limb” dish for me, and i’m so glad i chose it. i guess that’s what happens when you have a server who describes things so beautifully!
we had such a nice time at maketto and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who visits the d.c. metro area. and if you’re a sneaker head like my husband… maketto gets bonus points! follow maketto on instagram – and follow me to stay in the loop!
