La Famosa Readies for Opening at the Navy Yard
/Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst brings his own spin on traditional Puerto Rican cuisine
Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst of La Famosa
By Matt Yan | Photography courtesy of General Design Co. | Edible DC
At La Famosa, set to open at the Navy Yard later this summer, dining is like eating in Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst’s grandmother’s kitchen. Though that’s a bit of a cliché, he says, the familial vibe he’s created at La Famosa perfectly reflects the laid-back, no-frills nature of Parkhurst’s Puerto Rican cuisine.
“We want to do my interpretation of Puerto Rican cuisine, staying very true and loyal to the roots,” says Parkhurst, who named La Famosa after a canning company his family owned in Puerto Rico in the 1920s. “We’re doing a slightly fresher and more vibrant take on it.”
This past weekend, La Famosa hosted their second and final pop-up on the patio of Cotton & Reed, a local distillery at Union Market. Parkhurst took inspiration from chinchorros, which are modest fry-shacks often found near the beach. Here, he served up favorites like bolitas de queso with guava sauce – something Parkhurst likened to a mozzarella stick – and a Puerto Rican version of an empanada called pastelillos with beef, blue crab and vegetarian options.
They also fried up some bacalaitos: a crispy salt cod fritter served with a crema verde sauce. The cocktails were also aplenty, with the feature being a tropical-inspired Guava Smash cocktail made with Cotton & Reed Mellow Gold Rum, fresh guava, mint-infused simple syrup, fresh mint leaves and a hint of allspice: a perfect accompaniment to the DC heat.
All of these treats, Parkhurst says, are inspired by multi-faceted and diverse nature of Puerto Rican cuisine, influenced heavily from colonization and slavery.
“Puerto Rico has a very diverse culture––there’s a huge African diaspora sadly from slavery, and the English, the French and the Dutch all played a really significant role in colonial times in Puerto Rico,” he says.
The snacks featured at the pop-up are just a preview of La Famosa’s full menu, which will reflect Puerto Rican’s bold and flavorful cuisine, Parkhurst says. While some classics like mofongo will be featured, Parkhusts believes that Puerto Rican cuisine shouldn’t be defined by just a few dishes that are staples of tourist spots.
The motivation for La Famosa was Parkhurst’s difficulty of finding Puerto Rican food that “reflected the cravings of his land.” As he and his team prepare to open La Famosa later this summer, Parkhurst is confident that the palate of the DC consumer is open enough and ready to be introduced to true Puerto Rican food.
“I think it’s fun and interesting to bring [Puerto Rican cuisine] to other people,” Parkhurst says. “I think that Puerto Rican food can stand on its own, and that people are going to find it really palatable and tasty. It’s a food that has very humble origins and has that really pronounced comfort food vibe to it.”
Matt Yan is a summer editorial intern with Edible DC and will be starting his second year at Northeastern University, pursuing a combined degree in Journalism and English, with a minor in French. Follow him along his food adventures on Instagram at @yan.matt.
