3226 11th Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20010. Phone: none
Worth visiting in a 10 mile radius.
Forget Din Tai Fung and Baekjeong. Bad Saint is the new king of incredibly long restaurant waits. It’s located in the ethnically diverse Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C., which is mostly made up of brightly colored row houses, and has a thriving restaurant scene. On a Monday afternoon, my family wandered past Bad Saint around four o’clock on our way to get groceries. We were planning to go to Bad Saint for dinner, and had read about the epic wait times, but were not prepared for what lay in front of us: a line of at least 25 people! The Filipino kitchen (which is named after St. Malo, the first settlement of Filipinos in the United States) does not open until 5:30. We hurriedly got in line to save our spot, because the tiny interior only seats 24 people, and they don’t take reservations. After the first wave of patrons is seated, co-owner Genevieve Villamora takes phone numbers and texts people when their tables are ready. We didn’t get texted until about 9:15, 45 minutes before the restaurant stops seating new customers. The moral of the story? Be patient if you want to get a seat at Bad Saint. There’s also another moral, one that only people who end up getting a table will realize: good things come to those who wait.
Bad Saint’s 24 seats are crowded into a small space, most of which is taken up by the open kitchen. Loud music blasts overhead, which contrasts with the more traditional décor. Patrons boisterously chatted while we were given our menus, which consisted of a few each: vegetarian dishes, seafood dishes, and meat dishes. The plates were rather small, so the waitresses suggested 3-5 plates for a party of two.
We were served a complimentary appetizer which consisted of mangoes to be dipped in a spicy and savory sauce. I liked the mangoes and the sauce by themselves, but together it seemed like the flavors of sweet, spicy, and savory were locked in combat.
The first entrée we got was sisig. It is a fried mixture of pork jowl, onion, and chili peppers served with a side of chili vinegar. Most bites of this dish weren’t spicy unless I added the chili vinegar. Occasionally, though, I would hit a chunk of hot chili pepper and flames would engulf my mouth. I also wound up with a bad case of onion breath the next day. Nevertheless, the combination of pork and onions made for a simple, tasty plate.
The vigan (not “vegan”) empanada is an empanada stuffed with beef and bean sprouts, lined on the inside with egg and also served with a side of chili vinegar. I love empanadas and I was very excited to try this. The beef and bean sprouts were both fresh. However, the egg lining the inside ruined the empanada. It was gooey and flavorless, yet somehow it still overwhelmed the other, better ingredients. This dish was a disappointment.
The chilled octopus salad is reminiscent of octopus ceviche. It consists of octopus tossed with onions, fingerling potatoes, greens, and a lot of lime juice. People who say they don’t like octopus have may never have had octopus at Bad Saint. You will find no rubberiness in Bad Saint’s octopus. Instead, you will find tender meat that infuses lime juice into your mouth with every bite. The octopus also couples well with the vegetables, especially the fingerling potatoes, because they tone down the strong taste of the octopus a little bit. I thought I didn’t like octopus, but I loved the chilled octopus salad.
For dessert we were served something that looked like a damp, gray veggie sausage. I wasn’t very excited about eating it until the waitress told us that the “veggie sausage” was actually a steamed plantain covered with sweet sauce. One bite, and I was sold. Steaming the plantain might have made it lose its color, but certainly not its flavor. The sauce makes it a little sweeter, but not overly sweet like typical American desserts. Best of all, this dessert is complimentary!
Bad Saint’s prices are reasonable considering the quality of food you’re getting. Plates range from $13-$37. Keep in mind that the menu changes frequently. Service was friendly and the waitstaff was good at explaining every plate. Almost everything was amazing. Bad Saint is well worth the extremely long wait.
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