Isn't that Red Star in the photo?

So if Tsunami and Lemongrass shared a kitchen, does Diablita share the kitchen with Lemongrass? That sounds awkward.

Durhamst- nope, that's Diablita Cantina- eerily similiar to it's sister restaurant Red Star.
EL you already know how I feel about Diablita Cantina after my last post on the subject a few days back. It sounds like you had much better service though- I'm skeptical but I'll give them one more try.

We went to Diablita Cantina again for lunch today on the way back from an appointment at Mercy Hospital. We got excellent service from the day bartender/waiter (I think her name might be Jodie, but I'm not sure). She remembered our drink order from the last visit, too.

Our food was better than the first visit, as well. Peggy got the Chopped Salad (Garlic-lime marinated chicken breast, mixed greens, avocado, black beans, Chihuahua cheese, roasted corn, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, spicy balsamic vinaigrette) and the Steak Tacos (Flank steak, bacon, caramelized onioins, and red chile diablo salsa).

I got the Three Cheese Quesadilla (Garrotxa, Cotija & Chihuahua cheeses, roasted onions, and hearts of palm) and Spicy Pork Burrito (Chile-lime braised pulled pork, calabaza, roasted corn, caramelized onions, jalapeno coconut rice).

We liked all four choices, but the favorite was the steak tacos.

Captcha: Victrola Ore- (Cleatus' phonographic miner name).

With regards to the kitchen situation, Lemongrass and Tsunami never actually shared a kitchen. The food was painfully similar so it would have made sense for them to do only one kitchen. However, there were and still are two separate kitchens--this according to a friend of mine who worked at Tsunami (may it rest in pieces).

As for Diablita, I gave it a try last week after seeing EL's "pre-review." I thought it was great. I went in for lunch and was particularly fond of their pick 2 for $11 special. Great bargain. I'll have to try it for dinner and drinks now after seeing EL's review.

We went there for brunch a couple of weeks ago. I had a Bloody Maria (essentially bloody mary with tequila), and the Smoked Salmon & Avocado Benedict (from the menu: house-smoked salmon, poached eggs, cornbread, chipotle hollandais).
The bloody maria was good enough to order a second. I am normally not a fan of anything-benedict, but I couldn't pass up the combination. Everything was quite good, but the cornbread cake on the bottom was fantastic.
Overall an above average experience. We are definitely going back.

Recently, I ate at Azul 17 and Diablita back to back, and couldn't have been more surprised by their differences. On their face they seem to have the same concept of upscale Mexican food with expensive tequlia drinks made with agave extract and fresh limes rather than bottled sour mix. They both make fresh guacamole and charge you for chips and salsa.

However, just the decor marks the distinct differences between the two. yes, Diablita is very much like Red Star but it's so intelligent for the space and really comfortable. There's nothing comfortable about Azul 17, half of which seems like the cheesey set of the 1975 Rollerball, and the other half matches pink booths with a painting that looks like it belongs on the side of a van. They brag about pushing the tables aside for dancing at night. I guess I just want dinner.

The basics at Azul are bad, the expensive salsa are not worth it and the tacos are tasteless. I'd rather go to the Shell station in Jessup for my tacos. When I visited for lunch they told me that the special taco maker was only there at night. So I went back at night, yes they offered al pastor but it wasn't worth the extra visit.

On the other hand at Diablita I really enjoyed several dishes especially the empandas. However, didn't like paying for a thimble of the red diablo sauce which was uninspiring. I agree this is a great place to stop for a drink, enjoy some of the appetizers with friends in a comfortable environment. Same recipe that works at Red Star with a Mexican twist.