The Cava Team Loves Beef Heart at La Limena

The DC area is home to a lot of restaurants, and among them are hidden gems that many Washingtonians aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's many food players to share with us their under-the-radar recommendations for Dining Confidential. Are you a chef with a suggestion? Shoot us an email.

Chef Dimitri Moshovitis, Ike Grigoropoulos and Ted Xenohristos have more in common than running the Cava group of restaurants. They also all love Rockville's Peruvian restaurant La Limena, located at 765 Rockville Pike.

"I get my best ideas when I eat their food because it reminds me that sometimes the best dishes are the simplest ones," said Moshovitis. "Their food is always packed with flavor and I love how they use real Peruvian spices throughout their menu."

Some of their favorite dishes are the Peruvian Chicken and the Aji de Gallina, which features chunks of chicken, Peruvian spices, yellow pepper sauce, rice, and topped with a hard boiled egg. The Cava folks are also partial to the Grilled Beef Hearts, Cuban sandwich, and house potatoes. " Papa a la hucancana" made with bread, cheese, and wine is also frequently ordered. La Limena's atmosphere is laid back, and a good choice for de-stressing after a long shift.

Cava's brand strategy team, Jamie Barmack and Nikki Rappaport, have a pick of their own in Momiji, in D.C.'s Chinatown. "Momiji is hidden in a street filled with chinese food, pho, ramen, and more sushi spots," says Barmack. "Momiji always has fresh sushi and has great special rolls. Our favorite is the Valentine Roll, made with fresh tuna, avacado, wrapped in rice paper, rice, and topped with momiji sauce, which is a blend of spicy mayo, Eel Sauce, and Wasabi Sauce. Happy Santa, White house, and Mango rolls are also our favorites." The team goes there for happy hour and before games at the Verizon Center.
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La Limena [Photo: Yelp]