How well I remember when El Zunzal first opened at 917. W Broad St., just a couple doors down from the offices of the Falls Church News-Press. I could not help but feel a little sorry for the new owner, Marina Perdomo, because the record for restaurant successes at that site was very poor. I am sure that citizens who've lived here longer than I can recite a long list of successive failures. The latest had been the Villa Lopez. Anyone remember them?
But Ms. Perdomo had a couple things going in her favor. She had the experience of the El Zunzal I (now called La Paz), which opened a couple years earlier at 5900 Columbia Pike near Bailey's Crossroads. And, she was the beneficiary of a lot of remodeling and appointments to the location that had been done by the Villa Lopez folks before their way-too-swift demise.
In a quiet way, El Zunzal has been a smashing success for Ms. Perdomo as she nears her 12th anniversary at the site.
The restaurant is a magnet especially for Salvadorean and Mexican food aficionados, offering a very wide variety of specialty and traditional dishes and live dancing music on Friday and Saturday nights.
There are 62 separate dishes on the menu, and an additional 10 combination plates. Along with the familiar tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, the ubiquitous rice and beans and introductory chips with salsa, there are great breakfast or brunch specialties, such as huevos rancheros and carne con huevos and some tasty items that feature prime cuts of T-bone and New York strip steak.
There are Salvadorean specialties such as shrimp ceviche, pupusas and fried plantains and pork chicharrones, and then there is the huge Parrillada La Paz for two, consisting of grilled chicken legs, pork chops, chorizo and shrimp.
Asked to point out some of her specialties, Ms. Perdomo pointed to the Especial Don Rigo, consisting of beef, pork, sauteed shrimp, green peppers, onions and "our special house sauce" with rice, salad and french fries.
And don't forget the soups. The big soups: Sopa de Camarones (shrimp), Sopa de Mondongo (tripe), Sopa de Mariscos (seafood), Sopa de Res (beef) and Sopa de Gallina (hen). These range in price from $7 to $9.25 and are meals in themselves.
El Zunzal is open Sunday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. For further information, call (703) 532-9372.
