Colada Shop, a D.C.-based eatery specializing in modern Cuban cuisine and drinks, is heading to Cabin John Village. Doors could open as early as next month in the former Le Pain Quotidien space, between Cava and the outdoor dining courtyard. The menu will feature coffee and traditional Cuban fare, plus some new twists on the classics: chorizo and chickpea calderos, avocado tostadas, vegetarian Cuban sandwiches and plantain latkes. On the alcoholic side, there will be piña coladas, mojitos and Caribbean-themed cocktails. Executive chef Mario Monte, who moved here from Florida, says he’s enjoying the freedom to push the envelope. “In Miami, there’s an emotional attachment to Cuban food of the 1940s and ’50s – croquetas, pastelitos, empanadas — the things that people were eating right before the Cuban revolution,” he says. “What I like to explore is, ‘What if the revolution hadn’t happened? Where would Cuban food have gone next?’ “
