The Switch: Mexican Karma in Lorton

Lorton's newest Latin restaurant used to be Lorton's newest Indian restaurant. Five years ago, Subhash "Tony" Gavri moved to Laurel Hill with his family and opened "My Karma Indian Bistro" at 9429 Lorton Market Street. The reviews were stellar and the food was excellent. But it wasn't enough.

"When was the last time you went to an Indian restaurant?" Tony asked Patch in a recent interview. "A while ago, right? When was the last time you had Mexican food? Exactly. I think, culturally, Mexican is pretty close to Indian. There is a big need in the area because everybody eats Mexican and not everyone eats Indian and that makes for a very select clientele. So, we got our entire family involved and they invested money to change the concept."

My Karma closed on May 29 for renovations. "It wasn't making it, to be honest," Tony said. "We had a very good following. Everybody loved the food, the service, the ambiance. I think some people were upset when we closed, but we needed to make a business decision to survive and to feed my family."

Pasilla Modern Mexicano opened at the end of July. Upon walking into the restaurant, customers are greeted by Latin House lounge music and a large Diego Rivera painting. New barstools line the extended bar, and a flat-screen television shows Mexican soccer games. Five booths line one end of the restaurant, and tall tables are at the other end. In English, "Pasilla" is a spicy Mexican chile.  

"The entire place has changed," said Tony. "We sell guacamole like there's no tomorrow, and we still serve Basmati rice."

Puerto Rican Chef Juan Natal calls his menu "modern Mexican". "I believe in the karma of the place," he said. "We're still testing certain ingredients to give the Mexican food a modern contemporary feel. For example, I'm experimenting with curries and chiles from India." 

Natal, whose credits include stints with Gaylord Hotels and the Ritz Carlton, studied at Johnson and Wales University in Miami. "We want to make it fun. In the next two weeks you'll see us coming out with avocado fries, cheeseburger tacos and surf-n-turf tacos with lobster," he said. 

Nick Dudok of Bel Air, Maryland, went to Pasilla Modern Mexicano with Indian food in mind. "I went there because it had great reviews online for Indian food," he said. "I really liked it. I liked that there was a short menu. I thought it was unique."

Duduk ordered a Negra Modelo beer, the carne adobada (adobo-marinated flank steak in garlic, onions, annato paste and fresh cilantro) and finished with the flan. 

El Pasilla is open for lunch and dinner. Prices range from $5 for two chicken tacos to $14.50 for the carne adobada.  

"Our focus has always been the food," Gavri said. "I feel that whatever food we make, our goal is to do it with a flare that is hard to find anywhere else."