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Falls Church chef David Peña will bring La Tingeria’s namesake chicken tinga tostada to television at 9 p.m. tonight on WETA’s “Signature Dish.”

During the 30-minute episode, titled “Taqueria Time,” Peña prepares the dish for Emmy Award-winning host Seth Tillman. The roughly 10-minute segment was filmed at La Tingeria, Peña’s halal Mexican street-food restaurant at 626 S. Washington St.

The episode explores the range of dishes served by local taquerias. After visiting La Tingeria for tostadas de tinga, Tillman heads to Taqueria Xochi in Navy Yard for a chicken cemita, a stacked Pueblan sandwich. The final stop is Ixtapalapa in Gaithersburg for pancita, a festive Mexican soup.

Now in its fourth season, “Signature Dish” follows Tillman and a production crew to three DMV restaurants each week. They meet the chefs, enter their kitchens and examine the culinary influences behind each restaurant’s defining dish.

A restaurant built around tinga

Peña’s chicken tinga combines shredded breast meat with tomatoes, onions, chipotle peppers and other ingredients. Its chile heat is balanced by a subtle sweetness.

The dish predates La Tingeria’s Falls Church storefront. Peña worked in construction before entering the restaurant industry as a line cook at Rustico in Alexandria, where he eventually became a sous chef. He frequently prepared tinga tostadas for staff meals, prompting a colleague to joke about when he would open a place called La Tingeria.

The name stayed with Peña after he was laid off. He launched La Tingeria as a food truck and, eight years later, opened the Falls Church taqueria in 2021 during the pandemic.

The restaurant later appeared on Washingtonian’s “100 Very Best Restaurants” list in 2023 and 2024. It was also named one of The Washington Post’s 10 best casual restaurants in 2022.

Peña said he welcomed the television show’s decision to feature the tostada that inspired the business.

Although La Tingeria’s birria tacos and birria egg rolls can attract more attention, he considers the tinga tostada one of the restaurant’s essential offerings. Featuring the dish also gave the program a direct connection to the restaurant’s name and origins.

“It’s definitely one of our signature dishes,” Peña said, adding that the selection fit what the show wanted to present.

La Tingeria sells both beef and traditional goat birria. Peña noted that birria is traditionally made with goat in Mexico, although beef versions have become widespread. He said goat can taste gamey when mishandled, but proper preparation produces a strong result. Beef birria remains one of the restaurant’s best sellers.

Behind the television shoot

Peña described filming with Tillman and the WETA crew as organized and straightforward. The production team explained how each scene would unfold, allowing him to plan the cooking and preparation.

He said viewers often do not realize how different the finished broadcast looks from the filming process—or how many takes may be needed to create a short segment.

Peña had not seen the completed episode before its scheduled broadcast and expected to watch it for the first time alongside everyone else.

“On my end everything went well,” he said. “They did a good job.”

Halal food expanded the audience

La Tingeria became the region’s first halal taqueria, a decision Peña credits with helping the business repeatedly sell out after drawing Muslim customers.

The shift began during the pandemic, when Peña wanted to operate with a smaller menu rather than bringing back pork and every other offering. His best friend, who is Muslim, suggested making the chicken and brisket halal.

Peña had already purchased halal meat because he preferred its quality, but he had not advertised that fact while the menu still included pork. Once the restaurant eliminated pork and committed to a fully halal menu, it could welcome customers who otherwise had limited access to Mexican street food.

Peña said the decision was about including more diners, not restricting the restaurant to one community. He has faced online criticism from people claiming the menu caters only to Muslims, but he argues that halal preparation allows more people to share the same food.

“Our food is for everybody,” he said.

The decision later became personal as well. Peña said he converted to Islam, making the halal menu consistent with both his quality standards and his faith.

He also believes La Tingeria helped demonstrate that halal cuisine does not have to be Middle Eastern. Halal chicken sandwiches, pizza, Italian dishes and Chinese buffets have since become easier to find around Northern Virginia.

Mexican street food without shortcuts

Peña describes La Tingeria as street food served in a restaurant. Its menu brings together antojitos Mexicanos—Mexican snacks that might ordinarily be purchased from separate taco, soup or elote vendors.

Customers can order a few small items, spend time with friends and return for more rather than committing to a large combination platter. Mixing and matching is central to the format.

Peña also applies lessons from his fine-dining background to the casual restaurant. La Tingeria does not use microwaves, a rule he traces to his training at Rustico.

Early in that job, Peña once asked where he could find a microwave to melt butter. The executive chef instead directed him to use pots and pans. Peña now teaches his own staff that even a casual kitchen should avoid reheating meat, beans or rice in a microwave.

The result, he said, is authentic Mexican street food prepared with restaurant discipline rather than inexpensive shortcuts.

A popular—but cramped—Falls Church home

Peña said La Tingeria loves operating in Falls Church, where its South Washington Street location provides heavy traffic and strong visibility. Its devoted regulars are another major advantage.

Some customers return several times in the same week, Peña said, taking advantage of recurring specials such as $2 tacos on Tuesdays, $6 birria egg rolls on Wednesdays and $2 tostadas on Thursdays. They may then return with their families over the weekend.

Seeing diners two or three times a week is among the greatest compliments the business can receive, he said.

But the location also presents serious constraints. The dining room measures only about 400 square feet, and parking has caused friction in the neighborhood. Outdoor seating provides some relief when the restaurant fills.

Peña said he has discussed relocating with the city because the fast-paced operation needs more room. Still, he remains attached to the existing site.

“We actually love being there,” he said. “We do need a bigger space, but we love the location where it’s at.”

Peña also praised Falls Church’s increasingly varied restaurant scene. He pointed to Harvey’s and its changing seasonal menu, the recently opened Paris Baguette and the city’s growing collection of Asian, Italian and other restaurants.

La Tingeria generally keeps its core menu stable because customers have established favorites, but Peña uses specials to introduce variety.

Expansion brings a new challenge

La Tingeria has grown well beyond its Arlington food-truck beginnings. In 2024, Peña opened a larger location in Spotsylvania, south of Fredericksburg. An Alexandria location was scheduled to open in late October or early November of that year.

The business also operates at Port City and holds a contract with Levy Restaurants to serve customers during D.C. United and Washington Spirit games at Audi Field.

Peña has considered Maryland, Woodbridge and Arlington for future expansion. He has even imagined eventually taking the concept to Japan, where his brother was stationed with the military.

For now, however, expansion is on pause while Peña restructures the company. As its sole owner, he wants to install general managers who can operate existing locations more independently and free him to focus on other projects.

Within three to five years, Peña hopes to return to fine dining, though he is uncertain whether that venture would carry the La Tingeria name.

His ambitions reflect lessons learned from his immigrant parents, who left Mexico at ages 17 and 18 without speaking English before building successful careers and paying off their home. Their example taught Peña to work relentlessly, while running a growing company has forced him to learn about investing, debt and using money to build the business.

Despite La Tingeria’s widening footprint, Peña said Falls Church remains central to its identity.

“We’re really grateful for where we’re at,” he said. “We really love being in Falls Church and being part of that Little City.”

Peña is already encouraging diners drawn by the television appearance to explore beyond the featured chicken tostada. His recommendations include sopas and a beef tinga tostada made with brisket, rosemary and thyme, then braised for eight hours.