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Archive for Mexican cuisine

Going to Guelaguetza

Mar18

Restaurant: Guelaguetza

Location: 3014 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90006. (213) 427-0608

Date: February 2, 2020

Cuisine: Oaxacan Mexican

Rating: Best black mole I’ve ever had

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My brother got a couple recommendations recently as to good Mexican places in the city and so me and the family decided to try out this famed Oazacan joint:

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Guelaguetza first opened its doors in 1994 by immigrant husband and wife Fernando Lopez and Maria Monterrubio. Since then, our goal at Guelaguetza has been to showcase the best of our family recipes and stay true to authentic Oaxacan ingredients. Guelaguetza’s mission is for all of its patrons to live and experience Oaxaca through all of its dishes.

 Today, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez are retired and have paved the way for their children, Paulina, Fernando Jr, Elizabeth and Bricia Lopez.  This new generation of Oaxaqueños has taken upon themselves the responsibility of not only continuing their family’s restaurant success but also expanding its legacy.   Recently they launched their online retail store where fans can purchase Guelaguetza’s famous mole and signature Michelada mix. The Lopez’s have undoubtedly become ambassadors to Oaxacan cuisine in Los Angeles.

Their hard work, dedication and love for their culture have earned them features and mentions in publications such as Los Angeles Times, Jonathan Gold’s 101 essential restaurants, The New York Times, GQ Magazine, Esquire, Los Angeles Magazine, Oprah Magazine, The New Yorker, Travel and Leisure, Sunset Magazine and others.  Most recently, Guelaguetza was awarded The James Beard Award for the American Classics category, the most prestigious award in the culinary industry.

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The interior is a mashup of modern (ductwork) and classic Mexican restaurant.

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They have an extensive bar too.
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The menu.
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Cadillac margarita. Tasty!

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Nachos with red mole and cheese. Delicious, sweet, a touch spicy and oh so heavy!

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A selection of 5 moles.

MOLE NEGRO. This is the mother of all moles, smoky, sweet, with just the right amount of spice.
MOLE ROJO. This mole is on the smoky and spicier side with hints of chocolate and spice.
COLORADITO. This mole is on the sweeter side with a well rounded finish.
ESTOFADO. This mole has an almond base with hints of olives and pickled jalapeños.
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QUESILLO FUNDIDO. Melted Oaxaca cheese, grilled chorizo, mushroom and a small side of guacamole served on a hot skillet. served with kernel of truth organic corn tortillas. Vegetarian option available — we didn’t get it. This was delicious, heavy, and very hard to get out of the pan (it stretched behind the spoon).
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Corn tortillas. Probably fried in lard.
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TAMAL OAXAQUEÑO DE MOLE NEGRO CON POLLO. Black mole chicken tamale + black beans and rice. It’s hard to appreciate how large this is — above the size of a Roman brick. Just as heavy too. The mole is amazing. The sweet corn paste rich and tasty, the chicken very tender. It was great and sat in my stomach like the brick it was :-).
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Small salad that comes with the dinners. They had squeeze bottles of zesty Italian and ranch dressing.
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COSTILLA DE PUERCO ENCHILADA. Pork Ribs seasoned in a chile arbol, chlhuacle, morita, pasilla and guajillo paste. Served with rice, black beans and green salad, grilled jalapeños and grilled onion.
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CARNITAS GUELAGUETZA. Our version of pork carnitas. Served with salad, guacamole, black beans and pico de gallo + Large handmade tortilla.
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Assorted meat plate including grilled tasajo, cecina, chorizo and oaxaca cheese. Served with rice, black beans, cactus salad and green salad. The chorizo was a touch dry. The flat meats were well interesting, but mole (which I added on top) is so strong it hardly mattered what was under it.
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MOLE NEGRO. This is the mother of all moles, smoky, sweet, with just the right amount of spice. Awesome smokey stuff. I bought a tub of it to turn into gelato!

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Beans.
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Rice.
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There is a little market at the front with moles, drinks, to-go desserts etc.
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In the back was a huge mural of the Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo. I only recently discovered his work, but the late great man is recently deceased and left humanity an enormous body of fascinating, brilliant, and often disturbing works in every medium imaginable.

Overall, Guelaguetza was some of the best Oaxacan I’ve made. The mole in particular were stunning. Portions are large, prices are reasonable (considering the former), and it’s a fun place. It is heavy. The corn flour / fat combo sat in my gut for 36 hours like a giant ball. But worth it!

Hiss to anti-immigration orange authoritarians who bash on outsiders. Why would you eat overcooked steaks and burgers all day when you can have mole like this?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Bru’s Wiffle
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Francisco Toledo, Guelaguetza, Korea-town, masa, Mexican cuisine, mole, Oaxaca, pork

Eating Washington – Oyamel

Dec25

Restaurant: Oyamel

Location: 11712 San Vicente Blvd.Brentwood, CA 90049 310.826.9222

Date: November 21, 2017 & November 20, 2018

Cuisine: New Mexican

Rating: José Andrés is a stud

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I try to hit a new José Andrés place every-time I’m back in Washington and this time it’s:

His New Mexican joint.

Funky bright decor.

Guacamole station. lol.


The menu.

Classic mojito. Somehow they were out of sugar cane!

New style mojito with foam. Tasty, but went quick.

Chips and salsa. Classic, but I like the roasted salsa and the chips were light and freshly fried.

After seeing the guacamole station how could we refuse?

Freshly made to order, with green tomatillo, serrano chile, crumbled queso fresco and a basket of fresh tortilla chips

Queso fundido con tequila. Melted Chihuahua cheese flambéed with tequila and served with fresh hand-made tortillas. Yummy and gooey.
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Cheese quesadilla for my son (11/20/18).

Ceviche verde. Striped bass marinated in lime juice with avocado and tomatillo. VERY zesty.

Ceviche de atún Pacífico. Ahi tuna with Maggi-lime marinade, scallions, avocado, toasted pecans, fresno chiles and crispy amaranth.

Ensalada de palmitos. Fresh Hamakua Farms hearts of palm, orange, radish, chayote, peanuts with a tamarind dressing. Nice flavors.

Ensalada de Alex-César Cardini. The classic Caesar salad of Romaine lettuce, anchovies, Parmesan cheese, a soft boiled egg and house-made croutons.

Pescado Baja California Taco. Crispy masa tempura-battered mahi-mahi with shredded cabbage, house made chile de arbol mayonnaise, Mexican crema and a salsa Mexicana of tomato, onion and cilantro. A little bit of heat.
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Yucatan style bit barbecued pork taco with pickled red onion and Mexican sour orange (11/20/18).

Camarones a la parilla. Grilled wild caught Gulf Coast white shrimp with sautéed squash, red chile, epazote and avocado. Like Mexican gambas pil pil.

Albóndigas enchipotladas con queso doble crema. Meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled ‘double cream’ cheese and cilantro.

Black beans stuffed with cheese.

Tamal de mole Poblano. Shredded chicken tamal with a mole Poblano sauce of almonds, chiles and a touch of chocolate, topped with Mexican crema, sesame seeds and onion.
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Costillas de res con salsa huitlacoche (11/20/18). Local dry-aged beef ribs in ancho and arbol chile rub, mesquite smoked with salsa huitlacoche.

Like all of Jose’s places this was fun and full of zesty flavors. So beats out our local modern Mexican Tallulahs. Wish we had one nearby.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Nopalito
  2. Mexican Swanky – Red O
  3. Eating NY – Cosme
  4. Not so Glorious
  5. La Sandia
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: José Andrés, Mexican cuisine, Oyamel, Washington D.C

Eating NY – Cosme

Aug11

Restaurant: Cosme

Location: 35 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010. (212) 913-9659

Date: July 1, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Mexican

Rating: Interesting ultra modern Mexican

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Cosme made #3 of New York restaurants on a list of the best 100 restaurants in the world.

Cosme is a restaurant in New York City’s Flatiron District serving contemporary Mexican-inspired cuisine. World-renowned Chef Enrique Olvera and his team create dishes rooted in Mexican flavors and traditions, while also celebrating local and seasonal ingredients from the Hudson Valley and surrounding region. Cosme’s beverage program focuses on artisanal spirits and mirrors its cuisine, letting the high quality ingredients shine.

The interior mostly subscribed to the “keep it  really dark so they won’t see our minimalist decor.”

The bar area.

It was very crowded and loud.

The menu is all share plates.

A sort of compari/aperol old fashioned. Pretty good.

For my son, a cheese quesadilla (off menu).

Chips with a kind of romesco-like paste. The paste was great.

Cobia al pastor, pineapple puree, cilantro. A nice crudo with sweet and savory notes.

Uni tostada, avocado, bone marrow salsa, cucumber. I liked this a lot, despite the tomatoes. The uni was very briny. We had an uni virgin at the table and she was not a fan — but it is an acquired taste.

Lobster, shiso, ginger mojo, brown butter. You could really taste the lobster. Next biggest note was ginger and butter.

Ayocote bean salad, market greens, charred cucumber vinaigrette. Nice salad, beans were at the bottom.

Morel haurache, fava bean salsa, epazote, black lime. I loved this dish, but it was very spicy. Long serrano type heat.

Pink peppercorn and axiote seafood aguchile. Cerviche basically. Strong lime flavors.

Soft-shell crab with salsa verde and tomatoes. Nice crab.

Branzino a la talla. Very delicious seabass with a lot of flavor.

Duck carnitas, onions, radishes, cilantro. This dish was very highly recommended and it was pricey ($89!). But it’s also about 3 times the food of the other dishes. Lots of duck, maybe most of a duck. It did have the texture of pulled pork too.

There were various condiments that went with it.

So I loaded it up on a blue corn tortilla.

Emmoladas, ricotta, hoja santa, queso fresco. Basically a dark mole with various dairy additives. We had to get the dairy on the side for one person. I love mole and I loved this dish. I basically ate it on tortillas.

Short rib, scallions, cipollini, avocado. Nice chunk of meat.

More tortillas.

The dessert menu.

Husk meringue, corn mousse. I didn’t know what to expect from this dish, but it was fabulous. Very light and fluffy, with a mousse-like texture blending with the crunchier meringue. Light pleasant sweet corn notes.

Rhubarb sundae, chile ancho, shiso, lemongrass ice cream. Super delicious also with unexpected flavors and textures.

Flourless chocolate cake, peanuts, coconut-lime creme fraiche. The second half of it was served “on the side.”

peanuts, coconut-lime creme fraiche. Made for an excellent dessert all by itself.
 Trio of weird sorbet. Calamansi, raspberry, chamoy. All three were made with a very low sugar concentration for sorbet so they weren’t sweet enough even to my Italian tuned taste. The orange one which was a kind of passionfruit/mango with chili (like one of the Mexican candies) was my favorite. Extremely adult.

Overall, an interesting place. It was too loud. Not that trendy new places in LA aren’t too loud, but I don’t like this trend so I’ll call it out. One of my New York friends who sent me there thought so too. We had a hard time talking at our table of 7.

Service was not up to snuff for a restaurant of this quality. It was pleasant, and we didn’t get any attitude (which some people complain about online) but the waiter, while extremely nice and helpful, barely showed up. We “let him go” at the beginning because we were talking and then had to wait about 20 minutes before we saw him again to order drinks (I hate that). Also once we took the order runners brought the food and he didn’t come by for a long time. We got everything in just 2-3 flights which resulting in too many dishes at one time, but he explained that he did this on purpose because we had so many dietary restrictions (which we did) so fair enough.

Food was excellent, but I wasn’t totally blown away. Flavors were very bright and interesting but I thought that Hoja Santa in Barcelona (similar style food) was quite a bit better. Part of this was the format. Hoja Santa was a long small item tasting menu and because they catered to the dietary restrictions on an individual basis made for a much more civilized experience. Staff was just more on point there, but it is Spain and an Adrià brothers restaurant. In summary, I would say that the Cosme kitchen is excellent and doing some really good work but that the whole “experience” needs a bit of tuning to take it from a “trendy NY eatery” up to the level of a world class restaurant.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Barcelona – Hoja Santa
  2. Eating NY – Eat
  3. Eating Senigallia – Madonnina del Pescatore
  4. San Fran – Nopalito
  5. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cosme, eating_new_york, Mexican cuisine, New York

Tallulas – Segundo Mexicano

Jul01

Restaurant: Tallulah’s

Location: 118 Entrada Dr, Santa Monica, CA 90402. (310) 526-0027

Date: May 28 & September 9, 2017

Cuisine: Contemporary Mexican

Rating: Tasty flavors, tiny portions, awkward service

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Tallulah’s is a new “updated” Mexican spot in the same location as the old Marix – a kid oriented old school Mexican joint. I had high hopes as the new place is run by the group that brings us Rustic Canyon, Cassia, Sweet Rose, Milo & Olive, and Huckleberry.

They haven’t changed much since the Marix days except for opening the windows and getting rid of the koi pond in the middle. The building is a bit odd anyway as on the exterior it is Japanese (must have been a Japanese restaurant in the 80s or something) but rustic and beach like in the middle. The space was loud before and somehow even louder.

The bar has been repainted and switched over from old school Margarita’s to “mixologist” cocktails.

Strawberry Margarita. Tapatio Blanco Tequila, Fresh Lime, Strawberry Puree, Agave. This was an insipid and totally awful take on a non-frozen Strawberry Margarita. It just tasted like mild strawberry water. It was so disappointing I went out to the store afterward and bought ingredients to make a proper Strawberry Margarita the new day for Memorial Day.

Paloma. Tapatio Blanco Tequila, Aperol, Housemade Grapefruit Syrup, Steigl Grapefruit Raddler, Peychauds Bitters. Much better than the Margarita, but very light. Tasted like grapefruit soda and I finished it in about 2 seconds.

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A Cadillac margarita (9/17). Pretty good, but at least $18 (might have been more).
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(9/17) A smokey slushy drink that was pretty tasty too.

The menu. One of those menus were I had absolutely no idea what would actually come for anything I ordered. Yeah I saw the ingredients but I had no way to imagine how they were prepped. Things were even more different (and smaller) than I expected.

chile fundido. panela & oaxaca cheeses, blue corn tortillas. $12. I basically wanted chili con queso. This tiny dish had some cheese in it, but I hadn’t expected it to be fundamentally “red” (tomato? pepper?). It was fine, but as I expected, not what I expected.
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Nachos “sencillo” (9/17). The “other” cheese snack, very similar to the first one, but with fried chips. Neither is actually as good as a great chili con queso.
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Guacamole, salsa, & chips. Pretty good quac, but you do have to pay $11 for it.

Grilled baja halibut tacos. mexican sauerkraut. malt aioli, epazote. I don’t normally complain about prices, but this was $18!  Lol. And where is the halibut? They tasted fine, like nice coleslaw tacos.

mexican white shrimp. rancho gordo hominy polenta, anahein chile, leek, salsa de madre. Shrimp and grits! Again not exactly what I expected. I thought maybe bigger prawns. I think there were 3 regular cocktail shrimp in here for $18. Decently tasty but swamped out by the grits.

duck cilaquiles. duck confit, cracklings, beans, queso fresco & jack, sauce colorado and organic egg. $19!  Mostly it was chips soaked in a duck ragu. It was the best dish, and quite tasty, but so chip heavy it felt like eating matza brie.
 arroz poblano. Green rice, spring vegetables, saffron aioli. $17. A sort of green light risotto. Not creamy at all (not that it needed to be, but to distinguish it from real risotto). Not bad, but kinda pricey for rice.

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Organic turkey enchiladas (9/17). black recado sauce, quinoa, shaved cabbage, cotija. Pretty good enchiladas, entirely because of the sauce (which was a bit like a mole). Not sure the quinoa added.
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Monterey squid (9/17). spicy eggplant, kohlrabi, peaches, purple basil.
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Grassfed hanger steak carne asada (9/17). shaved onion, padron peppers, chipotle, tortillas. Tasty meat with a bit of a kick. $33 though.
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Dessert menu.
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Vanilla rum flan (9/17). poached pears. Solid flan.

Service was pretty lousy on my first visit. They are a brand new restaurant, and having done it, I know organizing good service is hard. But they are a very experienced group. We were seated fairly quickly (in the bar) but they took 20-30 minutes to come by. Then took only the drink order. That took another 20+ minutes to come. Had to almost grab their hand to put int he food order. That came quickly, but all brought by different people. Hard to find the server. Mandatory 19% auto-grat.

Drinks need serious work. Bartenders are very slow. There were several of them and both my drink orders took more than 20 minutes each.

On my second visit drink service was much swifter, although they still took a mysteriously long time between taking the drink order (and bringing them) and taking our food order. The waiter himself was absent for a good stretch. Once we ordered it came fast.

Food was fairly tasty but portions were way smaller than I expected using the price as a guide. Good thing I always over order. Menu needs a serious rewrite because without even the slightest suggestion of prep method you can’t imagine what you are going to get. Also, like many of the restaurants in this group, there is nothing even vaguely kid focused. The flavor combinations are such that most kids wouldn’t touch a thing on here — yet the basic concept, the previous restaurant, and the location are all highly child focused. So parents will bring them (saw it in action) and be disappointed. Of course, as I know from experience, they probably don’t want kids because their cover average is so much lower. sigh. But I’d have to see the cheese quesadilla from their kids menu to know if it was plain enough that I could come here with mine.

Only way to park is $9 valet.

I’ll try it again, as it’s close and this is a very good group and they just opened, but management needs to tune things up even more, and I’d like some more things on the menu without tortilla, and some playful takes on favorites (like a real chili con queso).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Nopalito
  2. La Sandia
  3. Mexican Swanky – Red O
  4. Quick Eats: La Serenata
  5. Quick Eats: Brentwood
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Margarita, Mexican cuisine, Tallulas

Not so Glorious

May22

Restaurant: Gloria’s Cafe

Location: 10227 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 838-0963

Date: March 28, 2017

Cuisine: Mexican and Salvadoran

Rating: okay

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On this particular night I was on duty at my own restaurant, but the Hedonists were gathering for an informal dinner just blocks away and the assistant manager covered me.

Gloria’s is a Mexican Salvadorian (don’t ask) place on Venice Blvd. It’s a long street filled with cheap rents and ethnic eats.

There were wines here, but they weren’t anything worth photoing. Just the usual collection of mid levels.

Papusas. Typical Salvadorian papusas (fried corn pancakes) stuffed with cheese. These are to be eaten with the slaw below and red sauce.

Cabbage for the papusas.

On the Mexican side, chips and salsa.

Yucca con Chicharron. Fried cassava fingers with DEEP fried pork and curtido. The pork was tasty, if fried beyond recognition.

Cut up papusa bits or something similar.

Pollo frito. Quarter pieces of chicken seasoned with a Salvadoran style dry rub. Deep fried until crispy. Kinda greasy fried chicken.

Carnitas plate. Fried pieces of tender pork stewed in green tomatillo salsa.

Bistec Encebollado. Marinated Salvadoran style steak sautéed and stewed in salsa.

House special burrito. Our most popular burrito! We layer our house burrito with beans, lettuce, guacamole, & sour cream; then top it with salsa, fresh pico de gallo, and cheese.

It was well… a giant burrito.

Cocido. Tender pieces of beef with a mixture of fresh cooked vegetables in a savory beef broth. Tender in this case is a liberal word.
 More fried pork.

Gloria’s was fine. I guess they execute okay on Salvadoran, but it’s a pretty sloppy cuisine and I remember better meals of similar food 10 years ago — but I haven’t been recently to sync up my memory (as it’s impossible to compare meals fairly across a decade). Gloria’s really loves the deep fryer, but I guess that’s the cuisine. The decor is cute and kitschy. And best of all it was nice to get away from work and see friends.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Nopalito
  2. Quick Eats – Bru’s Wiffle
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Gloria's Cafe, Glorias, hedionists, Mexican cuisine, Salvadoran cuisine

Eating Barcelona – Hoja Santa

Jul01

Restaurant: Hoja Santa

Location: Av. de Mistral, 54, 08015 Barcelona, Spain. +34 933 48 21 94

Date: June 14, 2016

Cuisine: Modern Mexican

Rating: elBuli Mexicana

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Ever since Jak 3 caused me to have to give up the reservation I had at elBuli, I’ve wanted to experience the legendary Adria cuisine. Supposedly the Spanish style of this is most closely reflected in Albert Adrià’s Tickets — but seeing as that was nearly impossible to get a reservation for, our party of 8 went instead to Adrià’s modernist Mexican, Hoja Santa.

The Barcelona frontage.

On a parklike street.

The interior is casual and slightly kitchy. The website describes the restaurant thusly:

We love Mexico, and the way its gastronomy is a fundamental part of the country. HOJA SANTA is a homage and compliment to this culture, for this reason Albert Adrià and Paco Méndez have collaborated on an adventure into the creation of a restaurant in Barcelona, to share the flavours and traditions of Mexico. The name HOJA SANTA came from a journey made by the chefs Albert and Paco to Oaxaca. Here they were inspired by the Oaxaca leaf which also goes by the names acuyo, momo, hierba santa or tlanepa and is often used in cooking in the region.

Margarita. An unusual one too with a complex blend of fruit and herby flavors.

Margarita with salt foam. The traditional salt crystals have been infused into the foam.

Passionfruit and chocolate. Another interesting drink.

Pickles. Marinated onions, carrots, cucumbers, etc. Real nice crunch and a strong vinegar flavor.

Banana crisps and leaves. The crisps were quite spicy with a punchy “green chili” flavor. The leaves were sweet and crispy, almost like basil. Very enjoyable.

Chilled mango with herbs. More interesting fruit / herb combos.

Green chili. A delicious bright (and quite hot) tomatillo based salsa.

Cantine olives. The “classic” elBuli modernist olives, with a slight twist. In case you haven’t been to a Jose Andres or Adrià restaurant, these are olive puree suspended in calcium alginate spheres. The juice pops in your mouth. These weren’t just olive, but had a bit of tasty chili in there too.

Cornbread with chia and coffee caviar. The cornbread is the corn shaped thing. The caviar had a hint of spice. Extremely light and fluffy with a bit of taste of char. Very interesting. As a side note, they seem to love chia in Spain.

Avocado gazpacho. As good as you would imagine, and drunk right out of the avocado skin.

2014 Parés Baltà Syrah Penedès Rosé Radix. 90 points. Very unusual “powerful” deep red Syrah rose. Extremely nice and perfect with this cuisine.

Chicken skin caesar. A little bite size “caesar salad” on a bit of fried chicken skin. Neat.

A vegetarian replacement, one of those little edible packets filled with stuff.

Barbecue Jicara. A Jicara is a Mexican round pot, and this refers to the green corn shell. The meat was some kind of unusual cut and very soft, rich, and succulent with a bit of spices.

A vegetarian version with a corn “bowl” filled with some kind of white root vegetable.

Make your own quesadillas. Some gooey melted cheese.

Fresh corn tortillas.The cheese is scooped into the tortillas.

Ceviche under a frozen pond. A mix of cold balls of some kind of fish, radish or similar sorbet, flowers, etc, in a lovely cold lime broth. Very interesting dessert-like array of textures and temperatures, but with the ceviche flavors.

Pinenut pipian with white asparagus. Very nutty with a paste of pinenut (much like tahini) and the fresh white asparagus (the season is just wrapping up). Lovely.

Stuffed squash blossom taco. Pretty much the taco version of the classic Roman ricotta stuffed squash blossom.

Pipian papanteco with king crab. This rich curry-like sauce was made from who knows what. It was thick and delicious. There were also chunks of pistachio for texture and blobs and blobs of king crab. This was an awesome dish. The only disadvantage was a blob that landed on (and stained) one of my favorite shirts. We shall see if the dry cleaners can get it out.

Vegetable salad. Mixed marinated vegetables.

Fish taco. Fried hake nuggets and cucumber in a taco.

I wanted a red on the softer side to complement the food well and the excellent somm recommended with very unusual but really awesome Spanish Grenache — nothing like the typical deep purple Grenache, but more ruby/pinot like.

2012 Viñedos Bernabeleva Vinos de Madrid Bernabeleva Arroyo del Tórtolas. VM 92+. Brilliant ruby-red. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes Asian spices, raspberry, potpourri and smoky minerals. Extremely tight on the palate, offering vibrant red fruit and floral pastille flavors and a jolt of blood orange. Opens up slowly on the finish, which clings with excellent tenacity and silky, harmonious tannins. This one should age slowly.

Pistachio pipian with sea cucumber. This somewhat similar sauce to above was more tangy. The sea cucumber has an odd texture like always, but that didn’t matter with the yummy sauce.

Onion with…

Some kind of sauce.

And a second sauce, with some chili in it.

Morels with Ocosingo cheese cream. Wow these were good. Fresh morels in a kind of cheesy cream sauce.

This was a meat dish, and delicious, but I can’t remember exactly what was in it. There were these noodle like things too. Possibly it was: Cochinita pibil infladita (slow roast pork).

Puffs with some vegetable substitute inside. Airly and supposedly delicious.

2013 Acústic Celler Montsant Braó. Moving up to a beefier much more purple Grenache.
 The chefs at work in the kitchen.

Meat empanada. Delicious.

Foie gras and duck taco with Manchanteles mole. Amazing taco. Super rich with that big blob of foie but tons of flavor.

Veracruzana style Skate.

Here is the salsa Veracruz, with that tangy tomatillo flavor. The skate texture is “odd.”

Bresse quail, “Like Water for Chocolate.”

Then covered in ashed mole of roses. Awesome dish. In many ways a classic chicken mole, but with a nice subtle rose flavor and totally awesome.

Ashed mole of roses with vegetables.

Herbal popsicle. Delicious and refreshing. This kitchen uses a lot of herbs in non traditional (by conventional Euro/American standards), but obviously drawing from Mexican tradition. However, the Romans used these kinds of pairings all the time.

Pumpkin seed palanqueta. A tad dry.

Margarita with coconut cloud. Another light and delicious dessert.

2013 L’Olivera Cooperativa Costers del Segre Rasim Vimadur Negre. Some dessert wine.

Corn, chocolate, and cajeta. The “corn” was actually corn ice cream in corn shape. Pretty awesome.

Dragon fruit, lichi, and red pickly pear. Interesting frozen bonbons!

Mayan zero, coffee, cheese, and cinnamon. Little bits of puffy flavor.

The check came in this Mexican painted gourd.
 Overall, an awesome meal. Decided very serious Mexican in flavors — actually a more formal type of Mexican we don’t get that much of in LA (where we have so many casual and Baja style places). It probably draws more on traditional high end cooking from Mexico City and Oaxaca, but then introduces modernist plating and techniques. These however, served onto to make the dishes more fun and playful, as they didn’t distract at all from the complex but harmonious flavors. Even the 2-3 vegetarians in our party loved this meal — and they normally don’t like Mexican. So double thumbs up!

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barcelona, eating-spain, elBuli, Hoja Santa, Mexican cuisine

Food as Art – Babita

May20

Restaurant: Babita Mexicuisine

Location: 1823 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 288-7265

Date: May 17, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Mexican

Rating: A rare find

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Chef Roberto and his wife Elba run this unique gem in the San Gabriel Valley. It’s family owned, upscale, tiny, chef driven and elaborate. And it’s Mexican food! Los Angeles has no shortage of Mexican restaurants, both of the classic and modernized formats, but we don’t have a lot (if any others?) that strive for an upscale ingredient focused style.


The tiny room is wood paneled (70s style) and lined with tequila bottles.


Speaking of bottles, we brought our own as usual:

1994 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Allen Vineyard. Our bottle was totally oxidized.


2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée. Parker 93-95. The great American patriot and wine connoisseur Thomas Jefferson called Hermitage “the single greatest white wine of France.” Slightly lower-keyed, but still prodigious, the 2001 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree does not possess the muscle, volume, or weight of the 2000, but it is a beautifully etched, elegant, intensely mineral wine offering hints of white flowers, citrus oils, and earth in its dense, full-bodied, chewy personality. Like its older sibling, it will be delicious in its first 3-4 years of life, then close down, to re-emerge 10-12 years later. It will last for three decades or more.

agavin: Ours was nice, with that strange semi-oxidized taste older Hermitage blanc usually has.


Chips and salsa. Classic, but very very good.

2006 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98. The limited cuvee of 100% old vine Roussanne (50% vinified in barrel and 50% in tank), the 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape blanc Vieilles Vignes is an extraordinary wine. Since the debut vintage in 1986, I have been unable to figure out how to predict this cuvee’s aging potential, but I tend to agree with most sommeliers who feel this wine needs to be drunk in its first 4-6 years of life, then not touched again until age 12-15. It is so amazing, I usually drink it as quickly as I can get my hands on a few bottles. The sensational 2006 possesses a wonderful honeysuckle note interwoven with marmalade, tropical fruit, peaches, and buttery pastry characteristics, and zesty acidity despite a thick, full-bodied, rich texture. It is difficult to find a better white Chateauneuf du Pape than Beaucastel. Much like their reds, their whites are made in a style that is atypical for the appellation. It is put through full malolactic, and one-third is barrel fermented, then blended with the two-thirds that is aged in tank. Extraordinarily rich and honeyed, it is ideal for drinking with intensely flavored culinary dishes.

agavin: No oxidation here, but a pure intense weighty white that paired very well with the food.


Spicy fresh guacamole, yellow chile stuffed with ceviche of salmon with strawberry sauce and brine poached large shrimp-cocktail with habanero sauce. Some real heat in this dish, particularly from the guacamole and shrimp sauce. Each element was delicious and different.


From my cellar: 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 93. The 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial spent 18 years in barrel and 10 years in bottle prior to release. It still has a deep cherry red color along with an aromatic array of underbrush, brier, tobacco, incense, and blackberry. It has slightly sweeter fruit and livelier acidity than the 1994. This lengthy effort is at its peak now where it should remain for another 20 years.

agavin: Very nice, arguably my favorite red of the night. Started a bit funky, but that quickly blew off. Way more fruit than one would expect for a 78 but Ygay lasts forever.


Duo of soups. Crema de jalapeno (right) and cuitlacoche (left) soup garnished with oaxacan chapulin and mezcal. There is actually a cricket in this dish, floating on the left of that toast. Both soup were wonderful, by themselves, and together.


1997 Luis Pato Bairrada Vinha Barrosa. Our bottle smelled and tasted like cork (cardboard). Others didn’t seem to mind it.


2005 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja Finca El Bosque. IWC 94. Ruby-red. Spicy red fruits and minerals on the nose, with a suave floral element adding complexity. More restrained than the 2004, showing a more elegant personality but no less intrigue. Sweet strawberry and raspberry flavors combine flavor impact with stylishness. Finishes with lightly chewy tannic grip and fresh mineral lift. There’s a deft quality here that’s really compelling.


Partridge Eggs “Huevos Rancheros”, beans, cream, ranchero sauce.


Bodega Numanthia Termes Toro Termanthia. Unfortunately I forgot to photo the year (anoyingly on the back).


2004 Torbreck Descendant. Parker 98. The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries, ink, sweet truffles, and acacia flowers. There are 1,000 cases of this full-bodied, intense, rich blockbuster. It will drink well for 10-15 years.

agavin: can we say extracted? (but very good). Eucalyptus notes.


Colossal Sea Scallop seared, over herbed Squid ink Risotto. Yummy. Top flight scallop with a nice sweet squid ink sauce.


2004 Nit de Nin Nit de Nin. Parker 98. Only three barrels are made of Nit de Nin, made by Ester Nin, the vineyard manager for Clos Erasmus. The 2004 is 60% Garnacha, 30% Carinena, and 10% Syrah aged for 18 months in French oak. Purple/black, the wine has a fragrant perfume of mineral, truffle, creme de cassis, kirsch, and blueberry. Super-rich and layered on the palate, this opulent wine has exceptional depth and impeccable balance as well as a 60-second finish. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

agavin: very nice.


Shrimp on pastry with squid ink sauce.


1996 L’ Ermita (Alvaro Palacios). Parker 95-96. The 1996 L’Ermita appears to be another blockbuster effort from Alvaro Palacios. The color is a saturated purple. The expressive nose boasts aromas of pain grille, roasted coffee, chocolate-covered, jammy cherry candy, minerals, and new oak. Full-bodied, dense, and thick, with an unctuous texture, lower acidity, and higher alcohol than the 1995 and 1994, this is a meaty, chewy, masculine wine with a flamboyant personality, in addition to a monster finish. It is super-intense, but exceptionally well-balanced, especially in view of its proportions. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2020.


Poached chicken in malbec-viognier, over Colachi Zucchini relish.


2004 Mas Doix Doix Costers de Vinyes Velles. Parker 98. The 2004 Costers de Vinas Viejas is 50% Carinena, 48% Garnacha, and 2% Merlot aged for 16 months in new French oak. Deep purple, the aromas are other-worldly with truffle, tar, graphite, kirsch, and wild blueberry among the array of scents leaping from the glass. Flamboyant and opulent, the wine has remarkable richness and depth of flavor leading to a 60-second finish. Drink this hedonistic effort over the next 10-12 years.

agavin: these priorats may be young and gigantic, but they are surprisingly drinkable (being so young).


2004 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard. 91 points. Beautiful, clear, deep, bright cherry color, very difficult to place the varietal blend based on this color, almost reminiscent of barbera or gamay. Similarly beguiling nose and palate of exotic spice, Penfolds-like eucalyptus and intense oak, blueberries, Rhone fruit and kirsch. Minimal acidity, pleasant tannins building late, and a kick of volatility and heat from the alcohol. A really interesting, cerebral wine that led to much opining around the table on this wine’s true quality, and much speculation on the unknown grape blend. This is not a wine I would enjoy drinking every day, but in an era when most California cult wines taste predictably similar, this seems more like what a cult wine should be, idiosyncratic and fascinating.


Braised Ox Tails over Carrot-Potato mashed and Cinnamon Mole. Loved this dish. Like Mexican osso bucco.


Look at that ox bone under the meat.


1972 Osborne Jerez-Xérès-Sherry PX 1827. agavin 98. I love PX, but this was just pure motor oil raisin pleasure. As good as sherry gets and intensely syrupy, balanced, and smooth.


1971 Bodegas Toro Albala Montilla-Moriles Don PX. 93 points. Also great, but fell in the shadow of the 1827. There was a lighter fruit note going on in the middle too.


Praline Semifredo with caramel sauce and fresh drizzles. This amazing dessert paired unbelievably well with the sherry. I love semifredo and caramel, and it was just amazing.

Yarom and Chef Roberto

This was just an amazing evening and quite different. I’m not sure what I expected (of a “fancy” Mexican in the SGV) but I was certainly blown away. Babita is just a unique gem of a place.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

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By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Babita Mexicuisine, hedonists, Mexican cuisine, Parker, Roussanne, san Gabriel valley

Mercado Madness

Nov08

Restaurant: Mercado

Location: Los Angeles, California 90048. 323.944.0947

Date: November 5, 2013

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Solid modern Mexican.

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The Hedonist gang loves to try out new places, plus it was David’s birthday! Mercado is a recent entry into the crowded LA Mexican arena from co-owner Jesse Gomez and chef Jose Acevedo.


The Mercado space on the crowded 3rd street drag is modern and that is also reflected in the fresh take on traditional dishes.


Fitting decor for being so close to the day of the dead! People really hauled out the wines, as we had twenty bottles crowded onto that table!


2004 Billecart-Salmon Champagne.


2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten. Burghound 86. This is also extremely ripe with the same notes of menthol along with touches of cherry cough syrup, red berries, chocolate and coffee notes that continue onto the mouth coating, serious and structured finish that is again not particularly well integrated into the body of the wine. Here though the finish is not harsh so much as just awkward.


Guacamole – hass avocado, serrano, cilantro, red onion, chile de arbol salsa, spicy pepitas, fresh chips. These were some of the best nachos and guac I’ve had.


2007 Frédéric Magnien Fixin Crais de Chene. Burghound 86-89.  A subtle touch of wood sets off earthy and reasonably complex aromas of red and blue fruit as well as lovely violet nuances that merge into rich, round and supple flavors that possess an attractive textured on the delicious, long and nicely sappy finish that carries less rusticity than one might otherwise expect.


From my cellar, 1978 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 93. One of the wines of the night (IMHO). The 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial spent 18 years in barrel and 10 years in bottle prior to release. It still has a deep cherry red color along with an aromatic array of underbrush, brier, tobacco, incense, and blackberry. It has slightly sweeter fruit and livelier acidity than the 1994. This lengthy effort is at its peak now.


Carnitas nachos. Chips, pork chunks, marinated carrots, chili con queso, guacamole. Quite tasty, as I’m partial to both chili con queso and carnitas.


1994 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. Parker 94. The 1994 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial reveals no age in its appearance. Deep purple-colored, it sports nicely developed, complex aromas with elements of Asian spices, balsamic, lavender, mineral, and blackberry. Elegant, intense, and concentrated, it is balanced by vibrant acidity.


1989 Marques de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay. Parker 92. This traditionally run Bodegas estate bottles all of its wines. The 1989 Castillo y Gay Grand Reserva Especial, which represents 25% of the estate’s production, and is produced only in top vintages, is the flagship wine of Marques de Murrieta. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1989 offers up smoky, sweet, jammy black cherry fruit aromas intertwined with scents of minerals, tobacco, and vanillin. Medium-bodied and ripe, with outstanding levels of fruit, glycerin, and extract, low acidity, and ripe tannin, this hedonistic, luscious Rioja can be drunk now and over the next 15+ years.

Mexican Kale Salad – kale, arugula, candied pumpkin seeds, pears, dried strawberries, cotija-pesto croutons,
agave-lime vinaigrette. Many complained that the vinegar clashed with our heavy reds.


1970 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz. 89 points.


1970 Berberana Rioja Reserva Carta de Oro. Vanilla and cherry at first on the nose give an impression of cream soda. Resolved, cherry and brown sugar palate with adequate acidity and something savory and creamy. Perfectly enjoyable.


Lobster taco – with slaw. This was tasty, but the shell was a hair soggy and some felt the lobster a little fishy.


1986 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Gran Reserva. 87 points. Still very pleasurable, but it has obviously seen better days. The nose smelt like something quite a bit older, with wafts of balsamic vinegar, suggestions of dried leaves and undergrowth, and only after that more classic matured Tempranillo notes of cooked plums and cigarette smoke. Thankfully, the palate was not quite as tired as the nose would suggest. The dried leaves and balsamic notes were there in some measure, but these were more background notes that the main act, with the wine showing nice little notes of sour plums, a touch of meat and some smoked tea leaves as it moved into a very soft, mellow finish draped with velvety tannins.


1987 Bodegas Rioja Santiago Rioja gran condal. 88 points.


Alambres de Camarõn – Mexican sweet shrimp skewers, cilantro pesto, chayote with calabacitas.


1998 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904. IWC 93. Bright red with an amber rim. Pungent, expansive scents of dried red fruits, potpourri, vanilla and pipe tobacco, with a spicy overtone. The silky palate offers penetrating redcurrant and bitter cherry flavors sweetened by notes of vanilla and mocha. Finishes smooth and long, with very soft tannins and lingering floral notes. Ready to drink but there’s very good depth here, suggesting (along with this wine’s track record) that it will reward further patience. I also had the chance to re-try the outstanding 2001 Vina Ardanza, which is aging at a snail’s pace and really needs more time for the oak to fully integrate with its fruit. Right now the vanilla character is dominating but there’s obviously excellent material underneath it.


2002 Dominio de Atauta Ribera del Duero. IWC 89. Bright ruby-red. Black raspberry, violet pastille and a whiff of tar on the nose. Texture currently stunted by sulfur but the flavors of blackberry and violet pastille offer lovely purity-not to mention impressive ripeness and intensity for the year. Finishes with tongue-dusting tannins.


Carnitas – Chef Jose’s slow-cooked natural pork, guacamole, chile de arbol salsa, cauliflower with escabeche


1970 Château Mouton Rothschild. Parker 93. I have had a remarkable number of opportunities to taste this wine. One of the most frustratingly irregular wines I have ever encountered, the 1970 Mouton can range from pure nectar, to a wine that is angular, austere, and frightfully hard and tannic. This bottle (one of the Reserve du Chateau bottlings that was mistakenly released by the estate and labeled with the letters R.C., rather than a number) was impossible to assess when decanted, given its hard, tough, impenetrable style. Nearly eight hours later, the wine had opened magnificently to reveal a classic bouquet of sweet cassis, tobacco, minerals, and exotic spice aromas. Opulent, full-bodied, thick, and juicy, the extraordinary evolution of this particular bottle would make a persuasive argument for long-term decanting. After being perplexed throughout much of this wine’s evolution, I was reassured by this bottle. No doubt Mouton’s high Cabernet Sauvignon content causes this wine to go through a tight, hard, ungenerous stage.


1985 Haut Bailly. Parker 86. There is not a great deal of depth to this Haut Bailly. Nevertheless, it offers charm, finesse, and a sweet black berry/curranty fruitiness. Some of the new oak and smokiness that were present when the wine was young has dissipated to reveal a slight herbaceousness behind the new oak. The wine is medium-bodied, with soft tannin, and some flesh on the attack that quickly narrows out to a lighter style, supple yet unexciting wine.

A lot of people really liked this wine.


Carne Asada – prime marinated skirt steak, guacamole, cebollines, grilled corn.


2001 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras. Parker 88. The beautiful, elegant, seductive 2001 Vacqueyras is a serious effort. Its medium ruby color is followed by distinctive kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with freshly ground pepper, licorice, and strawberries.


2007 Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Fiacre du Pape. 90 points. Ripe, crushed red berry juice with savory, earthy notes of mushroom and truffle influence. Aromas of blackberry juice, brambly wild berry, oak vanillin, grilled herbs and warm berry tart. Nice texture. A bit tart on the entry with big acid. Richly flavored and hedonistic in style with lush red and black fruit, fresh herbs, a stony minerality and some earthy and dried leaf notes. Suggestions of violet and lavender oil also. Hints of espresso. I could do with a tad less acid, so perhaps added time in the bottle will relax/integrate that.

Pollo en Salsa de Chipotle – Free-range half chicken, chipotle wild mushroom sauce, queso fresco
mashed potatoes.


2001 Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape la Reserve Secrete. Parker 96. Absolutely prodigious, and unquestionably one of the vintage’s most illustrious wines, is the modern-styled 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Reserve Secrete. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, aged 75% in small oak casks and 25% in tank, an awesome nose of creme de cassis, graphite, kirsch, licorice, and vanilla soars from the glass of this saturated ruby/purple-colored wine. With extravagant richness, a sumptuous texture, and tremendous opulence as well as purity, this stunning, modern-styled Chateauneuf du Pape retains the soul and typicity of Provence as well as Chateauneuf du Pape. One of the vintage’s greatest wines, it is a brilliant achievement.


2005 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate. Parker 92. The 2005 Magill Estate Shiraz was barrel-fermented and spent 14 months in French and American oak. It delivers a super-expressive nose of smoked meat, game pencil lead, pepper, blueberry, and blackberry leading to an elegant Shiraz with superb depth and grip. This lengthy effort will provide pleasure through 2020.


Farmers’ Market Enchiladas – Chef Jose’s hand-picked vegetables, yellow mole, queso fresco, nopalitos.


1992 Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco. Still lots of tanic structure.


2010 Tobin James Syrah James Gang Reserve. 2010 Syrah? Eeek gads.


Tacos Carnitas!


Flan. This was a great flan. Ignore the sauce, which might have been Bailieys or something, but the flan was very creamy, a real custard.

Overall, another fabulous night. The food was good, although perhaps a hair uneven, but the wines and company were amazing as always. Service was absolutely first rate. They really took care of us — although next time they need to bring the entrees out one at a time. With wine dinners, multiple courses at once can be overwhelming.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Yarom with owner Jesse Gomez

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Carnitas, Dessert, flan, hedonists, Meat, Mercado, Mexican cuisine, rioja, Wine

San Fran – Nopalito

Mar18

Restaurant: Nopalito

Location: 306 Broderick Street. San Francisco, CA 94117. 415-437-0303

Date: February 11, 2012

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Best Mexican I’ve been too since I was in Mexico

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Continuing our San Francisco adventures, we met up with my college roommate and his family at a Mexican place in his neighborhood. This trendy — and hence crowded — little spot served up some of the best Mexican I’ve had since my wife and I used to frequent a favorite high end resort in Cabo.

The bustling kitchen.


The lunch menu.

“Hibiscus-Valencia Orange.”


“Ginger-Lemonade.” I love good lemonade and this one was pretty awesome, with a spicy ginger finish like Jamaican ginger beer.


My son got the straight up cheese quesadilla. Notice the small hand grab.


“Totopos con Chile. Tortilla chips, salsa de arbol, cotija cheese, crema and lime.” Thick homemade chips with a good bit of spice and tangy limeness. Real good. Not real light.


“Naranjas con Chile, limón y Queso. Salad of cara cara oranges, blood oranges, grapefruit, pickled red onions, chile, lime and queso fresco.” Very nice zesty fresh flavors.


“Ceviche verde de Pescado. Marinated fish, lime, tomatillo, jalapeño, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips.” Again, reminiscent of my Cabo vacations.


“Taquitos de Papas adobadas. Crispy rolled tortillas, potatoes in New Mexico chile adobo, onion, guacamole, crema, queso fresco and salsa brava.” Yum yum. Fried is always tasty. As straightforward as the toppings are, they were incredibly fresh.


“Tamal empipianado rojo con Puerco. Corn masa, pork stewed in dried chilies, sunflower & seasame seeds, tomato, spices and queso cotija.” I’m a sucker for the sweet corny taste of a good tamale.


“Quesadilla roja con Chicharrón. Mulato chile-corn tortilla, crispy pork belly, salsa cascabel, jack cheese, queso fresco, onion and cilantro.” Very interesting jazzed up quesadilla.


“Quesadilla de Primavera. Corn tortilla, asparagus, mushroom, spinach, quesillo, queso fresco, spring onion, cilantro, and salsa de chile puya.” Good, but not as good as the pork one.


“Empanada con Deshebrada de res. Fried masa pastry, grass-fed beef, tomato, jalapeño, cabbage, avocado, queso fresco and salsa frita de guajillo.” Also really tasty.


Some almond balls to finish things off.

While not light, this was a very zesty meal — and despite the large number of Mexican places in LA I don’t know any that use ingredients this fresh or bring to bear such a modern and sophisticated palette.

For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Broderick Street, Chicharrón, Mexican, Mexican cuisine, Mexico, Nopalito, Queso blanco, Salsa, San Francisco

La Sandia

Mar10

Restaurant: La Sandia

Location: 395 Santa Monica Place 305N,Santa Monica, CA 90401. Tel. 310.393.3300

Date: March 5, 2011

Cuisine: Mexican

Rating: Tasty, but some serious service issues need working out.

 

I’ve been questing through the various new offerings in the retrofitted Santa Monica place. I’ve already reviewed Xino (pseudo Chinese) and Zengo (Latin-Asian fusion), and next up is La Sandia, which is a modernized Mexican.


The upscale Disneyland-style decor ain’t half bad. But we did start off on a slightly sour note. They don’t take reservations on weekends, as I was told on the phone, “because they get so busy.” This always gets my blood boiling, because it’s basically like saying, “We don’t care about you (the customer), we just want to pack you into our bar and milk a couple extra drinks out of you.” I have long refused to go to places like Cheesecake factory on this basis as they adopt clearly “non user-friendly” policies to their own benefit. I was also told there was a wait of 5-10 minutes for a table of 2, when I could clearly see empty tables.

In a place that doesn’t take reservations?

We were in a rush for a movie so I bullied the hostess past this and we sat immediately. Not my preference but I hate that kind of crap and I was already in a mood.


The PDF version of the menu is HERE. Pretty big menu here of traditional Mexican items and some reinterpreted.

Chips. Pretty typical, but the salsa was good, cooked down the way I like it.

Cadillac margarita on the rocks, no salt. This was a nicely made margarita. The lime wasn’t that nuclear green crap and I could taste the tequila — which wasn’t the cheap stuff.

Now a note here. We were in a rush to get to a movie, and the parking had taken longer than we expected, so we told them we were in a hurry. This is a bit of a stress test for restaurants. The ultimate prize winner in this category, BTW, is Ortolan who flawlessly pounded through a huge prixe fixe in just over an hour. Overall La Sandia did fine with the speed, although they made us wait 20-25 minutes and then dumped all four dishes (2 appetizers and 2 entrees) simultaneously. Why they couldn’t have brought the appetizers 10 minutes earlier (a salad and a pre-prepped pastry) is anybodies guess. As I said, we got out of there in totally reasonable time, but they could have paced it better.

“LA SANDIA SALAD, arugula / cranberry / caramelized walnuts / goat cheese /pasilla-balsamic vinaigrette.”

“BEEF & CHORIZO EMPANADAS, braised beef / chorizo / raisins / oaxaca cheese / almond / crema fresca / chipotle sauce.” Very tasty. The outside was soft and buttery, and the inside rich and meaty. The sauce and the crema cut this nicely too. Exactly what I was looking for in this dish.

“ACHIOTE SALMON, grilled salmon / mild spice-citrus marinade / chile morita sauce /tomatillo-mango salsa / sweet corn tamal / charro beans.”

“SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALAD, avocado stuffed with sauteed citrus-adobo shrimp / corn relish / cilantro pesto / chile chipotle aioli.” This was a fairly tasty and light shrimp and avocado salad. Perfect for a light lunch. The catch is, I didn’t order it.

I had ordered the Chipotle Shrimp entree. Now the room was very loud, and even though I repeated it 3-4 times I can understand the waitress making the error. The problem was that when she set it down I told her it was wrong and she said, “No it isn’t, there’s Chipotle in the dressing,” or some such nonsense. She then scooted away.

I ate it anyway because we didn’t have time, but I HATE that kind of BS. I don’t mind an honest mistake, they happen, but don’t try to snow the customer as to what he ordered. On a separate service note, I had ordered another Margarita in the gap waiting for the food but it came 15-20 minutes later with the check — after we had finished all our food.

I don’t like to sound petty, but this is a restaurant review, and drink timing is one of my pet peeves. Why would I want to pound an entire drink as I stand up to leave?

In any case, I called over the manager over the entree issue — something I do only about once a year — and he was very nice and apologetic and pulled the salad from the bill. Really I shouldn’t have paid for the second drink either, but I didn’t want to get into it. I do give him points for compensating correctly for the mistakes. He did fine by me, but the staff should NOT try and Jedi-mind-trick a customer into thinking he ordered something he didn’t.

Overall, the food here was pretty tasty. It’s owned by the same group as Zengo (which is hidden behind it), and while not as good, does maintain a solid kitchen. They have some serious service issues to work through, although it’s always possible it was a bad night. I’ll try it again at some point, I’m essentially a food based eater, and really find service mistakes to be more of an academic exercise in management problems than an actual irritation. Xino across the way had some similar problems in that we ordered about 10 small dishes and they delivered 90% of them simultaneously instead of 2-3 at a time! As someone who has eaten out at restaurants between 4 and 15 times a week for over thirty years, from taco shacks to Michelin 3 stars, I’ve pretty much seen it all.

Related posts:

  1. Figs are in Season
  2. Mall Eclectic – Zengo
  3. Quick Eats: Brentwood
  4. Fraiche take on Franco-Italian
  5. Quick Eats: Caffe Delfini
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Avocado, Cadillac Margarita, Cook, Fish and Seafood, Food, Fusion cuisine, La Sandia, Mexican cuisine, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica California, Santa Monica Place, side dishes, vegetarian
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