Denyce M.
Yelp
Me and The Queen were attending a Fever event at the Arts Center (We call it Ballet: Sleeping Beauty Dance & Light Show) and wanted to find a place nearby to eat. We couldn't get into Hemingway Bistro, so with Yelp I found this place. Fortunately they were in OpenTable and I was able to make a reservation.
We found our way over to a super cute restaurant with a wonderful outdoor area (too chilly to sit out in that night). The restaurant is small but cute. Quite a few two seaters, which for me are not my favorite, but fortunately we were seated a two seater with a bigger table behind the bar and that was excellent as it gave us plenty of space for multiple dishes.
We started with a tomato soup served in a small cup that was super delicious! It was so good, I got another serving of it. It didn't look like tomato soup as it was orange in color, but man oh man, it was sooo good! We got the guacamole as a starter (tomato, garlic, onions, serranos, cilantro, lime) and Tlayuda chips (Oaxacan large flat crispy tortilla). This was my first time having this type of chip and it was interesting. The presentation of the dish was interesting as well, with the guacamole centered on the plate in its own dish, surrounded by the large chips. The guacamole had a good flavor to it was fresh.
Next we got the Taquitos (chicken barbacoa, cabbage, creme fraiche, queso fresco, pickled onions and salsa verde). Again, the plating was lovely, but this was just an okay dish for me. I was expecting a little more in terms of the flavors, it was a little on the bland side for me...most likely would not order this again. That said, The Queen loved them and I saw quite a few orders coming out of the kitchen.
Next came the Pulpo (Spanish octopus with fingerling potatoes, roasted garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes, chorizo, mexican onions). This was a wonderful dish, with the octopus cooked to perfection. The potatoes we very good, and the garbanzo beans were interesting as they were roasted and on the crunchy side. This was a winner for me and The Queen.
Our last dish was the Barbacoa lamb shank with mushroom risotto. The lamb just came off the bone. My only problem with this dish was the size and the fact I had to share it. The whole Latin fusion aspect of this dish came through for me as I don't typically think lamb or risotto in relationship to barbacoa.
Although we did not get it, I saw a few tables order an interesting dish with a wild presentation of dry ice smoke. Turns out it was the salmon tartar. I will most definitely come back to try that as the description sounded great and I loved the overall presentation.
The Queen got a cocktail called Ipanema Sunset (Catan Pisco, lemon, passionfruit syrup, orange flower water, eucalyptus/herb mix, aquafaba). I am not a big cocktail person, but this was nice and refreshing. The flavors were nice, with the orange and passionfruit coming through. I was happy to see that they also had bubbles on the menu.
We finished off the meal with a churro, which was on the house. I am not a big dessert person, but when I do eat a pastry, I like it warm. In this case I did not even have to ask if they could warm it up as came to table already warm. Overall this was a nice meal...the dishes that worked were well executed and I would definitely come back here for a meal.