UPDATE!

As part of the continuing effort to keep Seattle resident’s informed of the good, bad and mediocre meals to be had around town I’ve implemented a new feature of the Robotic Gourmand website. In the upper left-hand corner of the review section for a particular restaurant there will now be an orange ‘UPDATE’ indicating a return visit to a previously review restaurant. By returning to a restaurant I’ll be able to keep everyone up-to-date on how well someplace stacks up over time. With that said, on to the first update.

I had been in the mood to go back to La Carta de Oaxaca for dinner for a while. I almost made it back on Thursday for lunch, as I was at home awaiting furniture to be delivered. But that plan dried up quickly and so I had to wait a bit longer, but only until dinner the next day. Compared to the line at the door when I arrived on a Saturday, for my first visit, the wait was minimal as there were only 3 people ahead of me. Note to all - go early during the week to be able to grab a spot by the window or at the bar overlooking the kitchen.

Inside, the decor was much as I remembered it; large communal table taking up substantial real estate on the dining room floor, pickle finish table tops and black & white photos covering one wall with a color shot dotted here and there for accent.

This visit I kept my order small with only two items off the menu, first were Tacos Al Pastor ($5.00). They arrived two to the plate with a white corn tortilla jacket that reminded me more of a flour tortilla than corn, but this is not a negative. Pillow-y and soft each tortilla held about four mouthfuls of tender slow cooked pork that was dressed in a slightly spicy red sauce. The spice was tempered by hints of nutmeg and sweetness but lingering around for a kick to the palate was a spicy-hot, green tomatillo sauce. With each bite of taco I was bitten right back. The heat danced on the tip of my tongue and at the corners of my mouth sending me reaching for a pull off of my bottle of cerveza. Punctuating these flavors was that of waxy, soapy cilantro. I remember my mother growing cilantro when I was a kid and my hating it. But over the years I have come to appreciate the flavor it brings to certain dishes and it was a great topping, along with fresh diced onion, to the top of these tacos.

As I polished off the last taco I was presented with a plate of Tostadas ($6.00). Like night and day the tostadas couldn’t be more different from tacos al pastor. The corn tortillas were golden in color and this time fried instead of fresh, soft and pliable. Just picking one up was tricky as too much pressure would snap these delicate corn platforms in two. Atop the tortilla was a thin layer of mild black beans that anchored the slow roasted, shredded beef. A play on subtlety the beef was tender, mild and flecked with well cooked onion and tomato. It had a good meaty flavor and was juicy but was not bold in its presentation. Topping this off were drizzles of an avocado and sour cream wearing little domed hats of shredded romaine lettuce. As gingerly as I could I lifted each delicate round to my mouth and devoured them completely.

While some may balk at the price of such small bites (Though these are the portion sizes I’ve experienced during my time in Mexico), I think, based on the quality, that the value for these dishes is there. No, these are not Tex-Mex combo platters that take up half the table but neither do they taste like it. Stop in a try a few of these small entrees or better yet, take a large group of friends, sit at the communal table, and enjoy some drinks and a sampling of all La Carta de Oaxaca has to offer.

May 18th, 2006

I am skeptical by nature, especially when it comes to restaurants that I’ve heard mixed comments on. Now I know that no restaurant will ever gain a consensus amongst the general public, after all, everyone’s tastes vary. What may be great to me might be simply mediocre to you. As the phrase goes, “Your Mileage May Vary”. And it may be that some rumblings about a particular restaurant have more to do with one person’s personal reaction to a perceived fault. However, something inside me wonders if there isn’t something to a negative comment. Should I put forth time and effort on a potentially horrible meal when there are so many good restaurants still to try? So it has been over the past year with La Carta de Oaxaca. While I’ve heard raves aplenty I’ve also noticed the negative side. So I’d put them on the back burner. Until today that is.

I arrived just before La Carta’s opening time of 5 PM and already a line had formed 15 people deep, this was a good sign. I walked down Ballard Avenue to check out some shops and returned to find the restaurant open and the line moving but with an additional six people ahead of me. Lesson learned, when you see the line, get in it. A man at the door metered people to various seating locations around the smallish dining area and I was directed to the last available seat at the four-stool counter. Over looking the cramped kitchen area I had a perfect view of one of the women at the tortilla station cranking out the corn tortillas like she was a machine. My server was quick to stop by despite having his hands full with several of my early dining compatriots. With my order placed all that was required of me was to sit back and enjoy the show from the kitchen.

One of the things I picked up from both positive and negative reviews of La Carta de Oaxaca was the size of the dishes and how it was best to order more than one. My first dish was the Entomatadas ($9.00). A thinly sliced, marinated piece of flank steak was grilled before my eyes. When I say thin I mean paper-thin, and it was sliced before cooking so it almost literally jumped onto and off of the grill, cooking it perfectly. Moist and juicy, the marinated seeped into the meat and added a wonderful smoky flavor. Accompanying the beef were supple, homemade corn tortillas that had been sauced with a slightly spicy red sauce. Topped with cheese, thinly sliced onion and crema the tortillas were like delicate little quesadillas in flavor. Add to them a bite of steak and you had a great beefy, creamy bite.

Next up was an order of Molotes ($6.00). Tiny corn dumplings surrounded a filling of smooth, soft potato and chopped beef sausage. The corn coating was deep fried to give them a crisp outer shell. Very mild, the molotes were almost overshadowed by the powerful sauces that they were topped with. One avocado sauce was creamy and rich; the crema sauce was light and slightly tart while the mole sauce was slightly spicy, deep and a little sweet.

Finally I requested an order of Pozole ($7.00). More of a soup than a stew it was nevertheless a memorable dish. It was rich and spicy but not in a spicy hot sort of way. I tasted the distinct flavor of chili powder but also cinnamon, clove and was that, chocolate? The broth was very unique and complex; I could have drunk a glass of it by itself. But in the soup were chucks of tender, flavorful pork along with perfectly cooked hominy. While some hominy I’ve eaten has a weird flavor due the processing with lye. This hominy was clean tasting with a mild corn flavor. Almost like a Vietnamese pho the pozole came with a side of cabbage, onion, cilantro and radish to add to my bowl making it into a meal almost on its own.

After a great dinner of one too many dishes I can say that the positive things I’ve heard about La Carta are true. This is one person who is skeptical no longer. While the individual plates are smaller than one would expect the pricing is not too unreasonable and one shouldn’t need more than two or three plates to satisfy their hunger. Remember to go early, get in line and stay there or be prepared for a wait as it gets busy due to their popularity, and rightly so. But don’t take my word for it. Become a former skeptic yourself.

Growing up in a household where one parent was raised in a small, Texas border town I came to know Mexican food as what is more commonly called Tex-Mex. Fried corn tortillas, beans, potatoes and beef (lots of beef); that’s what a typical Sunday meal for me consisted of. While I know that’s not typical Mexican cuisine, it is what I think of when I visit restaurants such as Luisa’s Mexican Grill. As a matter of fact it’s what I think of when I go to most Mexican restaurants. My travels to Mexico have been limited, to say the least. All of my experience came from my stint in San Diego when friends and I could cross the border into Tijuana. But aside from the drinking what I remember are meals that were reminiscent of those weekends in the Eighties when my mother would spend all afternoon in the kitchen. So it is between my mother’s cooking and Tijuana street food that I feel I have a good grasp on what’s good Tex-Mex.

I ordered the Flautas ($10.25) as I had high hopes that Luisa’s would be able to recreate those heavenly, cigar-shaped treats I’d indulged in on my few excursions South of the border. What made me think that this was possible is that, as a filling, shredded beef was offered. Unfortunately instead of fine, long-threaded, slow-roasted beef the meat was chewy, dry and interspersed with diced potato, which I can only assume was added for bulk since there was little in the way of added flavor. As a matter of fact there was little flavor at all in the meat filling. Most of what I tasted was the overly think corn tortilla that had been wrapped around the filling and then deep fried. In an effort to disguise this log of hardened corn shell the kitchen drenched the two flautas in sour cream and guacamole. Not that their mild flavors would do anything for the overall taste of my meal. Aside from the flautas the beans and rice were passable; the beans having an overall smooth texture and topped with copious amounts of melted cheese. The rice was fluffy and speckled with diced onion and carrot, flavorful but nothing to write home about.

All in all Louisa’s was unexciting. As far as Tex-Mex Mexican restaurants in Seattle go it’s not someplace I would seek out as a place to eat. Of course, at the same time, if I lived in the neighborhood, I wouldn’t discount it as an option, as something other than Taco Bell ™, for some quick tacos or burritos.

There is not a lot to say about Garcia’s Guadalajara restaurant. I pass nearly every day on my way to work. I’ve known people to comment on the quality for the neighborhood many times. But I’ve never really given them much thought until today. I had decided to walk to Wallingford, since it was such a nice day, in order to expand on the number of restaurants in the area for my reviews. By the time I made it across Stone Way I was hot, sweaty and in need of a glass of water. Garcia’s Guadalajara just happened to be the first restaurant I came across.

Inside I was shocked at the amount of square footage the restaurant encompassed. From the outside it looks like nothing more than an ex-storefront converted into dining space. But in fact the dining area was quite spacious with enough room for a cantina area in the back. It was a little later in the day for lunch so there was only one other table occupied at the time, so I was shown to a seat quickly. Service was fast as it took only five minutes from when I placed my order to when it arrived at my table.

Torn between a couple of menu offerings I decided on the Shredded Beef Burrito ($8.95). What looked like a rather scrawny burrito turned out to be completely packed with tender shreds of slow-cooked beef. While many burrito vending restaurants dilute their offerings with filler of beans and rice, Garcia’s was all meat. Moist and juicy I could taste the tomato sauce it was cooked in along with spices of cumin and chili powder. Over a quarter of a pound of meat was wrapped in a tender tortilla, topped with “Spanish” sauce (Really just red enchilada sauce) and smothered in melted cheddar and jack cheeses. Traditional accompaniments of rice and beans made their presence known by taking up half the plate. The rice was decent though unremarkable and the beans were a little on the runny side.

While, perhaps, not the best Mexican cuisine in Seattle, Garcia’s Guadalajara is the best I’ve tried to date. The shredded beef was reminiscent of what my mom used to make and what I’d make myself, were I not so lazy and decided to take a day to slow cook it. Of course that is probably what makes this burrito from Garcia’s so good; the fact that it’s like I’d make only someone else is making it for me. I’ll have to return soon to sample some of their other offerings, to see if their other menu items are as well crafted.

It’s hard to think of Cinco de Mayo without thinking about cheap Mexican beer and margaritas. Much like St. Patty’s Day though, the true meaning of the day gets lost in celebration. Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates a Mexican victory over a small French force at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Why were the French in Mexico? Well it seems that Mexico wasn’t too keen on repaying its debt to the European power. So Napoleon III sent troops to capture Mexico City but instead those troops were met with by inferior Mexican militia who soundly defeated them. While the French eventually defeated the Mexican army the day of May 5th would live on as a day of pride in the hearts of many Mexicans. As for Americans, well, we just like an excuse to have a party. So with the American day of celebration via drinking just a day away I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to drive over to Madison Park and check out Cactus.

I arrived at Cactus around a quarter to five and the Cinco de Mayo crowd was already present. There is a small outdoor seating area in front of the restaurant and upon my arrival every table had been filled. But no matter the cool shaded interior was a welcome relief for those of us that dressed in two shirts and flannel lined pants that morning. Once seated my server ran off to get drinks as I perused the menu. Though dinner isn’t officially served until 5 PM I was offered anything off the appetizer side of the menu. At first I figured I’d save room for the main course and declined but then something caught my eye, Hatch Green Chile soup ($5.00 - Bowl/$2.75 - Cup). I ordered a cup and what arrived is almost too hard to describe. It was a split pea like soup with chopped asparagus and a most distinct peppery spice. The soup itself was fairly neutral in flavor punctuated every now and again but still slightly crisp asparagus bits. Dabbed on top was a small bit of minced green chilies that, when mixed into the soup, provided a background heat that sneaks up and hits you once you think you’re in the clear. While not a palate burner this might be a soup to steer clear of if you are sensitive to spiciness.

By the time I had finished my soup it was time to order the main course. For that I chose the Carnitas Yucatecas ($11.00). What arrived was a small mountain of pork that had been seared, slow roasted and finely shredded. The meat was incredibly tender and rich with a slightly sweet flavor that was enhanced by the red onion escabeche. The escabeche being shredded onion pickled with cilantro and red pepper. These were served with steamed, soft white corn tortillas that had a bold, fresh corn flavor. You unroll the tortillas and build your own taco from the pork and escabeche so you can make them as thin or fat as you’d like. Along with the carnitas comes a small plate loaded with rice and black beans. The beans are tender and flavorful with the deep, smoky taste of cumin. Topped with Cotija cheese the beans reminded me of my first experience with Cuban cooking, as a kid, at the house of a friend of my mother. The rice on the other hand, though topped with tasty pumpkin seeds, was lacking in any sort of real flavor. More like white rice tossed with tomato powder. But of course the main focus of this dish is the carnitas. Be forewarned though, there is more shredded pork than tortillas so you may need more. That is if you can finish an entire plate by yourself.

Cactus provides very good authentic style cuisine (At least from my experiences), large portions and a great atmosphere. The food, served quickly, is made with care and attention to detail. Not your ordinary Mexican restaurant, Cactus is worth a visit whether you’re in the mood for great food or celebrating not paying your bills.

For a second Sunday in a row I ended up at a Mexican restaurant. Only this time it was not Tex-Mex but rather a more upscale, contemporary version of traditional Mexican favorites. But one would expect no less from Fremont’s El Camino.

Known mostly for its freshly made house margaritas I had never gone to El Camino with the intention of just having dinner. It was a bit odd sitting at a table on the covered back patio without a large group of friends around. Around me, here and there, were tables of groups of four, five and more. This is a popular destination and it wasn’t the warmest or sunniest of days in Seattle. Once the days turn long and warm expect to have a considerable wait for an outside table. But I was fortunate that I arrived just before the dinner rush and was able to get a good view of the activity in the alley behind PCC.

I made quick work of the menu while the waitress went inside to bring my drink. Deciding it would be best to order something simple, something that would likely not disappoint, I choose the Tacos de Carne Asada ($14.00). The tacos were on the smallish side but were filled with little bits of steak cooked, a little past the requested medium. Regardless the bits of meat were flavorful and were enhanced by the addition of fresh soft cheese and chopped cilantro. One negative was the use of raw white onion. While a good choice for flavor, raw onion on such a small taco was overpowering. I would almost think it better to sauté the onion just slightly to take the edge off or at the very least cut them into much smaller pieces. My dinner came with rice and beans but I would have passed had I known they’d be a little on the dull side. The rice turned out to be slightly undercooked with almost no flavor. The beans weren’t terrible, they had good tomato flavor and were cooked just right but were more like charro beans, whole and a little runny. But mixing them together with the rice (Plus a little hot sauce into the mixture) made my sides a little more tolerable.

My thoughts on El Camino are that it makes for a better happy hour destination with friends than an evening of Mexican dining. For the price you pay per entree you’d expect the food (Which is nothing more than gussied up peasant fare) to be a little more exciting. I think I’ll save my dollars for warmer weather and enjoy the company of friends and the cheap happy hour menu.