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.