I’ve been lax on the Tasty Tuesday postings, but I’ve been embarrassed by how behind I am. I post in the order I go and right now I have a back log, but the one I’m most interested in posting is from Cinco de Mayo which was May 5th and over a month late. However, I guess the motto should be better late than never.
I went to Agave over on boulevard. Although this place is definitely more upscale then the typical taco shack, it’s going for Upscale Southwestern not Mexican. I had been there once before many years ago to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. I remembered they had excellent Margaritas so I decided that was the place to go for Cinco de Mayo. We rode by Taqueria del Sol, which by the way has a mean Margarita and you can get them by the pitcher, but the line was out the door and into the parking lot.
When we arrived it was a little crowded so we put our name down and went over to the bar to order Margaritas. I ordered the Peachtree Margarita and asked for salt and extra peach schnapps. I got my drink first and it was delicious, perfectly sweet but with a tangy kick. My friend ordered the Don Eduardo Anejo. I think they put extra tequila in the margarita for Cinco de Mayo because the warm floaty feeling came quickly. Then someone at the bar ordered a round of tequila shots for us. The shot wasn’t easy going down. I’m not good at shots, actually I’m terrible so I just poured it into my second margarita. I started to get antsy because I was hungry and the moment I turned around to tap the hostess on the shoulder to inquire about our table they called our name. They seated us in the main dining room, not in the little room off to the right. I want to call the place rustic, but I don’t think that’s the proper way to describe it. Everything’s dark and earthy. It’s not homey, but the décor is welcoming like a mountain cabin.
The chips and salsa arrived about 30 seconds after we sat down. Yes! A restaurant after my own heart. They were warm, salty and the perfect filler food as I perused the menu. I had finished my second margarita when I noticed my friend hadn’t touched the Don Eduardo. I asked for a sip, it was even better than the Peach Margarita, it’s not sweet, but I ordered one of those too. I was real nice, but that’s what you do for Cinco de Mayo to celebrate the Battle of Puebla. We ordered Enchiladas, the Stuffed Trout, Spicy Southwestern Spring Rolls and Cayenne Fried Calamari.
I was on my second basket of chips when the appetizers came out. I thought the calamari was good it was hot and spicy, my friend thought it was a little too spicy and refused to eat anymore after the second bite. The rolls were not as good. I didn’t like the mix of crab and shrimp and the sauce was the best part of the dish. I even dipped a few chips in it. The entrees came out before we even finished the appetizers which was fine for me because I had been dreaming of cheesy enchiladas all day.
The enchilada was very dry. I think mainly because it wasn’t really cheesy. I mean it had cheese on it, but it wasn’t oozing cheesy goodness. I had to ask for extra corn relish and some salsa to try and moisten it up a bit. After some doctoring with salt, relish and salsa I was well on my way to devouring the enchilada. I know that an enchilada isn’t much of a stretch at a Mexican restaurant, but I know what I like and I stick to it. Plus I was more interested in what I was drinking then what I was eating. My friend didn’t like the trout, neither did so it was sent back. The waitress suggested the grouper, so we got that. It was much better than the trout, but about five bites into the grouper my friend took the salt shaker out of my hand and placed it on the other side of the table. “You are going to leave here with hypertension if you put anymore salt on your food.” I was a little irritated, but then I realized that the salt shaker was full when I sat down and a ¼ of it was gone. I will explain it like this. While the calamari, chips and drinks were excellent, the rest of the food was well seasoned bland food. How is well seasoned food bland? It has lots of fresh flavorful ingredients for adding taste, but no salt – no seasoning salt – no adoba or some spice that makes the salt unnecessary for bringing all the ingredients together. I think a little salt goes a long way. However, if you’ve had a few margaritas you don’t even really notice the missing salt, your subconscious just wields your hand to sprinkle it generously and vigorously over the food on your plate.
Despite the bland food, I’ll be back for the chips and the Peach Margaritas!
