Dinner last night was at El Patio. We had all but one of the starters. Chicken Mole and the Shredded Pork for our mains.
They started us with some chips with refried beans and another type of dip I had never had before.
This was warm and was a puree of what I will call winter squash along with some al dente pieces of grilled zucchini. It was a nice surprise and a good nibble before we ordered.
My favorite starter was the taquitos.
They were well fried and sitting in a fresh tasting salsa verde. The sour cream added some needed creaminess. These are what you would want to have with a cold cerveza while watching football.
The melted cheese with chorizo as really good. I mean, who doesn't like melted cheese with a bit of spicy meat?
Really good but better with the chips instead of the flour tortilla it came with.
The aguachile was a good assortment of fresh fish in the same salsa verde that was on the taquitos. It also had a creative foam, but it lacked any flavor.
I found scallops, octopus and what I think was grouper. All very good and fresh tasting but would hace been better with some brinoised peppers for heat.
The panal was essentially a tuna tostada.
The tuna was tasty but I never got any of the honeycomb flavor that was mentioned.
I was hoping for the Esquites to be better than they were.
It was a white corn in a creamy sauce but lacking any corn or paprika flavor which is what you crave in this dish. I kept trying more of it in hopes the flavor would eventually come but it didn't.
The chicken mole was very good.
It was in a thin sauce with notes of raisins and chocolate. To often moles get the flavor correct but it is over reduced and gets gummy and thick. The chicken was a whole thigh on the bone and very moist. I only wish there has been a bit of heat to the party. It seems as if this menu may be a bit tailored to an American pallate which keeps the spice level mild. I would have liked to be able to get some of these dishes spicier - like you can in a Thai restaurant.
Dessert was the churros.
I was expecting thin ropes that had been well fried, coated in cinnamon sugar. Instead it was more like a doughy funnel cake. The flavor was there but missing the crunch I craved. It was topped with some chocolate ice cream which was good but would have been better in the side.
Everything we had was good to very good. And you will like it here as long as you are okay with mild spice. If you like more spice and heat (like I do), then you might be disappointed.
For tonight we will pick between Himitsu and Portofino depending on which menu looks better.
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