A Study of José Andrés - Part Two: Oyamel

DATE OF VISIT: THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012

It was a wonderfully beautiful day. I hopped on the metro and headed over to Oyamel, where I was planning on meeting my friend Carolyn for dinner. She was arriving a little later than I, so I sat and enjoyed Feliz Hora en el bar. I'd never been to the restaurant before, so I looked around, enjoying the energetic atmosphere and the fun decor.






The butterfly theme is very tastefully done. Mobiles hang from the ceiling and a tapestry of orange flowers hung overhead, giving the restaurant a bright, sunny demeanor.  Marble counters and big open windows further the free, down-to-earth feeling. 

When Carolyn arrived, we fought our way to the bar, (Oyamel seems to attract quite a few young-professionals during this time of day, all contending for the same barstools), and managed to find two seats. We were both so hungry, we ordered as soon as possible, and we ordered a lot. It's easy to over order here due to the ample variety of tantalizing menu options. One thing I would say, however, is the menu over-sells the items with big, gourmet words and lacks a comprehensive description of the item in question. 

Here is a brief overview of the items we ordered:

Camarones al mojo de ajo negro

"Shrimp sauteed with shallots, arbol chile, poblano pepper, lime and sweet aged black garlic"

$10.00

Quesadilla Huitlacoche*

"Traditional folded corn tortilla with Chihuahua cheese and Roy Burns Farm Mexican corn truffle."

$9.00

Ceviche de peto
"Hawaiian ono served with fresh hearts of palm 
and baby cucumber salad, passion fruit, 
vanilla, and rose."
$12.00

Taco de tinga poblana
"Stew of shredded chicken with potatoes, 
chorizo, and chipotle topped with white 
onion in a house-made tortilla"
2 Tacos for $4.00 (Happy Hour Menu) 

Chapulines
"The legendary Oaxacan specialty of sauteed grasshoppers, shallots, tequila, and guacamole"
 1 Taco for $5.00

Huitlacoche close up

* Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows naturally on ears of corn.  According to gourmetsleuth.com, 
      "American farmers call it 'smut' and 'devil's corn' and consider it a disease to be irradiated. The peoples of Mexico as well as the American Hopi Indians consider the fungus a delightful delicacy... Today in Mexico the product is actually cultivated each season providing an ample supply to be eaten fresh, then frozen and canned."
Huitlacoche (pronounced "wee-tlah-KOH-chay") has quite a rich, earthy, and sometimes smokey taste. It is typically used in tamales, sopas (soups), and quesadillas. 




Some more interesting Oyamel facts:
Oyamel was named the Best Latin American Restaurant by Washingtonian Magazine in December, 2011

This restaurant is named after Abies religiosa, a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico and western Guatemala. The name in Nahuatl (a language spoken mostly in Central Mexico) is Oyamel.

Oyamel occasionally hosts events. Some previous events include:

• Day of the Dead (October 17-November 2, 2011): The menu for this celebration featured 2 new cocktails and a menu of dishes from Michoacan. Day of the Dead is one of the most important holidays in Mexican culture, usually celebrated with a visit to a cemetery and decorating graves with marigolds and candles. 
• A Week in Oaxaca by Oyamel and Diana Kennedy (September 12-18, 2011): This event was in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and Mexican Independence Day. The menu was created using recipes from Diana Kennedy's award-winning cookbook, Oaxaca al Gusto. 

To be continued....

**Please be aware, I am in no way an expert on anything that I write about. I'm just a young woman who loves food and wants to learn more about everything**

I encourage any and all comments, tips, and advice. 

Cactus Cantina

Tonight I went to dinner with one of my very best friends, Carolyn Eby. She lives in South East DC and I live in Gaithersburg, MD so we decided to meet somewhere in between. I'm into Mexican food, so we decided on a little place called Cactus Cantina. Located on Wisconsin Avenue between Glover Park and Tenleytown, this restaurant has a rich history in northwest DC.

I had never been there myself but I've heard great things. Before we went, I read a couple of reviews from fellow foodies. I found out a few things that I kept in mind while perusing the menu. For one thing, I heard the house-made tortilla chips are amazing. A true statement. They come to your table fresh and warm with just the right amount of salt and sweet corn taste. The salsa was great too- very much like the salsa I've had at places like Guapos and Uncle Julio's.

Carolyn and I ordered one of the appetizers from the specials menu- Queso and Guacamole. The queso was way too sweet. It tasted as though someone had dumped sugar in there in place of salt. We thought some hot sauce might help, so we asked our waitress who brought us typical tabasco sauce- not the right addition to our Mexican meal. The guacamole was alright- fresh avocados were definitely used. It was lacking in other ingredients, however. There were probably a total of 4 tomato chunks in the entire scoop and not a single piece of onion. Not what I like to see when I'm paying $8.95 for an appetizer.

Then it was time for the main course. Carolyn is a big mango fan. As I was sitting in the restaurant, drinking my Corona Light, I saw on the specials menu that there was a Mango Chicken dish. I knew immediately that this would soon be in my friend's stomach. It came to us completely covered in sauce and extremely bright and colorful veggies. It was a delicious dish. If there were one thing I would complain about, it would be the sheer amount of the sauce. But everything else was delectable. And for $13.95, I'd go back and order that for myself.

Mango Chicken Platter- from the specials menu

I always tell myself that I'm going to try something new- something that I've never had before. Then I always end up getting the combination platter. In a way, it is trying something new! I find it very cool to compare and contrast every Mexican restaurant with one another, determining who has the best tamales, enchilada, etc. The platter that I ordered at Cactus Cantina included a Chicken Enchilada, a Cheese Chile Relleno, a Beef Taco al Carbon, and a Pork Tamale. Since I don't eat pork, I requested a Chicken Tamale instead. Out of this entire dish, I would say the tamale stands out the most for me. I don't remember where I heard this, but I know that somewhere in Mexico or Central America, it is traditional to include chick peas and green olives in the tamale. This was a nice surprise that I received when I dug in. The chick peas made a fabulous textural difference in the masa, the chicken with perfectly moist, and everything all together made the tamale outstanding. As for the other components, I couldn't find anything wrong with them, but they were nothing special. This combination platter, Cantina's Special, costs $15.95.

My Combination Platter: Mexican Rice, Chicken Tamale, Chicken Enchilada, Cheese Chile Relleno, Beef Taco al Carbon, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole. 

For dessert, we orders from the specials menu again. Tres Leches Cake. It was moist and warm, but it lacked the yummy condensed milk flavor that I was expecting.

Tres Leches Cake- $6.50

All in all, Cactus Cantina delivered on the basics. I didn't try the margaritas or sangria, but I intend to in the future. I'll definitely be back.