[Free Wilma]

I didn't see an Oyamel thread so my apologies if I'm being duplicative. I visited last night with a group of friends for the first time. While we had terrific service, the consensus opinion was that the food was good, but not great. This same group had recently been to the Crystal City Jaleo and Zaytinya and left Oyamel feeling just a bit disappointed. The restaurant was moderately full for a Sunday night, with no wait.

We ordered 10 small plates and 3 desserts and shared them all.

We had:

two kinds of tacos

Tacos de pescado frito al estilo San Cristóbal de las casas
Fried Tilapia Chiapas style with a light tomato sauce, Mexican salsa and hand made tortilla $5.95

Rabo de buey al pastor con láminas de piña
Ox tail marinated in spices with shaved pineapple, onions and cilantro $7.95


The Ox tail was the preferred of the two. Very flavorful.

Three CEVICHES

Cóctel de camarón y jaiba*
Traditional shrimp and crab cocktail with tomato sauce,
red onion, avocado and ‘totopos’
$9.50

Ceviche de salmón con maracuyá y epazote*
Salmon ceviche with passion fruit dressing and epazote oil
$6.95

Ceviche de cayo de hacha con naranja agria*
Scallop ceviche with citrus-roe dressing, jicama, orange,
guajillo oil and chile piquín
$7.95

Hands-down the shrimp and crab ceviche was the favorite. The scallop ceviche is served on three shells and thus was a bit difficult to share amongst five people. The salmon was sent to us accidentally....but was enjoyed greatly by all.

ANTOJITOS’ FROM THE GARDEN

Alabanuxtzotzil
Native Tzotzil salad of pork rinds with serrano chile,
tomato, onion and radish
$4.95

Ensalada de palmitos
Hearts of palm, orange, radish and avocado
with tamarind dressing
$5.95

Enmoladas al queso fresco de Chiapas con cebollitas Cambray y rabanitos
Mole enchiladas with fresh cheese from Chiapas, Cambray onions and radish
$4.95

Gorditas de hojas de aguacate rellenas
con queso Oaxaca y guacamole
Masa puffs seasoned with avocado leaves
and stuffed with guacamole
$6.95

Of these four "from the garden", the group was most impressed with the masa puffs and the hearts of palm salad. The mole enchilada was disappointing with the mole overwhelming the tortillas and the seeming lack of cheese. The pork rinds received mixed reviews with some comments that the rinds themselves were too tough.

MEAT ‘ANTOJITOS’

Conejo con huitlacoche y maíz
Braised rabbit with huitlacoche sauce and fresh corn
$6.95

There was also a special steak antojito that was terrific. It was cooked rare (as requested) and very well flavored. The rabbit was quite good, despite some of group being a bit squeemish about dining on flopsy, mopsy or cotton-tail.

For dessert we had:

Mole Poblano caliente de crema de chocolate con helado de vainilla
Warm Chocolate cake with mole crema,
spiced hot chocolate and vanilla ice cream
$ 6.95

Cajeta tradicional y moderna
Goat milk Cajeta with crumbled shortbread, cinnamon and mango
$ 6.95

Café de Olla
Milk Chocolate Flan with espresso, piloncillo and spice
$ 6.95

The Cajeta had some passionflower sorbet which made me incredibly sorry I hadn't just ordered that instead. The Chocolate cake was decadent and the serving dish was licked clean. The flan was lovely but a bit over-powered by the anise flavored ice cream which accompanied it. Two at the table had coffee but complained that the pitchers it was served in do not keep the coffee hot enough. Also, one of the coffee cups (a glass mug held together by a metal, detachable handle) basically fell apart on one of our party and caused coffee to be spilled all over the table. Our engaged and knowledgeable server indicated that they are in the process of correcting both the mug and pitcher problems.

A good experience in total, but I'm not sure I'll be rushing back when Jaleo, which I much prefer, is right next door.

[Stretch]

Great report.
There's been a fair bit of carping about inconsistency at Oyamel, but I'm still a fan. Oxtail tacos, smoky lentils with pineapple and mole fries -- lunch of champions!

[drewtr]

I went on Sunday & can conclusively say that is some of the best Mexican food I have had since leaving Texas. Everything was tasty, with nice, complex, fresh, & authentic tasting sauces & great fresh corn tortillas.

[Meaghan]

Here's Kliman on Oyamel:

"Original Recipe, Extra Crispy"

Honest and vivid, and just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

http://www.vivacinco...org/history.htm

[Stretch]

Some nice praise for Steve Klc's desserts there. Man, I love that goat milk cajeta.

[mdt]

Stretch, on May 5 2005, 08:04 PM, said:

Some nice praise for Steve Klc's desserts there. Man, I love that goat milk cajeta.

While I enjoy the cajeta as well, the Café de Olla does it for me.

[tenunda]

I've eaten there three times, the latest being last week, and have never had a better than mediocre meal there. The food's been OK with some high points (mole fries, dessert, blossoms), but more considerable lows (scallop ceviche, quail w/ rose petals, cactus salad, beef tamales). The service has been generally spotty, once with the server offering us a check before one of the entreés coming, but I don't think that's such a big deal. The drinks have always been superb, and the bartenders friendly. The decór is fantastic, and I like the crowds, but the food is just OK, which isn't what I expect from Mr. Andrés.

That said, I can't understand the unmitigated raves that come from this place, especially from Sietsema whose taste seems to mesh with mine. This leaves me feeling a little jealous that all of these people are having phenomenal meals while I'm stuck wishing I was at home with my Mexican friends' moms' cooking.

I do love the free parking, however, but I might pass up Oyamel for Chipotle or Jaleo next time...

[mdt]

tenunda, on May 6 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

I've eaten there three times, the latest being last week, and have never had a better than mediocre meal there.  The food's been OK with some high points (mole fries, dessert, blossoms), but more considerable lows (scallop ceviche, quail w/ rose petals, cactus salad, beef tamales).  The service has been generally spotty, once with the server offering us a check before one of the entreés coming, but I don't think that's such a big deal.  The drinks have always been superb, and the bartenders friendly.  The decór is fantastic, and I like the crowds, but the food is just OK, which isn't what I expect from Mr. Andrés.

That said, I can't understand the unmitigated raves that come from this place, especially from Sietsema whose taste seems to mesh with mine.  This leaves me feeling a little jealous that all of these people are having phenomenal meals while I'm stuck wishing I was at home with my Mexican friends' moms' cooking.

I do love the free parking, however, but I might pass up Oyamel for Chipotle or Jaleo next time...

I think with the large menu you have to know what to order. Not that this is an acceptable solution. I for one have had some lame dishes, and when I order tend to stick with the ones that have been good in the past, plus one or two new items to try. The ones that you mentioned as being lows were either ones that I have not enjoyed or have had been mentioned by friends as being so so. The tacos seem to be pretty consistent and when I have tried the various specials they have been good.

[bilrus]

tenunda, on May 6 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

That said, I can't understand the unmitigated raves that come from this place, especially from Sietsema whose taste seems to mesh with mine.  This leaves me feeling a little jealous that all of these people are having phenomenal meals while I'm stuck wishing I was at home with my Mexican friends' moms' cooking.

I don't have the impression that Sietsema or too many people rave about Oyamel. I almost feel like Oyamel has given people a reason to jump on the "Jose isn't all that" bandwagon, taking Zaytinya and Jaleo with it.

Aside from Minibar and to a lesser extent Cafe Atlantico in general, his places are what they are. Fun, stylish places to get some pretty good food, some excellent - but with a little inconsistency mixed in.

[shogun]

tenunda, on May 6 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

I do love the free parking, however, but I might pass up Oyamel for Chipotle or Jaleo next time...

Ouch....just, ouch.

[tenunda]

shogun, on May 6 2005, 09:30 AM, said:

Ouch....just, ouch. 

Well, I have a weakness for Chipotle's burritos, with guac and extra cheese.

Overall, I think that all items on the menu should be good enough to order and enjoy. I think Jaleo is that way, as is Zaytinya. I've been to Oyamel enough times with enough people (who, like me, generally refuse to order the same thing as someone else) to try most things on the menu, and don't want to go back for the same four dishes every time. I think Mr. Andrés is an excellent chef, but it seems like he phoned Oyamel in...

[shogun]

The oxtail taco is dead! Long live the oxtail quesadilla!

Look like Chef Andres is making more changes to the menu at Oyamel. The happy hour menu, which previous was a limited full price menu of tacos and ceviche with drink specials is now drink specials, full menu, and 'small bites' happy hour specials of smaller portions of some of the dinner items at reduced prices (Ex: three plantain fritters at $1.50), and I believe individual tacos. Tacos which by the way now come two to an order instead of three. A few old favorites [of mine] are also gone, including the chile en nogada and the aforementioned oxtail taco. Oxtail remains on the menu in the form of a quesadilla with a spicy green salsa, which I believe was the same as the one that came with squash blossom quesadilla (Gone as well, but it's a seasonal thing). I wanted to try the duck confit taco, which is served the same way as the oxtail taco, but they were out.

Dessert special today? Avocado four ways.

[Capital Icebox]

shogun, on May 16 2005, 09:51 PM, said:

Look like Chef Andres is making more changes to the menu at Oyamel.  The happy hour menu, which previous was a limited full price menu of tacos and ceviche with drink specials is now drink specials, full menu, and 'small bites' happy hour specials of smaller portions of some of the dinner items at reduced prices (Ex: three plantain fritters at $1.50), and I believe individual tacos. 

Anyone know the times for Oyamel's happy hour? 4-7?

[Jason]

shogun, on May 16 2005, 09:51 PM, said:

Tacos which by the way now come two to an order instead of three....

Did they lower the prices for the tacos, or do you now just get 2 instead of 3?

Quote

Dessert special today? Avocado four ways. 

That dessert is great, I hope it stays on the menu.

I agree with the general consensus here that the food is often mediocre. The desserts are the only consistently strong players.

[brian]

The tacos aren't any lower in price, and they look a little silly coming out in those custom stainless steel holders clearly meant for three. I think they are a bit fuller, though. Yesterday I had the duck leg confit tacos with shaved pineapple. A bit of a letdown, as I was hoping for something up to the level of the fantastic duck confit served at Atlantico. I also tried the beef tongue taco special, and it was excellent. In the past week I've had beef tongue at wd~50, Casa Mono, and Oyamel, and Oyamel's was the best of the bunch. As it's been noted elsewhere, there's no melding of the flavors in the tacos, they're just carriers for the meat, which is what made the duck a failure and the beef a success.

Service was oddly over-explanatory. The initial presentation of the menu lasted about 3 minutes, but it didn't stop the server from explaining what ceviche was again when I ordered the tuna. One of the desserts was described as "homemade ice creams made in house" - a bit rendundant. I was constantly having to scoot finished items closer to the server due to the depth of the booth, but considering our table had contact with about four different servers the experience was pretty smooth if a bit too quick on a fairly slow night.

Still, it's hard to think of other places that provide the same sort of overall experience for the same value - you can order like a king and walk out for less than you'd pay with stingy ordering at a competitor.

This post has been edited by brian: 23 May 2005 - 09:57 AM

[cjsadler]

Has anyone checked out the Squash Blossom Festival at Oyamel? The article says there's a farmer's market as part of it, Tuesdays-Fridays. I guess it's going on this week (not totally clear from the article)

[JLK]

But is it sponsored?

[Stretch]

Mixed bag at lunch at Oyamel today. Good tacos (duck confit and suckling pig), good service, bloody awful sides. Slack, tasteless refried beans and half-cooked patatas al mole. Bleah.

[CrescentFresh]

mdt and I had a nice lunch at Oyamel yesterday. Completely unrushed, as the place was kind of quiet. (I'm told that's the lunchtime norm). Tamarind agua frescas were tasty.

We split 4 dishes. Continuing the trend of kickass scallops locally this year, my favorite were the seared scallops with pumpkinseed sauce. Lots of sauce leftover on the plate with that dish, though. Would love to have had some tortillas or something to sop it up with, as all we had were the crispy tortillas and that wouldn't have worked well.

Two kinds of tacos. I was partial for the grilled halibut, which was a substitute for the fried tilapia. We also had the baby pig, tomatillo salsa and pork rinds. I liked those, too, but I preferred the fish because of it's simplicity. Tortilla, lime, salsa and a big hunk of fish. No fancy blends of anything.

The last dish was some kind of a potato thing that I don't really recall, (maybe mdt can chime in) but we both agreed that this one was the weakest. If for no other reason than the other three things we ordered were better!

Not too much to report. I don't go to Oyamel often at all. I guess they're still plugging away and I found everything to be perfectly......serviceable.

[CrescentFresh]

Carne asada tacos with guacamole. How can one enjoy eating these things? Comes with these giantass (yes, its a real word. you can look it up) onion bulbs jammed in a tortilla that could choke a giraffe. In fact, if a giraffe ate one (or a snake for that matter) you'd laugh and point as you watch this bulbous thing slowly work its way down the esophagus like traffic moving on I-66, all the while the embarrassed animal eating the damn thing has to sit there wondering, "why did I eat this? And shouldn't I have taken Lee Highway?"

Lots of sexist jokes possible here, but I'm feeling restrained. Must be the Herradura Reposado backed with Oyamel's Martian Pig Slop from Hell. Now THAT'S a meal!

This post has been edited by CrescentFresh: 03 November 2005 - 11:00 PM

[Nadya]

CrescentFresh, on Sep 17 2005, 10:55 AM, said:

I found everything to be perfectly......serviceable. 

Dude!! That's MY line! Ask anyone!

And laughing my ass off over your description of choking giraffe a la traffic on I-66...took an edge of being pissed off because getting home to Dupont from Fairfax - via I-66 - took 45 minutes tonight on account of unexplainable timing of road work that must needs coincide with my end of practice time. Bloody fantastic.

[CrescentFresh]

Nadya, on Nov 3 2005, 11:16 PM, said:

Dude!! That's MY line! Ask anyone!

April 29 at 3:02PM. Yep. You got me by almost five months. Looks like Rocks had it first though!

This post has been edited by CrescentFresh: 03 November 2005 - 11:25 PM

[Jacques Gastreaux]

I had one of those tacos with the onion thing as well. Very odd.

[Nadya]

And service is not serviceable. It sucks bottom.

It's not that the food is horrible. It's...dumb. It's a restaurant where the focus is off the food. It's serviceable. It's calorific and cheap. But it has no spirit.

[Mark Slater]

Nadya, on Nov 5 2005, 12:35 AM, said:

And service is not serviceable. It sucks bottom. 

It's not that the food is horrible. It's...dumb. It's a restaurant where the focus is off the food. It's serviceable. It's calorific and cheap. But it has no spirit.

Plotnicki was there this week. Hated it.

[shogun]

Poor Oyamel. Maybe I should go down there tonight.

[CrescentFresh]

I do like the dish of green stuff and the dish of red stuff they give with the chips.

[Sthitch]

I went last night for a friend's birthday. The food was really hit or miss. I loved the duck confit taco, but hated the tilapia tacos. The fact that the later came out cold did not help it much (that may have been caused by the poor service). The corn tamale with oxacan cheese was worthless, it was one small cube of cheese on flavorless lukewarm corn, however, the jicama stuffed with guacamole was quite good.
I was uninspired by the drinks as well, the mojito was practically flavorless. My wife got the rosa blanco special drink was also lacking much in the way of flavor.
I had hoped that Oyamel had improved since our first so-so experience, but it appears that it has taken a big step backwards.

[Spiral Stairs]

I just happen to have eaten lunch at Oyamel today, my first visit. For two, we had: (1) mussels; (2) fried potatoes with mole; (3) duck confit tacos; (4) some kind of chicken tacos; (5) pork and beef meatballs; and (6) spiced lamb in some kind of leaf. I derived some enjoyment from the whole lot, but like the duck confit tacos and the meatballs the best. The mussels were in a pretty tasty spicy sauce, but the sauce was a little watery and difficult to merge with bites of mussel. The duck confit taco tacos had an interesting sweet-and-salty thing going on, with pineapple on top.

I would not have minded a bit more spice/heat dialed into almost everything, including the sauces that came with the chips. The lamb, in particular, needed something -- I didn't taste much of the spices that permit it to be called "spiced."

Having missed out on its earlier days, I guess I'm not qualified to say whether it's really gone into the dumper. I enjoyed this lunch, though. Service was pretty good (the place was near-empty, though). The waitress did give us a full-on class on the various menu items, after we told her it was our first time, and she took us slightly for fools. (After we ordered the potatoes with mole, she said, "Do you know what mole is?")

It was a little pricy (the items above, plus two sodas, amounted to about $55 with tip). Still, it's a welcome change from heat lamp-melted cheese and refried beans.

[CrescentFresh]

I've baked Ore Ida shoestring potatoes in the oven and they have better taste, texture and flavor than the potato mole at Oyamel. The Oyamel potatoes look and taste like they were cooked by Aramark at RFK sometime this past August and were not used for Cheez Fries. They were then placed in some type of suspended animation and then ended up on my table at Oyamel the other night.

As my dining companions could confirm, we ate half the dish and had no problem with the thing being cleared before we were done.

Oyamel is an attractive space and they do some things quite well, but for the most part, it's a pricey mistake. I once said it's a tough call between Chipotle and Oyamel. I'm leaning more and more towards Chipotle.

[Nadya]

From Todd Kliman's chat:

"Oyamel is a ride, in every sense of the word. The simplest stuff on the menu is tasty, and the desserts are terrific, but a lot of the menu promises a kind of lusty soulfulness and complexity that it doesn't quite deliver on. The tacos, especially."

Ha!

Todd, you express this much better than I could possibly hope.

All I gots to say is, a place like Oyamel belongs in Crystal City.

[shogun]

Nadya, on Nov 8 2005, 12:17 PM, said:

All I gots to say is, a place like Oyamel belongs in Crystal City.

Oh, thanks! Poor Oyamel...

[tastedc]

When I went almost a year ago when they first opened, they had a Ceviche Bar, is that still open? I thought that was Supercool, I mean Mexican Sushi, great concept! Also the very high ceilings and decor, the space is pretty dramatic, even at a Zaytinya level!

But that location seems so strange, I mean Zaytinya is a winning location in so many ways, but Crystal City is primarily day-time defense contractors, and not much evening walk-by traffic - even worse, Oyamel specialize in Mexican wines and Virginia ABC restrictions on obtaining wines in their state are so convoluted and ultimately costly, that Oyamel's Mexican wines are quite limited and a tad bit pricey...

[shogun]

Huh, I don't remember a ceviche bar, so I can't tell you if it's there or not. Probably not. Contractors by day, yes, but they do a good bit of tourist trade, too. Places in Crystal City can get pretty busy at night, especially on the weekends. Can be pretty dead, too, on the other hand.

This post has been edited by shogun: 08 November 2005 - 01:26 PM

[mdt]

Ceviche bar? You don't mean the taco bar as you just walk in do you?

[shogun]

mdt, on Nov 8 2005, 01:50 PM, said:

Ceviche bar?  You don't mean the taco bar as you just walk in do you? 

I'm not entirely sure that was ever actually doing anything, either. Ever see anybody there?

[mdt]

shogun, on Nov 8 2005, 01:50 PM, said:

I'm not entirely sure that was ever actually doing anything, either. Ever see anybody there?

Yup, early on they had people sitting there eating.

[shogun]

mdt, on Nov 8 2005, 01:52 PM, said:

Yup, early on they had people sitting there eating.

Well, sure...but eating taco bar-type things, or was it just used as seating? Guess what I really meant was 'has it ever performed any special taco-bar functions'?

[Principia]

tastedc, on Nov 8 2005, 02:19 PM, said:

When I went almost a year ago when they first opened, they had a Ceviche Bar, is that still open?  I thought that was Supercool, I mean Mexican Sushi, great concept!  Also the very high ceilings and decor, the space is pretty dramatic, even at a Zaytinya level!

But that location seems so strange, I mean Zaytinya is a winning location in so many ways, but Crystal City is primarily day-time defense contractors, and not much evening walk-by traffic - even worse, Oyamel specialize in Mexican wines and Virginia ABC restrictions on obtaining wines in their state are so convoluted and ultimately costly, that Oyamel's Mexican wines are quite limited and a tad bit pricey...

I recall reading articles (either in the Post or City Paper) when Oyamel was under construction where one of the owners explained that he lived in Crystal City, and noted that it was become more residential and less of a commuter town. He thought part of the reason CC turns into a ghost town at night is because there aren't many places there where one can get any sense of community.

Perhaps he ought to have opened a pub instead?

[Thrasher]

CrescentFresh, on Nov 7 2005, 02:56 PM, said:

Oyamel is an attractive space and they do some things quite well, but for the most part, it's a pricey mistake.  I once said it's a tough call between Chipotle and Oyamel.  I'm leaning more and more towards Chipotle.

I think that people that debate between Chipotle and Oyamel is crazy, how can anyone put the two places in the same breath. Remember the Civilized eats out of desire, the Savage eats out of Necessity. Oyamel = Civilized, Chipotle (Mc Donald’s)= Savage. Oyamel has amazing décor, beautiful plates, real service people that can communicate with you, real Mexican food whether it is Street Food from Mexico City or the fine food from Oaxaca. The last time I checked Chipotle did not have Braised rabbit with huitlacoche sauce and fresh corn, but they did have a burrito bowl or a Lifeless Flour Tortilla with some slop that has been sitting around for hours (Completely dried out meats) oh and maybe you can get a real Mexican beer like Corona and don’t for get the lime for your beer. The food at Oyamel maybe not to your liking but to compare it to McDonalds in the same breath? Savage!

[CrescentFresh]

Thrasher, on Nov 8 2005, 09:03 PM, said:

I think that people that debate between Chipotle and Oyamel is crazy, how can anyone put the two places in the same breath. Remember the Civilized eats out of desire, the Savage eats out of Necessity. Oyamel = Civilized, Chipotle (Mc Donald’s)= Savage. Oyamel has amazing décor, beautiful plates, real service people that can communicate with you, real Mexican food whether it is Street Food from Mexico City or the fine food from Oaxaca. The last time I checked Chipotle did not have Braised rabbit with huitlacoche sauce and fresh corn, but they did have a burrito bowl or a Lifeless Flour Tortilla with some slop that has been sitting around for hours (Completely dried out meats) oh and maybe you can get a real Mexican beer like Corona and don’t for get the lime for your beer. The food at Oyamel maybe not to your liking but to compare it to McDonalds in the same breath? Savage!

You are too kind! I have been called much worse!
Point, however, is taken.

[tenunda]

Thrasher, on Nov 8 2005, 10:03 PM, said:

The last time I checked Chipotle did not have Braised rabbit with huitlacoche sauce and fresh corn, but they did have a burrito bowl or a Lifeless Flour Tortilla with some slop that has been sitting around for hours...

What good is a high-end restaurant with braised rabbit with huitlacoche when that braised rabbit with huitlacoche tastes bad? I, for one, would rather eat a customized and savory carnitas burrito that I like instead of a poorly cooked and tasteless pile of rodent with corn pus sauce--no matter how well-lit it is--because it takes an effort.

[Heather]

tenunda, on Nov 9 2005, 11:55 AM, said:

a poorly cooked and tasteless pile of rodent with corn pus sauce

We have a winner for least appetizing description of the week.

What about the desserts? We haven't made it to Oyamel yet, but Steve Klc's desserts are usually one the highlights at any Andres establishment.

[bilrus]

Heather, on Nov 9 2005, 01:57 PM, said:

What about the desserts?  We haven't made it to Oyamel yet, but Steve Klc's desserts are usually one the highlights at any Andres establishment.

The mole chocolate cake was particularly good and, although not a dessert, the Mexican hot chocolate made a fine ending to meal there last winter.

[Tartinka]

Heather, on Nov 9 2005, 01:57 PM, said:

We have a winner for least appetizing description of the week.

What about the desserts?  We haven't made it to Oyamel yet, but Steve Klc's desserts are usually one the highlights at any Andres establishment.

We visited recently and LOVED the cajeta and tres leches cake. Who'd a thunk it that the best part of a meal at a Mexican restaurant would be the dessert? Tres leches cake seems as if it could easily devolve into a dessert for wussies, but this isn't. It's interesting without the cloying sweetness that too many tres leches cakes (that I've made) have.

Tarting it Up: Oyamel Review

Warning - the link above contains many a photo and might be a little slow-loading.

[liam]

While in town to visit my wife's family for Thanksgiving, we stopped in at Oyamel for a delicious dinner on Friday evening.

First of all, the special Mezcal margaritas were awesome. The chili salt on the rims of the glasses gave the drinks a zip that accompanied the tequila splendidly.

With another couple, Sara and I shared about 10 different dishes, including the guacamole made table-side. Highlights of the meal were definitely Ceviche de Huachinango - Red snapper ‘ceviche’ served ‘Veracruz style’ - and the Carnitas ‘Cristina la Güera’ . I also really enjoyed the Nopalitos - Young cactus leaves with tomatoes, prickly pear dressing and micro cilantro. Also excellent were the Papas al mole - José Andrés’ favorite fried potatoes with almonds, spices, Mexican chile sauce and ‘cotija’ cheese - and the plaintain fritters.

There really were no misses as part of this meal, and Steve Klc's fabulous desserts capped it off. Among the four of us, we shared three -- the warm chocolate cake, the tres leches cake, and the milk chocolate flan. The cake was very good but the latter two desserts stole the cake! Fabulous!

I'll be back.

[Demvtr]

liam, on Nov 27 2005, 07:51 PM, said:

While in town to visit my wife's family for Thanksgiving, we stopped in at Oyamel for a delicious dinner on Friday evening.

You have my envy. I went to Oyamel on Friday night with my family and some out-of-town guests. We were seated immediately and had time to get in our drink orders before my father decided that he could not find anything on the menu to order. He strictly wanted beef, did not have faith in the concept of tapas, and deemed the flank steak on the entree menu a "cheap piece of meat." So I had to intercept the waiter as he wended his way back to our table, cancel the drink orders, and escort my party out of the restaurant. I left a $10.00 tip for the trouble, but I think it's going to be a while before I can show my face at Oyamel again.

For closure's sake, I'll add that we had dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, and while everything was perfectly fine, the contrast in menus and atmospheres was stark.

[shogun]

Oyamel, man....I defend you guys up and down, and what do you?

So I roll in there with a friend about 45 minutes ago for some Extended Happy Hour. I order a margarita and ask to see the happy hour menu. The bartender, some guy I've never seen there before, checks his watch and declares that happy hour was over Hours ago. He was quite firm on this point, and had, in fact, never heard of such a thing as happy hour that runs until 10.

A call over there reveals that today was, in fact the last day of the fine institution. By 'last day' I presume they meant 'it was over LAST week, thanks', and the period of reeducation and history-rewriting has begun.

I also see they've taken all the good beer (The Castas) off the menu. I seem to remember that from last time, so it may be old news. Really hope the place is doing ok. On the other hand, they have seen their way clear to buying a consignment of two-slot taco trays.

[Hoofhearted]

Had dinner at the bar last night and had the flank steak entree with a great sweet smokey mole and it was very good. The bartender with the funny hair was very nice also and knows the menu well. I will be going back during restaurant week, I noticed they had a sign up but I did not remember that they were on the restaurant week website. So I asked the bartender and he said there was a mix up and Oyamel never made it on the Restauratn Week Website, but they are definetly participating.

[CrescentFresh]

I remember visiting Oyamel shortly after it opened and was severely disturbed by a mariachi band that wanders through the place sticking a trumpet behind your head and playing La Cucaracha. I had the pleasure of hearing them again last night for the first time in about a year and a half (all my other visits were mariachiless and I thought they finally were canned) and was thrilled that they didn't play very long. After about 2 songs, their evening ended. (I think I got there shortly before 9, which I can only guess was their end time.) I've got nothing against mariachi bands, but I do hate mariachi bands standing right next to me while I'm trying to speak with my dinner companions. It's terrible.

Thankfully, the food last night was not so. The shredded chicken tacos were very nice, but I even more enjoyed a special of softshell crab tacos with a corn crema. The crab was battered and fried and with a healthy splash of lime made for a really tasty treat. $9.50 for two.

A rice dish with huitlacoche was okay, another special of sauteed spinach was nicer. We had the scallops with pumpkinseed sauce. Two scallops that were tender but, flavorless and the sauce didn't add too much to it either. Definitely skippable.

Aside from the tacos, the salmon Veracruz was the next best item. The sauce was excellent with tomatoes, olives, onions and capers and not one overpowered the other. That was a great sauce and I'm gonna have to make that at home sometime. The albondigas were quite good, too. Four juicy meatballs in a very mild chipotle sauce topped with herbs and queso fresco.

The bottle of Santo Tomas tempranillo/cabernet was light to medium bodied, sufficiently fruity and well balanced. Scandalously, rip-off city, overpriced, though, at $33.

I liked the tres leches dessert and agree with others here that it was nice because it wasn't overly sweet. I didn't really care for the pineapple, though. I'd like to taste that with a little Mexican chocolate sauce instead.

If there were any problems last night it was the service....it was 50/50. Everything was great for the first half of our visit. An attentive waiter, efficient servers bringing food from the kitchen quickly, proper wine service. But sometime shortly before 10, with the restaurant pretty cleared out from earlier, our server almost disappeared. Almost no one came by the table. Water glasses sat empty. Empty plates sat there. Wine was gone. We twiddled our thumbs. I was getting pretty Jerked off about it, too. It seriously seemed like everyone working just disappeared. It took forever to get dessert menus, forever to order it, and forever to get the check when we were done.

My good natured father-in-law jokingly reminding me that "y'know, in some countries they won't give you the check until you ask for it." Last I checked I'm still in Virginia. Anyway, I ended up leaving only a 15% tip and I can't remember the last time I did that.

Oyamel is so convenient to where I live, but I hardly ever go there. I think it's the 50/50 nature of the place. You never know what you're going to get. Which is a shame. Next time I go, I think I'll stick to the taco happy hour on Tuesday and see how it goes.

[hey Don, how come when I write p-i-s-s-e-d off it shows up as "jerked off?"]