Oyamel, Penn Quarter in the old Andale Space - Chef Omar Rodriguez Replaces Colin King

[laniloa]

Wanting a breather after my interview today (keep your fingers crossed!), I set out walking across town. I found myself on Oyamel's doorstep. The duck confit taco and braised short ribs really hit the spot. In themselves, they were well prepared, tasty morsels but more then that, they were nice reminders of why moving back here would be a good thing. The watermelon agua fresca was a great bridge for the cooler weather food on this glorious sunny day.

[Tweaked]

Stopped into Oyamel after viewing the Turner exhibit at the National Gallery (that dude must have stumbled upon a treasure trove of pastoral "mushrooms" late in his career...wow!) anyway I digress...while it was an enjoyable meal, I would have to rate it my least favorite of the Jose Empire. Nothing in particular was wrong, and I would certainly go back again, but just given the choice I would go with Jaleo or Zaytinya first, perhaps my palette is just more tuned toward Spanish and Middle Eastern cuisine.

We were seated at a table for two yet I was sitting closer to the woman at the table next to me than the woman across from me, so we decided to cozy up to the bar instead. we started off with a pitcher of margaritas and a round of tacos, the duck confit were ok, surpassed by the BBQ pork tacos. The early hit was the red snapper ceviche...yum! The next round was a quesadilla with cheese and Mexican truffles aka corn fungus, which was decent, the little side cup of green sauce was HOT, followed by the braised short ribs which were excellent. Dessert was a cafe olla, basically a chocolate/coffee pudding topped with a really tasty star anise ice cream.

The bar staff was friendly and very eager to discuss tequila and mezcal...they poured a sample of the mezcal and it was damn good (I should hope so for $50 a bottle!), much like a single malt whiskey in fact, not quite as pungent but similar flavor notes. I could imagine a very pleasent evening sipping away at a bottle!

If I remember correctly they are doing a free tequila tasting happy hour on Halloween...they are really trying to push tequila as a high end sipping alcohol rather then a low end chugging alcohol and said that they have over 50 bottles of tequila in stock.

[acevedo81]

Do you think that the red snapper ceviche is the "best" ceviche in the dc area? While I am not really into ceviches, I find the lime overpowering most of the time, this one has almost perfect balance and actually has flavor of the fish

[Tweaked]

only having had ceviche at a couple places in DC (I'm a fan of the dish in general) would I rate Oyamel's "Best in Show-DC" I don't know, but it definitely had that one bite, damn that's good factor...it's top with slices of avocado and mixed with some finely minced jalapeno so by the time you have finished the dish your mouth has a pleasent tingle. I would certainly order it again.

[acevedo81]

only having had ceviche at a couple places in DC (I'm a fan of the dish in general) would I rate Oyamel's "Best in Show-DC" I don't know, but it definitely had that one bite, damn that's good factor...it's top with slices of avocado and mixed with some finely minced jalapeno so by the time you have finished the dish your mouth has a pleasent tingle. I would certainly order it again.

and don't forget the sprinkled pork rind over the avocado (mouth is watering right now)

[xcanuck]

Went to Oyamel for the first time last night and sat at the bar. Great, prompt service and fabulous food. The menu looks cheap but it adds up fast. Having said that, I could make a meal out of the $3 beef tongue tacos. I thought I was spoiled by the taquerias back in San Jose ans Santa Cruz where I'd regularly order lengua or sesos tacos. But I never had lengua that was quite as tender or flavourful as the ones at Oyamel. Lisa raved about her tamales and the mole sauce that came with it. I also had a couple of different pork tacos that were quite tasty but didn't compare with the lengua.

The only minor disappointments were the grasshopper tacos (tasted too much of spice, not enough of grasshopper...whatever they might taste like) and the ceviche (a little watery, but that seems to common of Stateside ceviche and not something I've seen in Central America).

Now that Restaurant Kolumbia is closed *sniff* I think we'll be hitting Oyamel more often before Verizon Centre events.

[seanvtaylor]

We had an early dinner here last Saturday night before the hockey game (nice one, Caps). Service was attentive but not overbearing, though we felt a bit rushed at the end, as though they were trying to turn the table.

The food was uniformly very good and very satisfying. A few dishes really stood out for us. The tacos (we split the bbq pork, the beef tongue, and the baby pig confit) were fantastic, and the next time I go back, I think that I'll make a meal of those alone. The plantain fritters were awesome, served with a strong coconut sauce. Desserts were large and very sweet, a very satiating finish to a nice meal.

As opposed to what was said above, we actually like Oyamel the best out of the Andres empire. Jaleo is good, as is Cafe Atlantico, and we haven't been to Minibar, but Oyamel feels warm, casual, and welcoming, particularly on a cold evening.

[brr]

had a great lunch at Oyamel yesterday - despite Andres success and high profile it almost seems to fly under the radar a little

their tacos run from $3-4 each and while thats more expensive than Taqueria Nacionale you're eating in much nicer surrounding and they taste just great, I had a wild mushroom taco with shallots and garlic, and amzing fish taco with practically a filler of fish in there and a nice pork taco

would love to go back soon and be able to imbibe a little more than water

service was outstanding

[synaesthesia]

I had been looking forward to visiting Oyamel for a long time, and had never gotten around to going. Unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed.

We started off with the alcoholic and non-alcoholic horchatas. The alcoholic had a denser, stronger flavor with a pretty huge amount of rum. The non-alcoholic was weak, and was hankering for some almond powder, I think.

We ordered the fries with mole and queso fresco, a surprising combo with the very chocolatey flavors of the mole. The salmon ceviche with passionfruit and onion lost all the flavor of a rather strong fish, and tasted mostly of passionfruit.

The grilled skirt steak with pineapple was ok, but it would have been nice if we had been given a steak knife for this slightly tougher cut of meat. It would have done a lot better without the pineapple, which gave it a weird, too fruity flavor.

Tacos - duck confit al pastor tasted like flavorless Chinese food, while the carnitas with pork rind was pretty good with bites of avocado to make it nice and creamy. It needed a very hard squeeze of lime to add piquancy to all the savory, hearty, but slightly bland flavors.

It really doesn't bode well when the best part of the meal was the warm tortilla chips and salsa.

[And]

I stopped by Oyamel before the Georgetown / Villanova game determined to try some lengua tacos. Color me impressed, the meat was perfectly cooked, tender, and delicious with the crunch of radish in every bite. I liked it so much I had another. Along with my Henepin ale I also had a seared whitefish taco (accompanied by a tremendous green sauce) and a carnitas taco with crumbled chicharones on top! I think i would like to try those chicharones on ice cream, maybe pancakes.

Quick, gracious service got me to the game on time and the Hoyas won! I now have a pregame routine.

[sandynva]

i am a big fan of the chilaquiles there. not as good as the ones i've had in mexico of course, but almost as good as the ones in riverdale and much easier to get to! and it's a very generous portion, ideal for sharing.

my only complaint is that when oyamel moved to dc it lost my favorite cocktail in the world, the passionfruit/ginger/jalepeno one they had. they have similar ones at ceiba and chicha, but they're not as good.....

[dcandohio]

i am a big fan of the chilaquiles there. not as good as the ones i've had in mexico of course, but almost as good as the ones in riverdale and much easier to get to! and it's a very generous portion, ideal for sharing.

my only complaint is that when oyamel moved to dc it lost my favorite cocktail in the world, the passionfruit/ginger/jalepeno one they had. they have similar ones at ceiba and chicha, but they're not as good.....

I love the chilaquiles, and I agree that the serving is large, given that some portions at Oyamel are quite small. I think the chilaquiles are the perfect comfort food on a cold, wet day. Oh, those, and the queso/chorizo melty thing...(name espaces me).

[And]

queso fundido?

[dcandohio]

queso fundido?

Yes, add chorizo. Now I'm really craving it!

[Treva]

It can be a lot of fun to take guests to Oyamel, line up a little tequila flight, have guacamole prepared in molcajete, debate which ceviches to share, pop a few chapulines, think about huitlacoche (is it really a Mexican truffle?), decipher the menu without reading glasses, smile over chiles en nogada, consider a gazpacho salad of jicama root, mango, cucumbers, jalapeí±os and Mexican sour orange, dive into a mole poblano, anticipate seared scallops with pumpkin seed sauce, pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds, continue with a different tequila or mezcal or surrender to a pitcher of margaritas, finish with espresso and a dessert of "Mexican custard of milk chocolate and Chiapas coffee, with a gelatin of Kahlua liqueur and spiced syrup of brown piloncillo sugar - sprinkled with crumbled cookies and almonds and served with a scoop of star anise ice cream". Then giggle about the fun of it all of it on the metro ride home. Yes things at Oyamel could be better. I was disappointed with the huitlacoche which I first loved in Oaxaca. Oyamel is a good DC experience. I would take anyone there who is up to some grins and Mexican play. I would go for the selection of tequila, mezcal and desserts alone.

[Anna Blume]

Diana Kennedy will be in the kitchen celebrating the Day of the Dead October 27 through November 2!

Chef Joe Raffa was serving tostadas de calabaza frita at the Penn Quarter market this evening as a precursor to the week's events, saying that they settled on fish as the featured ingredient for the menus planned together.

Here's the press release for details.

Apparently the celebrated authority on Mexican cooking is writing yet another book (not yet out).

* * *

FWIW Raffa also brought a small bowl of grasshoppers for the public to taste. Used in tacos. Itty bitty, processed w lime and chilies. Fun to try. Even more fun to watch folk recoil in horror. Happy Halloween!

[zoramargolis]

Diana Kennedy will be in the kitchen celebrating the Day of the Dead October 27 through November 2!

I was at a reception for DK at Oyamel on Monday, and had a chance to chat with the grande dame herself, which was a hoot. She doesn't pull her punches or mince words, even in a one-on-one conversation. I mentioned something that Rick Bayless had said in response to a question I had posed to him at a demo-talk I attended ("Everyone in Mexico is using American field corn," is what he said.) "BULLSHIT!!" was Diana Kennedy's riposte, when I related the story to her. I tasted two praiseworthy cocktail-sized tamales at the reception--one in a corn husk with squash blossoms, cheese and chiles, and a banana leaf-wrapped tamal with pork, chile rojo and hoja santa leaf. DK reported that she had brought the home-made masa for the tamales with her from Mexico. She told me that the corn came from a neighbor, she cooked it with cal and then took it to a mill near her home to have the nixtamal stone ground. She froze it in order to transport it and complained that as a result the texture wasn't quite right. You could have fooled me. I thought they were fabulous, and I didn't notice anything wrong with the texture of the masa in either of the tamales.

Unfortunately, the tamales were not on the menu when we went to Oyamel for dinner tonight. We had an excellent meal nonetheless. We had guacamole along with the special fresh mango, mezcal and tequila cocktail (with mint, chile arbol syrup and "sal de gusano"), a drink so good that Jonathan ordered a second one. The guacamole had tomatillo and goat cheese, onion, lime juice, serrano chile and cilantro, and was very fresh and tasty. Then we had small plates from the special DK menu--red snapper steamed in banana leaf with peppers, onions, plantain and hoja santa) and then shared an entree of skirt steak, mole poblano, black beans and fresh tortillas. The table salsa was long-cooked and smoky with chipotles, much improved over the table salsa that we were served a few weeks ago at the dinner we had after the volunteer shift at DC Central Kitchen, which was an overly salty blended salsa cruda.

Dessert was a dish with warm chocolate-coffee custard with some crunchy crumbled cookies, kahlua jelly cubes and star anise ice cream. Major yum. Joe Raffa told me on Monday evening that many things were changing as a result of Diana Kennedy's influence, that he was learning something new "every ten seconds" when she was around. It shows. This was really fine Mexican food.

[Ericandblueboy]

Went by for lunch today. Had the tongue taco, grasshopper taco, duck taco, and chicken tamale. The tamale itself had very little flavor. The grasshoppers were tiny and salty - it could've been salted fried shrimp shells for all I know. The tongue and duck were so-so. $20 for all that (before tax and tip) and I was still kind of hungry afterwards.

[Ericandblueboy]

The fish taco I had today was pretty good - a nice chunk of fish seared crispy with lots of cilantro sauce. The chilaquiles, on the other hand, came in an incredibly sour green salsa (ulcer patients should probably avoid this dish).

[hillvalley]

/cranky/

Didn't know whether or not to put this here or the Open Table thread.....

Just lost a long post explaining the following....

To me Jose Andres and his restaurants tend to have a "cooler than you" kind of feel about their operations. They know their restaurants will be packed so why make it easy for the customer to make a reservation?

Late in the afternoon the other day I needed to make a reservation for 7:30 on the same day. I checked Open Table and they only had a 7 and 9 available. Booked the 7:00 reservation and noticed I wouldn't receive any points for the reservation. Thought it was strange but happy to have the reservation.

Gave the restaurant a call to see if they had a 7:30 available. Didn't think it was unreasonable seeing how restaurants often have reservations available if you call that aren't available on OT. The man (gentleman definitely did not apply here) who answered informed me they did not have a 7:30 available and then went on to list the reservations available in 5 and 10 minute increments, starting at 5 until 5:45 and then after 9. Guess I wasn't cool enough for a simple no.

So I guess my question/complaint is how cool do you have to be to get a polite person to answer a simple question about requesting a reservation (seems like a reasonable request for a restaurant) and why aren't I getting my 100 points? Does OT charge a restaurant extra for providing points on top of the reservation? I suppose if the phone call hadn't been so snotty I wouldn't be so annoyed but he was so I am.

Few other thoughts about the meal....this may be one of the loudest restaurants in the city. Tom would have a field day with his decibel toy. Our waitress was great even though we discovered she was covering her area and another for a coworker. Twice though, a food runner put a plate down on our table, looked at his slip, and then took it away to another table even though it was food we had ordered. Food was fine, the highlight being the cactus paddle. Given the amount of food and drink the three of us ordered ($150 before tax and tip) I found charging us an extra $2 for a second basket of chips to go with the guacamole petty. (Yes, they warn that they will do that on the menu but shouldn't extra chips come with the guac? Again, if the guy who had answered the phone earlier in the day had been polite I probably wouldn't have cared.) All in all, between the noise and the rude guy who didn't take my reservation, it wasn't worth the trip downtown.

/cranky/

[deangold]

Open table charges $1 per person if you go to their site to make the reservation and you get 100 points which is worth $1.00 towards the $20 OT certificate you get at 1000. If you reserve thru a restaurants weblink, the restaurant is charged only $.25 per person but you do not get the points.

[Anna Blume]

Food was fine, the highlight being the cactus paddle.

Your food spent its formative years surrounded by orchids.

[xcanuck]

Food was fine, the highlight being the cactus paddle.

Wow...I can think of some uses for that!!

Generally speaking, I agree with you about Andres' restaurants being a little too dear. But we love Oyamel for the food and the bartenders. More often than not, they're extremely entertaining, responsive, and generous. I've never sat at a table in Oyamel so can't comment on the servers but we've found that we prefer to sit at the bar at Zaytinya and Jaleo because the bar service is superior to the table service. But I can say the same about RtC so it's probably not a reflection on Jose Andres.

Yeah - this was a useless post. I just wanted to talk about the cactus paddle. Please sir, may I have another?

[DonRocks]

Yeah - this was a useless post. I just wanted to talk about the cactus paddle. Please sir, may I have another?

And Mr. Spooner packed his cattle.

[NolaCaine]

Oyamel was wonderful today. I shared with two other people so got to share many plates. Things that stand out: it's LOUD at lunch. The plates are very, very pretty. The green stuff served with the lamb chop is so wonderful that I wish Chef would bottle it.

I don't like cactus paddle due to slime factor.

[DanM]

Oyamel was our big splurge during our vacation. Wife and I were very pleased with the food. The guacamole is way too expensive at $13. They better be putting something special in it for that price. The waiter seemed to have a bug up back end when he has making the guacamole and seemed to want to be somewhere else. They were having a self proclaimed squash blossom festival last sunday. We had a squash blossom quesadilla which was amazing. The only complaint is the cajeta dessert we tried. The plate was warm so the two sorbets melted quickly and watered down the caramel.

Dan

[goodeats]

Dessert was a dish with warm chocolate-coffee custard with some crunchy crumbled cookies, kahlua jelly cubes and star anise ice cream. Major yum.

It's kind of, sort of, almost, almost one year later, and I am glad that this is still on the menu. Except that I think it's tons better with the Dark Caramel ice cream substitute (I'm not a fan of anise, except in tea-boiled eggs). Thanks so much to the wonderful ladies I hung out with tonight and for suggesting this place!!

[ScotteeM]

Yesterday we went to Oyamel for lunch, and although it was a little early (11:30) and the weather was not fit for man or beast, the place was surprisingly empty. This was our first visit to the "new" location. I really liked the space. It was small and maybe a little close, if there had been other diners there, but the colors are bright and the decorations festive.

The staff were all very friendly and helpful, and I was quickly presented with the specially printed gluten-free menu, which wasn't too much different from the regular menu. We ordered as things caught our eyes on the menu, which is how we started with the Brussels sprouts in arbol chile sauce with pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds and lime. I could have eaten several plates of those by myself, they were that delicious. With them we had the pit-barbecued pork tacos, which I really liked. I wasn't blown away by the scallop ceviche, but I can't say it was bad, just maybe not my thing. I liked the steamed mussels better than WW did, mainly because I prefer more assertive sauces with them while he prefers to taste mostly mussel.

The last dish we shared was a poblano pepper stuffed with ground pork, nuts, apple and tomato, covered with a thick white sauce of ground walnuts and goat cheese, sprinkled with some bright red pomegranate seeds. It was visually very beautiful and looked more like a dessert than a savory course, but it was amazing! That and the Brussels sprouts were the real standouts of our meal. There were so many more dishes I wanted to try, and reading this thread confirms my desire to return.

[wisehands]

Been nearly a year since someone posted about Oyamel (seems weird when Oyamel is searched Oyamel is listed at the end of page 2!), so here's an update. Ate there for my first time and really enjoyed it. Seemed as if our party of 6 ordered most of what's on the menu and every order was well received. My highlights were the quesadilla huitlachoche and the pescado alcaparrado (Seared Tilefish with a Tabasco style sauce of capers, almonds, greens and blanco tequila). They were very busy at the time and the staff really hustled without any hitches in service.

.

[sphere777]

I am going out with a friend to Oyamel and she is a vegetarian. What would folks recommend for her? There's a small horde of vegetable-oriented small plates and I wanted to help her narrow down the field.

[DonRocks]

I am going out with a friend to Oyamel and she is a vegetarian. What would folks recommend for her? There's a small horde of vegetable-oriented small plates and I wanted to help her narrow down the field.

If she's questioning her vegetarianism, I can heartily recommend the grasshopper tacos as a reaffirmation of her lifestyle.

[kmcass]

I had the Verduras de primavera con mole verde de Oaxaca a couple months ago and it was a fantastic vegetarian small plate. From the website: Corn, peas, spring greens, fava beans, seasonal mushrooms and queso fresco cheese served with a Oaxacan green mole of tomatillo, serrano chile, corn masa and epazote $11.00

And the guacamole, while expensive, is always delicious.

[New Foodie]

I can't help with the vegetarian options since we went pretty much all meat yesterday. After exploring the" What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?" exhibit at the Archives (definitely worth a trip), we were hoping to hit up Rasika for lunch, but they were unfortunately closed for Labor Day. Oyamel was right next door and had plenty of outside seating available, so we enjoyed a nice meal outside before the rain and cold weather came in.

They were serving off of their brunch menu, so we picked a few brunch options to share, along with 4 tacos to split. The chips brought out at the beginning were fresh and crisp and we really liked whatever seasoning was on them. The salsa was smoky with a little spice.

Brunch:

Huevo motuleños (Fried Sunnyside Farms egg, pork belly, refried black beans and peas with a Yucatan inspired sauce of tomato and habanero chiles $8.00) - This had some good flavor, although the pork belly was a little more undercooked/chewy than I would have preferred. The egg on this, and the chilaquiles was a bit overcooked as well. A little runniness would have been nice.

Chilaquiles con chorizo y huevo estrellado (Fresh hand-made tortilla chips with chorizo, chiptole salsa,Chihuahua cheese, cilantro, red onion and a fried egg $8.00) - The +1 and I have loved Chilaquiles since our Mexican honeymoon and this dish didn't disappoint. It was in no way healthy, but it was meaty and cheesy and spicy and rich. Yum. Would definitely get this again.

Tacos:

Carnitas con salsa de tomatillo (Confit of baby pig with green tomatillo sauce, pork rinds, onions and cilantro $4.00) - This was the first taco brought out to us and was probably our favorite of the day. The meat was juicy and tender and the tomatillo sauce added a nice brightness. The pork rind crunch contrasted nicely with the soft meat and tortilla.

Taco de hongos (Sautéed seasonal wild mushrooms with garlic and shallots, served with guacamole $4.00) - This was our second favorite and was so simple but the earthy mushrooms and the rich guac paired well.

Pescado Mexicano (Seared fish with salsa Mexicana and a tangy cilantro pesto $4.00) - This was a simple fish, salsa, and pesto taco but the cilantro pesto really kicked it up a notch in flavor. The fish was well-cooked but a fairly unremarkable white fish.

Pancita de puerco al pastor (Seared house cured pork belly in a sauce of tomatoes and guajillo chiles, served with pineapple, onions and cilantro $4.00) - I was somewhat disappointed with this one because, like above, the pork belly was a little too chewy. The pineapple also overwhelmed the flavor of the taco.

We were also getting a kick out of the table next to us with two grandparents and their grandkids (perhaps 8-10 years old)? They kids were super excited to try a cactus salad and grasshopper tacos. They were also telling stories about how they made their own salsa from peppers grown behind their church. I hope my kids (whenever I may have them) grow up to have the same adventurous tastes!

[Tujague]

Oyamel is still my favorite place for an inexpensive brunch. This past muggy Sunday, I stopped in to a lightly occupied restaurant around 12:45. The new space is airy, painted in a beautiful blue offset by white mobiles of butterflies and bright pillowed seating (it's more of a lounge space); the rest is pretty much like before. Jugo del dia was cherry-apple--sweet and flavorful without being cloying. Chips were fresh and the salsa sharp. Carne Machaca con huevos revueltos ($6.50) offered a decent portion of scrambled eggs with crispy shredded beef, potatoes, with a smoky sauce--more good flavor (only the tough tortilla on which this sat made it a lesser dish). Out the door, satisfied without being stuffed, for under $14.00 including tip for the friendly service. Breakfast dishes range from $6 to $11.50, nearly any one of them can stand on its own as a meal, and stand apart from the standard brunch fare in the city. This is Andres's most underrated restaurant.

[DonRocks]

Just a historical record on the chef changes at Oyamel:

08/25/2004 - "Oyamel Cocina Mexicana" by SanFran88 on egullet.org (Oyamel opens in Crystal City in Oct, 2004; Steve Klc, my boss at eGullet, was Pastry Chef; DonRocks (still) wonders who ScooterPie is)

12/29/2006 - "Oyamel Moving Along" by pqresident on pqliving.com (Joe Raffa replaces (ScooterPie? Joshua Linton?) as Oyamel finalizes move to DC - Raffa was formerly Chef de Cuisine at Majestic Cafe)

07/20/2011 - "Richard Brandenburg Leaves ThinkFoodGroup" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.com (John Paul Damato replaces Joe Raffa - Damato was formerly Chef de Cuisine at Jaleo, Bethesda)

06/29/2013 - "Oyamel's Chef Wows" by Jonathan Howard on washingtonblade.com (Colin King replaces JohnPaul Damato - King was formerly Sous Chef at Zaytinya under Michael Costa)

[Kev29]

07/20/2011 - "Richard Brandenburg Leaves ThinkFoodGroup" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.com (John Paul Damato replaces Joe Raffa - Damato was formerly Chef de Cuisine at Oyamel, Bethesda)

'Jaleo, Bethesda', Don.

[DonRocks]

'Jaleo, Bethesda', Don. 

Sometimes I just get so tired.

[Kev29]

Sometimes I just get so tired.

Loyal readers are here for you, pal 

[Ferris Bueller]

Good tequilla selections and drinks prior to a sporting event or concert at Verizon Center.  Food comes out quickly and is geared towards the tapas style adventurer.  Their made-to-order guac is very good.  Servers are well-versed with regard to drink and food offerings.  This place is always busy and reasonably priced for what it is.  Their ceviche bar is interesting and quite good, just read the descriptions carefully so you are not surprised.

[Tweaked]

We stopped in Saturday afternoon around 4pm, after an afternoon at the newly re-opened National Gallery East Building (lovely by the way).  While it was no problem getting a table for 4 at that hour, Oyamel was humming along with late lunch-ers and early dinner-ers.  Based upon the number of $14 guacamole orders I saw made table side, Oyamel was making a killing (seriously can there be more than $2 worth of ingredients in their guac?)

The best item I had was the confit of baby pig taco ($4), although it suffered, as do all their tacos, from only having one corn tortilla, which easily fell apart.  The sauteed mushroom and swiss chard tacos were both fine, but nothing exceptional. 

The plantain and carrot fritters ($8) just didn't make much sense, the flavor combinations don't really worked.  It's kinda like, here's something fried.  Definitely not worth the 8 bucks.  If you like cactus then the grilled cactus paddle ($8) is a solid dish.  

The Papas al Mole ($6.50) is a re-occuring riff at Jose Andres' restaurants, a pile of fries topped with a traditional sauce.  Unfortunately, fries with mole sauce just isn't as inspired as the fries topped with yogurt and zataar at Zaytinya or the classic patatas bravas at Jaleo.

And for me that's where Oyamel sits.  I've been a handful of times to Oyamel over the years and I've always found the food less than inspiring.  I've never walked out thinking, man we had some really good dishes tonight (which I honestly believe you still can do at Jaleo and certainly at Zaytinya).         

[DonRocks]

There has been another chef change at Oyamel. 

Colin King has moved to NYC to take over Alex Stupak's newest spot, which might be the Empellón in Midtown, but I'm not sure.

Replacing King is Omar Rodriguez, whom I believe was a Think Food Group internal hire, because Rodriguez used to be Chef de Cuisine at China Chilcano.

Congratulations to both men.

PS - here's a historical record of the changes at Oyamel.

[Ericandblueboy]

The kids think grasshoppers are gross but I managed to convince them that they don't taste bad at all.  So we went to Oyamel yesterday so they can try some grasshoppers.  Unfortunately Oyamel didn't have any grasshoppers.  Instead, we had tongue, suadero (brisket), cochinita pibil, carnitas, and cabrito (goat).  The kids both liked the cochinita pibil, one kid liked carnitas, and the rest had thumbs down.  I think the tacos are pretty mediocre....if it wasn't for the grasshoppers, we would've been better off going to Taco Bamba.  

In addition to the tacos, we had some albondigas and white shrimp sautéed with shallots, árbol chile, poblano pepper, lime and sweet aged black garlic.  One kid liked the shrimp and no one really liked the meatballs (a bit dry).

I don't know if I'm all that enthused about going back just for the grasshoppers.

[MarkS]

We went last night before the CAPS game.  Tacos were very good, gazpacho salad innovative, Guacamole OK.  I make better Guac but they were throwing them down like a machine as most table order Guac.  Bottom line This is a reasonable choice before the CAPS game and if you don't drink like a fish it can be well priced.  We did have the shrimp dish mentioned above and found it to be quite tasty.

They were slammed and drink order took forever.  I bet Jose Andres made a small fortune with this CAPS playoff run.  Jammed on a Monday night is a bonus in the restaurant trade.

[DaveO]

6 hours ago, MarkS said:

We went last night before the CAPS game.  Tacos were very good, gazpacho salad innovative, Guacamole OK.  I make better Guac but they were throwing them down like a machine as most table order Guac.  Bottom line This is a reasonable choice before the CAPS game and if you don't drink like a fish it can be well priced.  We did have the shrimp dish mentioned above and found it to be quite tasty.

They were slammed and drink order took forever.  I bet Jose Andres made a small fortune with this CAPS playoff run.  Jammed on a Monday night is a bonus in the restaurant trade.

Jose Andres is one of those folks who attends both Caps and Wizards games.  There are a fair number of tweets with photos of him at the Cap One Center during the winter sports season.  I have no idea if he has seasons tickets to both or a package or whatever.

He has to love those teams.  Typically they drive 20,000 folks down there for a game.  It is restaurant heaven.  This of course was a typical game magnified by 3, 4, 5 or more.  He should attend those games.  Regular season makes him a fortune and the playoffs provide barrels and kegs of gravy. 

These playoffs are like Christmas holiday gift season for the FOH staff down there.  When people speak of FOH staff making a killing--its days like last night where that rings true.