Atxondo

[saf]

https://www.atxondo.com

Tried a new to us place today. Our usual 4, so enough of us to try a decent portion of the menu, although there are still things we want to try that we did not get to tonight. And not to spoil the review's conclusion, but, well, we WILL be back.

14th Street NW, just south of Decatur, so close to home. Right across from the old bus barn. Opened in the pandemic times as a takeout only place, and  I heard about it... and didn't get to it. And then once dining out became a thing again, I remembered it, but didn't get to it. Talking with a friend who lives over that side of the neighborhood this week, she was telling me how good it is. So I remembered it, and put it on the list for SOON. 

And so, after ensuring that they were OUTSIDE the boil water zone we have going around here right now, off we go tonight for dinner. Started with a round of drinks. A sherry cocktail, a vermouth cocktail, and 2 variations on hot toddies. All tasty. Then we move into food, accompanied by a pitcher of delicious red sangria. Cheese plate. Tasty. Tortilla. Also tasty. Crispy fingerling potatoes, AKA patas bravas. More tasty. Snack chorizo with house made potato chips. VERY tasty. (And this is the point where if you do not know that the owner is a former Estadio chef, you begin to suspect.  Perfect clone of the chorizo and potato chip thing there. PERFECT.) Garlic shrimp. The seafood eaters LOVED it. They kept talking about how the lemon was so good. Said it was better than Jaleo, where they have always said they totally loved the garlic shrimp. We have many more things to try on future visits. For example, we did not get to the cauliflower. The seafood folks want to try the scallops, and the boys want to try the grilled octopus.

Then, dessert. There are three items on the dessert menu: Churros with chocolate and "condensed milk" (More like a dulce de leche), Flan with coconut milk, Basque cheesecake. So we ordered one of each, along with more drinks - 2 glasses of cava, a sherry, and a hot toddy. Everyone had their favorites. The churros were puffy and very light. And while the other 3 really like the skinny Spanish churros (I like ALL churros!), these were a little fat, but so light! We all loved them. Cheesecake - we all liked it. I think it was a little drier than it should have been, but soooo tasty. Flan - 2 of us don't like coconut, but it was coconut milk, not coconut pieces. And so, we all liked that. Everyone had preferences, but we all agreed that all desserts were well worth eating.  We may well just order dessert this way every time we go.

Prices reasonable. Food delicious. Service lovely. Space - clearly a neighborhood place, but clean, and nice looking. Neither too bright nor too dark. Really, the only flaw is that there is no bar seating, and we are all barflies! We like to eat at bars. OK, there were 3 stools at the end of the bar, but clearly a service bar with a few seats rather than a bar. Also, we all miss being able to sit at the kitchen counter at Estadio and watch this food get made. And finally, we hope that when we get to summer, the corn from Estadio is on the menu.

So, go. Eat. Drink. It's a good place.