Guadua: Restaurant Review for Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
December 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under Destinations
anonymous asked:
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
Guadua ranks arguably as the best restaurant and bar in Puerto Escondido in terms of both ambiance, and quality and creativity of fare. In fact for this reviewer it’s a full notch above the rest.
The restaurant’s designer has done an impeccable job of creating an atmosphere fitting a bistro on the beach, yet with class and subtlety, and a conspicuous lack of that all-too-prevalent and overpowering nautical paraphernalia. No walking over an arched mini-bridge onto these sturdy hardwood planked floor boards. With its full open concept, there’s nary a wall to hang a dolphin, a net, or an oversized photo of the owner’s big catch. While structurally a palapa, the configuration is more than simply functional cross beams and uprights supporting palm leaf; posts are erected at aesthetically pleasing and unusual angles, worthy of note in Architectural Digest. Lighting, while somewhat dim for late night dining, is provided by bulbs dangling inside smartly strung over-sized patterned burlap balls.
Waiters are quick to welcome, take your drink order and arrive back with a basket of warm, multi-grain hand-sliced loaf. The recorded music consists of tasteful Latin-style new age, but only until the fifty-something Cuban-born troubadour sets up with his companion off to a corner to serenade with familiar soft rock and the odd Spanish tune. Otherwise there’s the sound of the surf, with the sand virtually at your feet and ocean merely yards away.
Our first appetizer was tuna timbal with couscous, consisting of chilled and properly fluffed couscous lightly tossed with cucumber, purple onion, avocado and diced fresh tuna marinated in garlic ginger soya sauce. Each ingredient retained its distinctive flavor. The soya was used sufficiently sparingly so as to not overpower. Equally impressive for its ability to showcase each component was the eggplant bruschetta … a purée with roasted tomato, melted Roquefort and homemade mayonnaise, over the requisite thick rounds of toast.
The seared white fish baked in rosemary butter was prepared to perfection, and arrived with sides of salad and mashed potatoes. My long pasta with parmesan and cream cheese with cracked cardamom was cooked to the optimum degree of doneness, but required a bit of doctoring to bring out the Indian spice. The tuna loin lived up to its “rare on the inside” billing, often a struggle to achieve when dining in southern Mexico. Once again the marinade, a teriyaki, was well understated.
We completed our cena with snifters of Torres 10 brandy, and shared the lemon pie frozen to perfect consistency, with hibiscus flower coulis, and then a personal size dark chocolate cake filled with melted white chocolate, accompanied by vanilla ice cream and cacao brandy sauce.
The menu selections at Guadua cover all the usual bases, so there’s little if any likelihood you’ll have difficulty finding offerings which call out to the palate. But the expected ends there. Whether it’s the guacamole with grasshoppers or grilled vegetables with balsamic vinegar from the appetizers; arugula salad mixed with slices of parmesan, fig and lemon olive oil vinaigrette; a burger or baguette; tomato dill soup with sautéed shrimp; a filet mignón basted with green pepper brandy cream sauce; or the more standard seafood selections, each is accented with its own Guadua touch.
With tip and taxes included, appetizers, soups, salads and lighter fare range from 50 to 100 pesos; and entrées from 100 to 160 pesos. Hard to beat? I thought so too!
Guadua
Tamaulipas esq. con Zona Federal
Col. Brisas de Zicatela
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
Tel: (954) 107-9524
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
Guadua ranks arguably as the best restaurant and bar in Puerto Escondido in terms of both ambiance, and quality and creativity of fare. In fact for this reviewer it’s a full notch above the rest.
The restaurant’s designer has done an impeccable job of creating an atmosphere fitting a bistro on the beach, yet with class and subtlety, and a conspicuous lack of that all-too-prevalent and overpowering nautical paraphernalia. No walking over an arched mini-bridge onto these sturdy hardwood planked floor boards. With its full open concept, there’s nary a wall to hang a dolphin, a net, or an oversized photo of the owner’s big catch. While structurally a palapa, the configuration is more than simply functional cross beams and uprights supporting palm leaf; posts are erected at aesthetically pleasing and unusual angles, worthy of note in Architectural Digest. Lighting, while somewhat dim for late night dining, is provided by bulbs dangling inside smartly strung over-sized patterned burlap balls.
Waiters are quick to welcome, take your drink order and arrive back with a basket of warm, multi-grain hand-sliced loaf. The recorded music consists of tasteful Latin-style new age, but only until the fifty-something Cuban-born troubadour sets up with his companion off to a corner to serenade with familiar soft rock and the odd Spanish tune. Otherwise there’s the sound of the surf, with the sand virtually at your feet and ocean merely yards away.
Our first appetizer was tuna timbal with couscous, consisting of chilled and properly fluffed couscous lightly tossed with cucumber, purple onion, avocado and diced fresh tuna marinated in garlic ginger soya sauce. Each ingredient retained its distinctive flavor. The soya was used sufficiently sparingly so as to not overpower. Equally impressive for its ability to showcase each component was the eggplant bruschetta … a purée with roasted tomato, melted Roquefort and homemade mayonnaise, over the requisite thick rounds of toast.
The seared white fish baked in rosemary butter was prepared to perfection, and arrived with sides of salad and mashed potatoes. My long pasta with parmesan and cream cheese with cracked cardamom was cooked to the optimum degree of doneness, but required a bit of doctoring to bring out the Indian spice. The tuna loin lived up to its “rare on the inside” billing, often a struggle to achieve when dining in southern Mexico. Once again the marinade, a teriyaki, was well understated.
We completed our cena with snifters of Torres 10 brandy, and shared the lemon pie frozen to perfect consistency, with hibiscus flower coulis, and then a personal size dark chocolate cake filled with melted white chocolate, accompanied by vanilla ice cream and cacao brandy sauce.
The menu selections at Guadua cover all the usual bases, so there’s little if any likelihood you’ll have difficulty finding offerings which call out to the palate. But the expected ends there. Whether it’s the guacamole with grasshoppers or grilled vegetables with balsamic vinegar from the appetizers; arugula salad mixed with slices of parmesan, fig and lemon olive oil vinaigrette; a burger or baguette; tomato dill soup with sautéed shrimp; a filet mignón basted with green pepper brandy cream sauce; or the more standard seafood selections, each is accented with its own Guadua touch.
With tip and taxes included, appetizers, soups, salads and lighter fare range from 50 to 100 pesos; and entrées from 100 to 160 pesos. Hard to beat? I thought so too!
Guadua
Tamaulipas esq. con Zona Federal
Col. Brisas de Zicatela
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
Tel: (954) 107-9524
El Mirador: Oaxaca Restaurant Review
August 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Destinations
Alvin Starkman asked:
Since 1978 El Mirador has been catering to almost exclusively Oaxacans, without help from the tourist dollar. It must be doing something right! There’s the breathtaking cliffside open air view of the city below and surrounding mountains, just up the road and across from the Auditorio Guelaguetza. Perhaps more important is the consistency of its food (I’ve been dining there for about ten years.)
Descending the staircase from the parking area you enter the main level with a relaxed mixed décor of rustica pine tables and chairs in the interior, and PVC Coke chairs with linen covered tables on the patio. There’s a juke box, glass case filled with stuffed animals which muchachos can purchase to impress their señoritas, and multicolored cut-out tissue banners. The lower level has a club style modern ambience, with ceiling-high picture windows to assure the same exquisite vista, lengthy bar, raised band platform and big-screen TV. Here in the evenings you can enjoy the sounds of a guitar strumming troubadour, and Thursday through Saturday dance salsa and cumbia to the beat of a local band. Depending on the hour and day, patrons consist of friends out for an evening, work colleagues, young lovers, fiesta celebrants, and invariable during Guelaguetza, groups of dancers from throughout the state. On a Thursday evening in June, by the time we left at 11 PM both levels were at 75% capacity.
Service is reliable with a surprisingly good complement of waiters. Drinks from an extensive bar menu arrive promptly. If you haven’t tried a michelada, beer mixed with a spicy chili/lime concoction, experience it here. Salads and soups are reliable staples to begin, but for the former, stick to the green or mixed salad, since the “chef” is mainly meats and cheese atop a mound of iceberg. My daughter’s shrimp soup was light, deliciously tomato based, containing a good count of fresh camarones. For a botana I would avoid the cold cheese and meat platter, unless you’re a head cheese fan. However, both the Botanas Mirador and Oaxaqueña are scrumptious, arriving hot with samplings of traditional meats, and additional appetizers in the case of the latter. If you’re out for a light meal, consider skipping the entrée since portions are healthy. I nevertheless went for the skewered meat plate (alambre)…tender beef, tomato, yellow pepper and onion, over a bed of rice, accompanied by fries with a welcomed medley of steamed veggies.
The tlayudas and parrilladas are highly recommended. Tlayudas are oversized tortillas. They are served crunchy with a light layer of requisite asiento and refried beans, then topped with lettuce and both traditional Oaxacan cheeses. Try ordering with your choice of beef (tasajo), chili seasoned pork (cecina), or sausage (chorizo.) The tlayudas at El Mirador are among the best I’ve had. The parrillada: a hibachi-type BBQ arrives at your table, coals still aflame so as to complete the grilling of an impressive array of Oaxacan meats and vegetables including nopal and onions, sizzling with quesillo. It’s accompanied by tortillas, guacamole, salsa, a saucy bean and salchicha side dish known as charros. If you opt for this meal, go easy on the appetizers, perhaps with just a meatless tlayuda to start.
El Mirador offers casual, moderately priced dining…or an opportunity to get out for a cappuccino or drinks with light snacks. Downstairs there’s a 25 peso cover when the band plays.
Carr. Internacional KM. 3 S/N, Cerro del Fortín, Oaxaca. Tel: 51-6-58-20
Since 1978 El Mirador has been catering to almost exclusively Oaxacans, without help from the tourist dollar. It must be doing something right! There’s the breathtaking cliffside open air view of the city below and surrounding mountains, just up the road and across from the Auditorio Guelaguetza. Perhaps more important is the consistency of its food (I’ve been dining there for about ten years.)
Descending the staircase from the parking area you enter the main level with a relaxed mixed décor of rustica pine tables and chairs in the interior, and PVC Coke chairs with linen covered tables on the patio. There’s a juke box, glass case filled with stuffed animals which muchachos can purchase to impress their señoritas, and multicolored cut-out tissue banners. The lower level has a club style modern ambience, with ceiling-high picture windows to assure the same exquisite vista, lengthy bar, raised band platform and big-screen TV. Here in the evenings you can enjoy the sounds of a guitar strumming troubadour, and Thursday through Saturday dance salsa and cumbia to the beat of a local band. Depending on the hour and day, patrons consist of friends out for an evening, work colleagues, young lovers, fiesta celebrants, and invariable during Guelaguetza, groups of dancers from throughout the state. On a Thursday evening in June, by the time we left at 11 PM both levels were at 75% capacity.
Service is reliable with a surprisingly good complement of waiters. Drinks from an extensive bar menu arrive promptly. If you haven’t tried a michelada, beer mixed with a spicy chili/lime concoction, experience it here. Salads and soups are reliable staples to begin, but for the former, stick to the green or mixed salad, since the “chef” is mainly meats and cheese atop a mound of iceberg. My daughter’s shrimp soup was light, deliciously tomato based, containing a good count of fresh camarones. For a botana I would avoid the cold cheese and meat platter, unless you’re a head cheese fan. However, both the Botanas Mirador and Oaxaqueña are scrumptious, arriving hot with samplings of traditional meats, and additional appetizers in the case of the latter. If you’re out for a light meal, consider skipping the entrée since portions are healthy. I nevertheless went for the skewered meat plate (alambre)…tender beef, tomato, yellow pepper and onion, over a bed of rice, accompanied by fries with a welcomed medley of steamed veggies.
The tlayudas and parrilladas are highly recommended. Tlayudas are oversized tortillas. They are served crunchy with a light layer of requisite asiento and refried beans, then topped with lettuce and both traditional Oaxacan cheeses. Try ordering with your choice of beef (tasajo), chili seasoned pork (cecina), or sausage (chorizo.) The tlayudas at El Mirador are among the best I’ve had. The parrillada: a hibachi-type BBQ arrives at your table, coals still aflame so as to complete the grilling of an impressive array of Oaxacan meats and vegetables including nopal and onions, sizzling with quesillo. It’s accompanied by tortillas, guacamole, salsa, a saucy bean and salchicha side dish known as charros. If you opt for this meal, go easy on the appetizers, perhaps with just a meatless tlayuda to start.
El Mirador offers casual, moderately priced dining…or an opportunity to get out for a cappuccino or drinks with light snacks. Downstairs there’s a 25 peso cover when the band plays.
Carr. Internacional KM. 3 S/N, Cerro del Fortín, Oaxaca. Tel: 51-6-58-20
