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
5 Tips to Eating at the Best Mexican Restaurant
irinaM asked:
It is always recommended: When you are in Mexico, you should make sure that you can dine in any of the restaurants out there. After all, it is just one of the ways on how you can taste what is considered to be one of the most delectable in the world. But there is a catch: dishes may vary from place to place. Thus, if you want to cover all of the best meals, you may have to stay in Mexico for a longer time, and you may not have the time to do so.
So how do you look for the best Mexican restaurant? Let us count the ways:
1. Get a listing of the local restaurants in your area. You can go to the tourism office or those shops that offer novelty items. They normally have restaurant guide that you can buy for a very small fee. It contains a list of all dining areas within the town. Before you decide to dine, you can call them beforehand so you can ask what kinds of food that they are offering. You can then decide which of them would probably give you real Mexican dishes that you want to try.
2. Read reviews. Restaurant reviews are not only available in the World Wide Web. You can also obtain them from newspapers and even magazines. You may have to settle for those that are English based, though, for you to completely understand what they have written. Most of the reviews are written by experts or travelers like you, so you can assure that these reviews are coming straight out of their experience. Moreover, they would cover different aspects of the restaurant, including ambiance and customer service.
3. Ask for recommendations from friends. If you have friends who had been to Mexico or are currently living in the country, you can get some suggestions from their own dining experience. In fact, this is a good way of getting reviews since they will not give you restaurants that are not worth the time at all. You can also go online and inquire about the best restaurants in Mexico in travel- and food-related message boards and blogs.
4. Dine at Grupo Mayan. A Grupo Mayan hotel has its own restaurant, where you can dine for most part of the day. Most of their dishes are created by the top chefs in the country, so the food is not only delicious, but it’s also going to be authentic. You can have your meals delivered into your Grupo Mayan room if you want to dine in private.
5. Go online. The World Wide Web has infinite list of restaurants and their services. You can do this even before you go to Mexico, so you can already include these diners in your itinerary. You can also send your inquiries days before or give them a call.
Don’t miss out the food when you’re in Mexico, and while you’re at it, make sure that you’re at the right restaurant.
It is always recommended: When you are in Mexico, you should make sure that you can dine in any of the restaurants out there. After all, it is just one of the ways on how you can taste what is considered to be one of the most delectable in the world. But there is a catch: dishes may vary from place to place. Thus, if you want to cover all of the best meals, you may have to stay in Mexico for a longer time, and you may not have the time to do so.
So how do you look for the best Mexican restaurant? Let us count the ways:
1. Get a listing of the local restaurants in your area. You can go to the tourism office or those shops that offer novelty items. They normally have restaurant guide that you can buy for a very small fee. It contains a list of all dining areas within the town. Before you decide to dine, you can call them beforehand so you can ask what kinds of food that they are offering. You can then decide which of them would probably give you real Mexican dishes that you want to try.
2. Read reviews. Restaurant reviews are not only available in the World Wide Web. You can also obtain them from newspapers and even magazines. You may have to settle for those that are English based, though, for you to completely understand what they have written. Most of the reviews are written by experts or travelers like you, so you can assure that these reviews are coming straight out of their experience. Moreover, they would cover different aspects of the restaurant, including ambiance and customer service.
3. Ask for recommendations from friends. If you have friends who had been to Mexico or are currently living in the country, you can get some suggestions from their own dining experience. In fact, this is a good way of getting reviews since they will not give you restaurants that are not worth the time at all. You can also go online and inquire about the best restaurants in Mexico in travel- and food-related message boards and blogs.
4. Dine at Grupo Mayan. A Grupo Mayan hotel has its own restaurant, where you can dine for most part of the day. Most of their dishes are created by the top chefs in the country, so the food is not only delicious, but it’s also going to be authentic. You can have your meals delivered into your Grupo Mayan room if you want to dine in private.
5. Go online. The World Wide Web has infinite list of restaurants and their services. You can do this even before you go to Mexico, so you can already include these diners in your itinerary. You can also send your inquiries days before or give them a call.
Don’t miss out the food when you’re in Mexico, and while you’re at it, make sure that you’re at the right restaurant.
