Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Xochitl


Xochitl was my second pick for restaurant week. I don't know why, but this place has been on my list for well over a year. I met up with my good friend Quinn for a Friday night dinner. The menu was exciting, three course plus house made guacamole.
For starters, the drink menu here is decent. There's a large list of house cocktails, a small wine list (36-42 per bottle) and a small, but decent beer list. Drafts are Negro Modello, Dos Eqius Amber and Lager, and Victory Prima Pils and they're all $5.
Throughout the night, our service was just okay, but not what I'd expect of a restaurant this caliber. The one high point of the night though, is when a drink was spilled on our table, someone (the hostess, I think) came over within a minute to help clean up the small mess.
After we ordered our drinks, someone came over and made our order of guacamole table-side. He used a fresh avocado and then asked what we wanted to be added in. We had him add everything, onions, cilantro, some spices, and a few others that I forget. It was good, but certainly not the best I've had.
We split the two appetizers The "Cazuela de chorizo y papas" (casserole of chorizo, potatoes, and kale" sounded really excited but in reality was pretty bland. There's a lot of potential with these ingredients. The same can be said for our other app, the civiche.
The first main was pork tenderloin with Brussel sprouts and turnups. It was a little overdone for my taste, but Quinn really liked it. This dish was decent. Our other main was head on shrimp, and I liked this, but it still lacked a distinct flavor.
Dessert was my favorite part of the meal. I ordered churros and hot chocolate. The churcos were sweet and had a perfect texture. Dipping them in the chocolate was fantastic. Quinn ordered a coconut and quince pie. She liked it a lot, I thought it was okay, but I don't often go for coconut desserts.
Bottom Line: The whole night was good, but not remarkable. I'd rather go to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place than a fancy one, and I don't even think Xochitl is doing the best Mexican. Still, if you find yourself here, you won't be disappointed.

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