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© 2003-2007 Michael C. Berch
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Thu, 10 Apr 2003

Just some good chiles rellenos

I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food in general. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like, but in general, the version that makes it up here to Alta California, passes into the hands of corporate chains, or generic enchilada-tamale-tostada-flauta houses just does not thrill me. A lot of this has to do with the seasonings, and the overwhelming starchiness of a lot of the food.

I have a few favourites, and one of them, sadly, closed its doors last year. That was Casa Aguila in San Francisco, near 19th Ave. and Noriega, and though housed in a modest venue, had stupendous food. The heart of the menu was Acapulco-style fish and seafood, but the owners and chefs put original effort and innovation into every dish. And the menu described each dish in detail, even the method of cooking. My fave was the Pescado Jim Wood, named after the food critic (how can you go wrong there?), which was a complex dish with halibut and fruits and vegetables. I also liked the pork steak, not something you see everywhere. But alas.

My other standby for awesome Mexican in these parts is Guaymas, in Tiburon, which is fact a high-end sort of place, often with lengthy waits for a table, but the food is very interesting -- regional seafood, little hand-made tamales, and all sorts of different sauces. My notes from my first visit, in 1995, includes: potato-flour pastries filled with cilantro-marinated chicken, black beans, cheese, and chiles; seafood stew with prawns, squid, salmon, clams, and mussels, and a dessert of white chocolate mousse with strawberry sauce. Other visits featured a grilled seafood plate with baby octopus, squid, and prawns, and nopales with cheese, lime and cilantro. I don't make it up there enough at all.

But what brought this particular reverie to mind was that I had a business lunch at a perfectly nice, new-ish Mexican place in Redwood City called Los Portales, on Broadway. They're part of a small chain, I think, and seem to have sort of an upscale concept, although it's not fancy at all. I had the chiles rellenos in sour cream sauce, and they were wonderfully rich. I don't care much for the normal "red" and "brown" sauces found in typical Mexican cooking, but the cream sauce here, with little bits of chili peppers, was delightful. The rest of the menu looks pretty generic, but I'd eat the chiles rellenos here anytime.

Posted at 18:50 | permanent link

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