I love
Mexican food. It is right up there along with coffee and pizza. I should also
include French fries (and anything else that is French) as well as Doritos.
Pretty much anything that includes a non-healthy dose of salt.
I could
eat Mexican food everyday and not get sick of it. I mean who doesn’t love
cheese, rice, guacamole, sour cream, and beans? If you happen to fit into that
group I truly feel sorry for you. You are definitely missing out. If nothing else
go for a margarita as surely alcohol attracts just about everyone.
When it
was time to plan this year’s birthday dinner I knew I wanted to try a place I
haven’t been before. So I did what I normally do when I need advise, I turned
to my blog. There I looked up my to do list and selected a few of the restaurants I have been aching to try. From there the
word “Javelina” jumped out to me and I knew I had found the perfect place for
dinner on my thirty-fourth birthday.
The
only other time I have had real Mexican food for my birthday was when I was
about twenty-seven. Yes I am old enough now to begin to forget things. For that
birthday I had a great group of family and friends come out to celebrate. We
went to Rosa Mexicano, a restaurant that is now practically everywhere. But
back then it was only about to open its second location in Manhattan.
It was
the first place I went to where they made the guacamole at the table. Needless
to say that sight was life changing. This is not exactly a surprise as they
have been making it since 1984, long before I even knew what guacamole was.
This dish has been legendary and if you ask they will even give you an index
card with their original recipe on it.
However
I have to say that my first experience at Rosa Mexicano ended with the
guacamole. I wasn’t the foodie that I am now so I wasn’t prepared for actual
Mexican food that didn’t taste like it came out of an El Paso kit. I didn’t
even know what mole sauce was! I know I can hardly believe that happened to me
either. The last thing I remember of that night, or at least at the restaurant,
was having pomegranate margaritas and a contest with my cousin over who could
have more. After that, the night sort of comes and goes in my mind even now. I guess
that means he won.
Since
then I have had many meals containing the ingredients that constitute Mexican
food but I know now that it was only versions of that familiar grocery store
brand. I now know I was not experiencing quality but rather fast food options
disguised as the real deal.
Javelina
came to me via foodie God Pete Wells, the current restaurant reviewer for The
New York Times. I should probably mention that I worship at the temple of Pete
Wells. He has a talent for saying exactly what he means when he means it.
Sometimes it is even mean but not for the sake of cruelty, but rather brutal
honesty. It is technically his job. I appreciate his sense of tastes and short
synopsis. I have never disagreed with a Pete Wells approved restaurant. This is
what turned my attention toward Javelina. Thus it is no small feat that this
establishment managed to get Pete to write: “Lucky for me, I have only good
things to say about Javelina.”
Furthermore
this is how he described the atmosphere:
“Javelina’s 58 seats always seem to be taken by large groups of people shouting with youthful animation. It always sounds as if somebody were telling a woman at the far end of the table that he had just found $1,000 under the menu, and the women were shouting back that Ryan Gosling had just texted and he’s coming to the restaurant in, like, five minutes!”
When I
reread this review for this blog, it was this description that made me smile. I
now can appreciate this description but would like to add that the room is full
of fun, happy customers, where no one is over whelmed by the noise. It is
like going to a party you hadn’t planned on attending but are so glad you did.
I did not know this ahead of time but it was certainly a large part of why I
had a great time at my birthday dinner.
As soon
as we sat down I began ordering right away. I needed a frozen strawberry
margarita and white queso black bean dip along with their guacamole. The
handmade tortilla chips came out piping hot and went down faster than I could
chew them. The frozen margarita was exactly what I have been craving for as
long as I can remember. I had been disappointed many, many times this year.
I
wanted so many things on the menu but went with my gut and got the steak
fajitas. Usually the only place I get them is in a Friday’s type restaurant,
not the quality I am looking for. Chicken enchiladas were a big hit and I
intend to get them next time. The chicken fried-steak looked tasty but was
different than the Southern version more commonly associated with the name.
I
literally could not have been more pleased with my food. The rice, beans,
refried beans, tortillas, sides, everything was amazing. Each individual item
was the best I have had and I could eat that by itself. But put all together in
making my fajita was the ultimate reward. I would have liked my steak cooked a
little longer and cut up into smaller pieces but that is all I have to
critique. It was definitely one of the best birthday meals of my life. I
already know three people that I promised I would go back with so I am
confident I will not develop separation anxiety any time soon.
The
meal ends with a dish of sopaipillas, which are delicious fried dough pieces
served alongside a caramel sauce. They resemble beignets from New Orleans and
zeppoles from Italian feasts. It was the perfect dessert; light and crispy and
all together perfect by themselves. It didn’t hurt that I had a candle in a
sugar filled miniature cactus so that they could sing happy birthday to me. I
was so full that when I arrived home I had no room for my birthday dessert.
That is a rare event.
Our
waitress Elena was fantastic, polite, informative, and not over bearing in the
least. It also didn’t hurt that when I gave her my business card she came back
to comment on how memorable the name of my blog was. I hope to have her as a reader
from now on.
The
restaurant itself is very deceiving from the outside. It appears narrow and
short. However once you enter it is like you have been transported out of New
York City. There are cacti in lights in the entrance and smaller ones hanging
all around the room. The lighting is bright but not so that it would trigger a
migraine (practically a miracle for me). The temperature was just right. While
it was packed I was never pushed or knocked into. The space was laid out
properly. Add in the fact that they fully implemented their Tex-Mex cactus
theme and I was in my glory.
It is
only now that I have found out what a javelina is. I thought it was Spanish for
a word but couldn’t find it anywhere. On the restaurants blog, written by the
owner Matt Post, he describes his affinity for Texas and much of his youth that
he spent exploring the countryside. It is then when he mentions casually that
“a javelina is a peccary which is a medium-sized animal, with a strong
resemblance to pigs.” Then I proceeded to make the mistake to look it up in
Google Images. Please do not do this before you eat at Javelina or anywhere
else. Thank heavens I didn’t.
I can’t
believe that such a creature is behind the name of something I love. In order
to make peace with this unusual connection I have decided that the name
Javelina was a sign that I would be eating like a pig while I was there. Plus
as Matt would say, “it is really fun to say.”
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