Friday, April 10, 2026
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a veggie fritatta with carrot, spinach, mushroom, grated mixed cheeses, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, eggs; side of english muffin with unsalted butter; side of blueberries with local honey; hot water. Cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. Physical therapy exercises to treat a minor back issue. Lunch: spinach salad with sliced mushrooms and leftover buttermilk dressing; one sumo orange; hot water. Amputagged two old shirts because the tags itched. Cutting board wood butter treatment. Rode UberX to dinner with Patrick at Maria Isabel for a celebration. We selected the tasting menu without adding the caviar guacamole buñuelo but we did add the Espiritus de Mexico pairing of Mexican regional spirits. Today's tasting menu: Quelites Salad (shaved nopales, chayote, xoconostle sorbet, wild quelites from the Presidio, chicatanas), Smoked Mussel Sope (smoked mussels, avocado, chapulines salsa macha), Caldo De Pescado (black cod, shrimp and guajillo broth, hoja santa, charred baby corn), Duck Carnitas Enmolada (mole negro, mole manchamantales, mole verde, mole blanco), Gaonera Taco (dry-aged ribeye, blue corn tortilla, salsas), Conchita (smoked vanilla ice cream, banana cream, tamarind dulce de leche, candied pecans). The quelites salad was most unusual to us because of raspberry sorbet. At first it resembled a large radish, but as you eat, it melts, chilling the salad and providing a sweet contrast to the bittery greens. Moist cloth towels arrived. We learned later that these are to be used to clean the hands after the next course—not before. The smoked mussel sope which included grasshoppers is best eaten by hand instead of silverware, and it was tasty and beautifully shaped. Use your moist towels afterwards. The broth accompanying the caldo de pescado was poured at the table, and this was my favorite dish of the meal because the fish was flaky and moist with a perfect crust. The duck carnitas enmolada was presented with swipes of different moles which simplified the tasting of each. The gaonera taco was our least favorite dish because the soft taco broke easily. The conchita dessert reminded me of profiteroles, and the candied pecans were the best part of this dish. We also received a laignappe dessert with a lit candle for Patrick: something jello-y. Each of the drinks in the spirit pairing was presented with a brief explanation of the selection. All food and drink were delicious and were prepared and presented beautifully. Silverware was changed for every course. The tasting menu was $90 per person. The spirit pairing was $84 per person. Our bill came to just under $400. Timing between dishes was mixed and not quite as perfect as at Sorrel, but the delays were reasonable enough that we did not need to complain. We sat in the dining room to the left after entering. If we return we'll ask to sit in the dining room to the right, which seems much quieter. For part of the meal the sun was directly in my eyes, but it was not a problem enough to complain about since it lasted only a few minutes while the sun set. The entire restaurant seems thoughtfully and gorgeously designed, including the custom, wood-carved front door and the Laguiole steak knives. We highly recommend.