Restaurant review Oyamel

I put a lot of time and effort into the restaurants I take people to when they come to visit me. If they haven’t been to visit before, I re-use a few staples, but when my parents come it is a whole different story. We have been out to several places in Silver Spring, Bethesda and Alexandria and I really wanted to pick somewhere cool for them this trip.

While I was talking to a friend who has a lot of dining out experience in DC, Oyamel came up as an option, and as I did a little more research I thought it would be the perfect spot. My parents and I love tapas because it allows us to try all different kinds of food and I had heard great things from a number of people so I made a reservation there for Friday night.

Other than the ride in (which took forever with all the lights on 16th street), this dinner was very, very enjoyable! The restaurant is definitely a hopping place and there seemed to be a lot of excitement throughout the whole restaurant. The bar was full and the restaurant is decently sized. I would recommend making a reservation due to its popularity and distance from the Verizon center. We were seated in a nice booth in the back corner, and while the lights were a little low for menu reading, the decor and atmosphere in the restaurant was everything I had hoped for.

We were greated by our waiter Ian who has been there for about a week. He brought us some delicious chips and salsa to munch on while we browsed the menu and when he found out I was a food blogger, he made some “must-have” suggestions. The first thing I knew I wanted to order was the classic Oyamel margarita. When the description of a drink says it has “salt air,” how can you pass that up?

Well the margarita was fantastic! Very smooth. We then ordered a bottle of wine for the three of us. The wines average $45 a bottle but they also offer a $20 corking fee if you bring your own wine which I highly recommend if you can. Either way, it’s nice that you have the option to save yourself some money in that aspect.

I decided to take the reigns and make the ordering decisions. I had heard from many foodies that I MUST try the grasshopper taco, so I knew that was on my list and I would most likely be alone on that decision (good thing the taco orders are 1 per). So here is a list of what we ordered and the description that accompanied it.

• Ceviche de cayo de hacha con limon y chile: Bay scallops with key lime, powdered ancho chile, blood orange and Siembra Azul blanco tequila.

• Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble crema: Meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled ‘double cream’ cheese and cilantro.

• Papas al mole: José Andrés’ favorite potato fries in a mole poblano sauce of almonds, chilis and a touch of chocolate, topped with Mexican cream and queso fresco cheese.

• Col de bruselas estilo San Quintin: Crispy brussels sprouts in arbol chile sauce with pumpkin seeds, peanuts and lime.

• Camarones al mojo de ajo negro: Shrimp sauteed with shallots, arbol chile, poblano chile, lime and sweet aged black garlic.

• Mejillones al tequila con chipotle: Steamed mussels with tequila, sautéed garlic and chipotle sauce.

• Arrochera con salsa molcajete: Grilled skirt steak with a sauce of grilled tomatoes, tomatillos, green onions, cilantro and green chiles, garnished with pickled cactus paddle.

• Chile en nogado: Poblano pepper stuffed with pork, apple, pears, plantains, tomato, pine nuts and walnuts, served in a creamy sauce of walnuts and goat cheese. Topped with fresh pomegranate seeds.

• Cochinita pibil con cebilla en escabeche: Yucatan-style pit barbecued pork with pickled red onion and Mexican sour orange.

• Chapulines: The legendary Oaxacan specialty of sautéed grasshoppers, shallots,tequila and guacamole.
  (From the restaurant menu)

Wow! That’s a lot of food now that I look at it!!!

By far the most delicious thing that we had were the brussels sprouts. The crispy texture and the lime went so well together and we loved them so much that we ordered a second round. If my mom can replicate them it will be a great way to get my dad to eat his greens :) . The shrimp and the meatballs were equally delicious. The best deal that we got was the order of mussels. For $9 we got a HUGE bowl of mussels - which was great because we all enjoyed the mix of chipotle sauce and garlic and ate them up pretty quick.

While we ordered the skirt steak, the wrong order was brought to our table and we tried the short rib instead. We sent it back after trying it and good things too because it definitely was not something that we enjoyed. The meat was bland and the only flavor that really came from the dish was from the parsley and that is not one of my favorites. Once we got the correct order, we were pleasantly surprised because the skirt steak was delicious. Skirt steak in general is a very tasty cut of meat and the sauce that came with it was a nice compliment.

The grasshopper taco was definitely interesting, and I am not sure if I liked it, but I can tell you honestly that I didn’t hate it. The grasshopper was a little crunchy and there was a slight wood-like flavor to it. The guacamole was delicious and…hmm… it’s just so hard to describe, but definitely is worth a try.

The most disappointing thing that we got were the papas al mole. We all agreed that there was nothing too special about these potatoes. They looked (and tasted) like frozen french fries with some fancy spice and sauce on top, so we put this on our “do not order” list for the next time we go.

We ended the night with a round of coffee and a dessert that I can’t remember the name of, but wasn’t anything to die for.

Overall, dinner was excellent and I think one of the only ways to describe it was fun. Trying all the food was great and it’s always nice to have dinner with my parents, especially when they are in from out of town. I highly recommend going to Oyamel if you haven’t been or if you are visiting from out of town.