http://sabormexicano.com/chilayo/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq3YLhtuzTQ
(There really is no connection with this Van Morrison song and today's desayuno; it just happens to be my favourite song of his. I may have even linked this one here in the past. If you don't like it, tough! Start your own damn 'blog…)
Desayuno en el Marina esta mañana: Chilayo[2] (on Chestnut Street). This is really just an upscale (as the neighborhood would dictate) version of una Misión taquería; you order at the counter/cash register and they bring the food to your table. Chilayo has two fireplaces, one indoors and one outdoors in their sidewalk patio area (which has five tables for two); neither were really necessary this morning, but they had them fired up all the same.
Supposedly, all of the vegetable ingredients used in their dishes are from their own farm-grown produce up in Sonoma County. I really could care less about "organic" and "locally-grown" stuff, just as long as it's "fresh" and "tasty" stuff. They make all of their own salsas and they had eleven different fresh homemade ones to choose from this morning (their menu says they make more than forty different types, too). Unfortunately I was only able to try six of them (not due to any of their restrictions, just my appetite); but those that I did try were all great and packed a little bit of heat and a lot of sabor when needed.
I was glad to see that they have both Chilaquiles and Nopales con huevo (which I usually see as Huevos con nopales) on their menu, but I went with the Omelet a la Mexicana ~ "organic" eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, serrano chiles, mole; served with country (red) potatoes and black refried beans. I also had a large glass (well, a large paper cup ~ it is upscale, but still a taquería, after all) of Sandia agua fresca[3], and before they had opened, I stopped by Peet's Coffee & Tea® (which is right next door) and got a cuppa Ethiopian Blend.
The included mole was the deciding factor for me (over my normal favorite of Chilaquiles) and I was glad I went with this as it was very tasty. The refried black beans were very good, and are made with corn in it and some queso fresco[4] sprinkled on top. I would have preferred some corn tortillas instead of the potatoes (I suppose I could have asked for some), as those would have been very handy with which to sop up all the remaining mole. The agua fresca was chock full o' watermelon bits, and it was not as cloyingly sweet as it can sometimes be with too much added sugar; there was actually so much pulp in it that I had to add some water to it to get to all the extra sandia.
As stated above, Chilayo has many freshly made condimentary supplements from which to choose, so I didn't need to use any from my own collection (but I had brought a few, just in case).
I will probably go back again for lunch or dinner sometime, especially to try more of their excellent salsas.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Omelet a la Mexicana (with the mole figured in) ~ 6.9; Salsas frescas ~ 7.7
[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, número uno:
This either means some kinda ceremonial Mexican cavalry sword, or "the flavour of Mexico"; I will let you decide.
[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, segunda parte:
As best as I could discern from asking the guy at the counter, "Chilayo" is some kind of traditional Mexican stew/dish made with pork or spareribs, or it may also be some kind of Mexican cactus. An Intro-Net search wasn't really much help.
[3] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, en tercer lugar:
"Aguas frescas" in Spanish simply means "fresh water" and usually refers to drinks made with fresh fruits and water with some added sugar for sweetness. They are usually very refreshing ("refrescas"?) and go great with all the spicy dishes.
[4] Do I really need to explain this in a cunning linguist pointer? The "fresco" is the same adjective from above, and, of course, "queso" simply means "kiss me quick, I'm double-parked".
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