I luckily have friends of all walks of life. They keep me on my toes and while I know some of them far more intimately than others, I know that a LOT of my friends are incredibly talented people. What I find most interesting though is when I KNOW someone has talent, but I don’t realize HOW talented they truly are. For example, I knew my friend Dani could sing, but it wasn’t until I heard her recordings that I realized she could SING! That is how it went down for me this past Sunday at Desnudos Tacos at their prix fixe dinner celebrating all that is Mexico. There are many indie restos that are doing these special, one night only dinners. MTO has a Sunday Supper Series that I wrote about a few weeks back (their next one is June 22nd).
I don’t remember how I met Christian Dolias, I do remember meeting his wife Jesikuh for the first time, but I can’t remember where/how I met him. Christian can cook. I have always known that. We worked together last year at Vegas Uncork’d and he was a marvel. I just didn’t realize how talented he was, mainly because he was doing other people’s food. I underestimated him vastly, in part, because he once said to me, “I always find myself making tacos,” and as a partner at Desnudos that’s what he does daily, and the tacos are really good (Moment of Truth – I drive a half hour in each direction to eat his red chile goat tacos). Imagine my surprise, delight and shame when he served me the following this past Sunday. Shame only because I underestimated him, and for that I am truly sorry.
Ceviche de Ostra – a duo of oysters with 2 different salsas frescas
Aqua Chile- sashimi sliced halibut with roasted Serrano corn, green onion, cilantro, lime, chayote and avocado
Ensalada de Langosta – butter poached lobster with cucumber, corn, black beans and huitalaoche paste
Mole Verde Oaxaqueno – braised carnitas, white beans, green beans, red potato, chile smoked bacon in a green mole sauce
Borrego con chile Ancho – adobo de chile Ancho rubbed and roasted lamb chops, root vegetables, sweet and spiced arroz
Dessert by Pastry Chef Lizette Gonzalez – chocolate cake with tequila almond ganache, house made tres leches ice cream, strawberry coulis and buñuelo sticks.
And now I can’t wait to see what Christian does next…
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