I came down to Houston for some opera and had the opportunity to take out one of my clients and his family and we all had a real ball at XOCHI located in the downtown Houston Marriott Marquis. The place is slightly noisy and Sunday night at 630pm it was indeed full. I ordered a Nervous Traveler(no I am not) made from Reposado Tequila and Mezcal with Grand Marnier, Lime & Salt and it is a wonderful upscale Margarita indeed. Our super server Christian had an extra margarita later in the mail and was kind enough to offer me the Xochirita made from mezcal, orange liqueur, lime, citrus sugar and gusano salt which was nice, but a bit fruitier than the Nervous Traveler, which I liked much more.
The four of us decided to order some starters and share everything which was a tone of fun.
I think we had three orders of the Pulpo as their 8-year old son was crazy about the crispy wood roasted octopus with masa pancake, puya pepper adobo and roasted pumpkin seeds. The guacamole was superb and it comes with very thick chips that are more the thickness of pita and a different approach for a nice change. Taquitos Dorados were filled with chicken picadillo and served in a mole coloradito with crema and queso fresco. We all marveled at the Tacos de Lengua which were small soft tacos with a huge chunk of braised tongue on each with a morita pepper sauce.
The wine list had many Mexican wines that are virtually UNAVAILABLE in this country and Arturo was thrilled to cross the UNICO 2012 from Santo Thomas in Baja California off his bucket list; it was intense, full bodied and truly spectacular.
Pato en Estofado Almendrado was an amazing duck cooked in a mole sauce of tomato and almond that was out of this work.
The Cordoniz was two huge Texas quail(the best in the country for sure) with bacon wrapping and chorizo stuffing in ayacote beans, Istmeno sweet potato in a mole de cabeza(pumpkin) which was another marvel. There must be a dozen different mole sauces on the menu and we wanted more, but were getting full.
The side of Brussels Sprouts came roasted with butternut squash and onions in chintextle(chile pepper) sauce.
The gorgeous Lechon was slow cooked suckling pig with a super crispy skin, plantain molotes(mixed with pork masa and fried) and huaxmole(yet another version of the wonderful mole sauces).
We decided on one dessert and it was light and fun..Helados de Elote(corn custard ice cream) with blue corn atole, corn cookie and Texas Blue Corn Whiskey infused Ice Cream. So many of the dishes here are gluten-free as they are corn-based and it was especially nice with two folks at the table with celiac issues!
What fun we all had and be sure to check out the FB pics which also have the magnificent Dia de los Mortos statues on display in the restaurant.
