El Agave

Perhaps I was expecting something a little more low-key and relaxing, but El Agave was definitely WAY out of my ambiance and price range for a fun Mexican catch-up dinner.  And while my friend (who was a sweetheart to pay) was gracious enough to say that it was definitely food we couldn't have gotten at one of the boisterous places we passed by in Old Town on our post-meal walk, I kept thinking it would've been nicer to go to any one of those places where there were actually, well, Mexicans!

I mean, that was one of the things that was most obvious about this place. Granted, we were there *really* early (like 5:30PM early) because we were too hungry to wait for our 6:30PM reservation, and the place was pretty empty, but that shouldn't have made a difference. If the place is known for good Mexican food, I would've expected *some* Mexicans in the house. That being said, this place is apparently also known for more eclectic dishes, which could've explained the lack of, shall we say, ethnic presence. Moreover, the entire place was covered in tequila bottles. And while we *were* in a tequileria, the glass was a bit overwhelming, and the lighting just made the whole place dark and depressing. Thank goodness we were seated by the windows (even with its blah view of the parking lot), because otherwise I would've felt I was in a tomb!

Although my foodie brother and sister-in-law had recommended this place (and warned me that it was on the pricier end), I should've done a bit more of my usual research.  I should've been clued in by the fact that there were no prices on the menus online, though I was unfortunately sidelined by the lovely list of moles that were available.  I should've checked the reviews, which clearly indicate the combination of high-quality food with significantly above-average prices. And I should've known that any place that you can find on OpenTable means inevitably higher prices. Regardless of who paid, this didn't please me at all, especially since I knew that we could get absolutely amazing Mexican food for substantially less than what we paid. BUMMER to say the least.

Setting all that aside to focus on the dishes themselves, I must admit that the menu is fairly extensive. Considering that I've been craving mole recently (for some odd reason unbeknownst to me), I really wanted something with the traditional Oaxacan mole negro. After perusing the menu, I was conflicted between the pheasant in a different sauce, or the rabbit in the mole negro. Even though my friend pushed for the pheasant (given that it's rarely seen on most menus), I ultimately decided on the rabbit, which the waiter (who was originally from Oaxaca) also picked from my two choices. (SIDEBAR: My brother and I had seen a rabbit cross our path the other night, so I took it as a sign that I was meant to eat this rabbit since we let the other one go!) My friend went with a few smaller dishes instead, and picked the quesadilla appetizer, the sopa azteca, and the nopalli nopal salad.

The meal started off pretty well, with a bowl of various breads and rolls. We were a bit famished, so we may have stuffed ourselves with a few more than we otherwise would've, especially *moi* since I'm really not a big bread person in general. That being said, they were all quite good, particularly the crescent-shaped roll that was stuffed with cheese and a bit of chile. My friend was personally fond of the big wheat crisp (the one I personally thought tasted like cardboard), which was good at picking up the yummy sauces that came with the bread. The staff was nice enough to replenish the bowl, so we had some to throw in with our leftovers at the end of the night.

When the quesadillas came, we were a bit confused, especially since they didn't look like quesadillas at all! In fact, they looked like mini empanadas, which was quite disappointing, since they were pretty small and didn't look filling at all. So while these wannabe quesadillas tasted OK, they were fairly insubstantial. We even got several different ones to try (basic cheese, mushroom, shredded chicken), though none of them really moved me in any way.

Next up was my friend's soup, which I had a bit of, and found DELICIOUS. It's something that she orders at every Mexican meal, so I'm glad she was pleased with it! She ate around the chicharonnes, which I actually thought were quite fabulous, despite not having their usual crispy texture. By the time I had them (which was after she'd finished most of the soup), they were nice and chewy and flavorful from having soaked up all the yummy liquid. Mmmm....

After we'd stuffed ourselves with bread and "quesadillas" and soup, we were faced with her salad AND my rabbit. Needless to say, we didn't make it very far on each. The cactus was nicely diced and piled high up on the plate -- a tower of flavor I have to say. On the other hand, my rabbit, which was supposedly braised, was super dry. The rice and mushrooms were OK, but the rice tasted kind of soggy and the mushrooms came with some other weird chewy vegetable that I couldn't figure out for the life of me. The saving grace of the dish was the mole sauce, which had a deep, rich, and complex flavor -- the best qualities of a mole sauce. I could totally taste the chocolate, which was perfectly balanced between savory and sweet. If I could've just gotten the sauce, I think I would've enjoyed the dish more.

At any rate, we barely made it through the meal because were so full, so we didn't even bother to get dessert. To be honest, it would've just been more money spent on mediocre food. While there were definitely highlights, I still think we would've been better off elsewhere. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

El Agave Tequileria
2304 San Diego Avenue
Old Town, San Diego, CA 92110
619.220.0692

http://www.elagave.com/