Modern Mexican cuisine may or may not have made its first, salsa-laden splash with Mark Miller's first Coyote Cafe back in the '80s, but to call it a trend is just flat-out wrong. So we won't. Or, better yet, we'll leave the matter to foodies to argue over as they down another bowl of pico de gallo and shots of Patron.
Okay, now we're thinking of hot chips. Just out of the fryer. Must pause.
And we're back. Now one of the darlings of the modern Mexican movement, and of New York City's cuisine scene, has opened its doors in downtown Los Angeles. Rosa Mexicano, one of the spicy staples of Manhattan dining for the last quarter century, is the latest eatery to bow at L.A. Live (which it officially did on August 14th).
You've read about the restaurant, in, oh, every magazine that's ever put a picture of something baked/fried/sauteed on the cover. Just about. It's been in all the biggies, Bon Appetit and the like. It's received the accolades. The dishes -- Guacamole en Molcajete, the salmon with the tropical fruit mole, Conchinita Pibil -- pack pow, and bow to various regions of Mexico.
The tortillas are made there at a tortilla-making station (need one of those in our own home). The guacamole is made tableside. You've got a concert at Nokia to make, but best leave early for a pomegranate margarita. Or two.
