Famed for the trained chef, Francisco Alejandri and touting themselves to serve 'mexican soul food', you can see the love he's put in creating this authentic menu of dishes. Since I"m a bit of a rookie here, I watch and see 2 others in front of me, waiting for their gorgeous and appetizing dishes, I follow suit and order the same thing which is the tinga tostada.... loosely translated as one hot mess. We banter in english and broken spanish together while he works on the dishes.
The chef cooks everything to order for you on his little burners and stainless steel pots. He carefully cuts the avocado and preps your tostada meticulously while you patiently wait for it. You can see his passion for his dishes through his careful preparation of each of the orders. The ting1 was a deep fried tostada topped with a stew of smokey chipotle and chicken, beans, pickled red onions, tomatoes and fresh avocado, topped with a dollop of mexican creme. While the portion is a bit small, and mainly because I wanted more, but it's so good for $6.75 that I can't wait to go back for more.
The lady waiting behind me order a white chalupa, which I watch the chef carefully hollow out a cucumber lengthwise, put some chilli flakes at the bottom and lemon/lime concoctions, white onions and manchego cheese - it looks like a good option as well.
There isn't anywhere to really hang out in the bakery while waiting for your dish or to eat the dish properly but I do discover that there's a back patio area to eat and enjoy the food. I was a bit puzzled on how to eat it but just broke it with my fork and scooped the entire thing up.
I wash it down with a milky horchata drink, a mexican vanilla drink with cinnamon for $2, very refreshing and perfectly paired with some of the punch from the tostada!
I can't wait to return for more and more!!!!! As a note:
Open Tuesday to Sunday 11 am to 6:30 pm. Closed Mondays and holidays. Cash only.
**** 1/2 stars
Agave Y Aguacate
214 Augusta Ave
In Kensington Market
www.agaveyaguacate.blogspot.com/
Actually "Agave y Aguacate" is spanish, not portuguese, and it means "Agave and Avocado" (Agave being a plant commonly used to make Tequila)
ReplyDeleteTinga is a Mexican culinary term that implies torn or pieces of meat. "Tinga Tostada" would mean in this case "Shredded chicken on a toasted (fried) tortilla.