08/21/17
Xochi is the newest Hugo Ortega restaurant, and it has lately been the recipient of a number of critical awards. Recently I've started going to movies without reading any reviews and then trying to guess the critical rating afterwards. What I've found is that there are huge divergences between my opinion and the critical consensus. And I have great taste, so that's not really the problem. The critics simply can't help avoiding the hype cycle. Same problem exists in scouting. How do you objectively evaluate something without paying some attention to what everyone else is screaming about? In the case of Xochi, this isn't just hype. This place is legit. I've eaten here twice and the first time I got a special lamb entree that was cooked in this black broth of insane Mexican flavor that was one of the best meat dishes I've ever had. I will resist the #hype and admit that this time the entrees weren't quite on that level, but the mole sampler is worth the write up. Xochi has a Oaxacan emphasis and they feature a wide variety of moles. Outside of mole negro it's almost impossible to find these at any restaurant. One of their apps is a mole sampler featuring 4 from that night. Tonight we got negro, amarillo, smoky peanut, and flying ant (yes, those are ants in the dish on the left). They give you warm tortillas for dipping, or you can mix and match the moles with other dishes. Also the Xochirita is a great margarita and the Pluma--a margarita/pisco sour hybrid--is dangerously delicious.