Wednesday, May 31, 2017. Mizado, Still Open, Busy And Loud.
A couple of weeks ago the Taste Buds announced that their adventuresome Mexican restaurant Mizado would close and soon after replaced by another location of Zea, the Buds' premier concept. That news had the usual effect: all the regulars at Mizado doubled and redoubled the frequency of their attendance. When that happens, it usually means that the restaurant is not for everybody. That's certainly true of Mizado, which I think is original and excellent. But it's different enough from the Mexican food most people are accustomed to eating that it makes first-time customers a bit insecure, judging by what they tell me. [caption id="attachment_55045" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Tri-tipSteak-Mizado-Chimichurri[/caption]
Oh, and there is one other matter: the noise level. The place was full when we arrived, and boy, was that easy to determine. Joining me was Mary Ann, who was in town mainly to hang out with our daughter.
MA, running late, told me to order for the two of us. I selected three of the salsas--a creamy avocado with good pepper heat, a habanero-and-herb roasted jalapeno red salsa, and a crema mixed with pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds). All that was terrific, the kind of original thinking that motivated Mizado and its more devoted customers.
[caption id="attachment_55046" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Pork tamale at Mizado.[/caption]
We steered around the tacos and such, with one exception made for the big tamale made with pork and crem, which I thought tasted as good as it looked, which was very. The closest we came to a full entree was the tri-tip steak with chimichurri (the Mexican answer to pesto). Oh, and a side dish: mac and chorizo. That had MA's name all over it, but she thought it just okay.
She concluded her night of oddity by asking for a dessert. MA doesn't do dessert often, especially when the dish involved is a flower of vanilla. This amounts to whipped white chocolate cheesecake. Improbably, she loved it. But this is my kind of dish! And for some reason, I didn't think much of it. Are we exchanging personas?
We asked the waitress about the rumors. She said that no decision has been made for Mizado's future. I hope they keep it going. And here's my constructive suggestion: it wouldn't be a bad idea to move some of the best Mizado dishes into the menu of Zea, which could use some refreshing.
