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A discovery that we made in one
of the guidebooks (I’ll be putting together a blog in the coming days about the
wineries we visited as well as the best books we used to plan this trip), our
trip to Maya was made easier in that we had chosen to visit Domaine Carneros
earlier in the day. The unexpected
discovery that we made when we arrive at the restaurant however was the fact
that they on a corner that is situated in the main square of the city of
Sonoma… and perfectly situated to do some shopping afterwards.
We’ve had Mexican food in any
number of places over the years (one of our absolute favorites is Mi Pueblo in
Sarasota, FL that has some of the most authentic Mexican food that I’ve ever
had… outside of the Southwest), but this was a truly unique take on the food as
it was focused on a distinctly “Maya” take on the food…. Hence the name. The physical restaurant is also interesting
and comfortable as well. At the center
of the bar (which you can see here) is what they bill as a “Tequila
temple”. The restaurant stocks a huge
variety of tequila and while we didn’t try any, recognized some names that one
of our friends who is really “into” tequila has mentioned… that we hadn’t seen
anywhere else
The food:
Chips and salsa
Steak sopes
Black Bean empanadas
Tortilla soup
The Results:
From the time that you sit down
at your table and served your chips and salsa…. You know that this isn’t going
to be a restaurant like you’ve been to before.
While they still have the standard red and green salsas, the similarity
stops there in that the flavors of the both salsas (fair warning here… wait
until you have a beverage in hand as they are both quite spicy) are more
“smoky” in nature that any others that I’ve had in the past and from my
perspective came from adobo of some kind.
The chips and salsa however were
just setting the groundwork for the rest of our meals however as everything
that was brought to our table met our “litmus test” of a flavor riot.
The steak sopas (which not only were chock
full of real steak and generously drizzled with lime juice were also support by
a unique and very tasty slaw that helped to cut the heat of the rest of the
dish…. And frankly made it possible for me to finish them without reaching for
my Tums. We also ordered a bowl of
tortilla soup and empenadas. The
tortilla soup was excellent and well flavored (although as a personal
preference I enjoy it when the tortillas are still a bit crisp when the soup
gets to the table) and again had the same “smoky” flavor to it that the salsas
did at the beginning on the meal. The empanadas however were a big
surprise.
As residents of FL, we’ve gotten accustomed to having empanadas that have a meat in them and the fact that these had black beans was a terrific surprise and added a great deal to the meal. We found that each of the portions were quite generous, so you might want to consider sharing several things on the menu to give you a broader picture of what’s on the menu… and I’d also recommend a walk around the excellent central square of Sonoma afterwards to “walk off” those extra calories.
As residents of FL, we’ve gotten accustomed to having empanadas that have a meat in them and the fact that these had black beans was a terrific surprise and added a great deal to the meal. We found that each of the portions were quite generous, so you might want to consider sharing several things on the menu to give you a broader picture of what’s on the menu… and I’d also recommend a walk around the excellent central square of Sonoma afterwards to “walk off” those extra calories.
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