out and about: paseo

I’ve got to be honest. When I first heard that disneyland was closing down the uva bar in the middle of downtown, along with it’s sister restaurant I was disappointed. We spent many a quick dinner in uva - lots of basic food options for the kiddos, and not a hard reso to come by. And many a breakfast (and mimosa flight) at catal.

I have yet to try centrico (the laid back quick bite spot that followed), although their tacos sound amazing, but I’ve now been to paseo twice (in two months); and I can’t wait to go back. Tons of fun shareables - and you know that’s how your girl likes to eat - and nothing is crazy heavy making you too full to head back into the parks. Think oysters, ceviches, and aguachiles.

guacamole: haas avocados, tomato, cilantro, onion, lime serrano, tortilla chips

Obviously we were getting the guacamole - to which you have the option to have standard or to add queso cincho, queso panela, crispy pork belly, or chicharron. So the only decision was which one to choose. Ultimately we went with the standard, so that next time (see what I did there) we could have an idea what would go best with it.

No surprise it was excellent, and fully loaded with all sorts of other vegetable goodies. Highly recommend if you’re a chip and dip person.

black truffle steak tartar: ny strip tartare, charred onion & black truffle aioli, tangerine puree, chives, brioche toast

Black truffle and tartar? Yes please. Such a decadent combo. And the addition of the tangerine puree just took it to a whole other level.

Plus - did you get a look at that brioche toast? It was so thick we cut each piece in half lengthwise and were able to enjoy a more even tartare to bread ratio, and more of it.

pulpo enamorado: roasted octopus, tuna aioli, salsa macha, pickled vegetables

Next up was the octopus. Perfectly tender - only complaint? We needed more of it. It totally hits with today’s chili oil trend.

The pickled vegetables were all together, which is not at all what I expected based on the description. I was thinking it would be more of a crudites situation, which it was not, and to be honest, I would have preferred. But that’s just me.

esquites: locally sourced corn, epazote-garlic aïoli, queso cincho, chili powder, lime juice

Esquites was the perfect side to round out our meal. I really liked the use of non traditional (or what we would consider traditional) ingredients to represent for some of the more usual esquites flavors. Using tea leaves instead of cilantro with a garlic aioli and queso cincho instead of cotija. All the taste you are used to with an elevated punch.

I’m already salivating over my next meal.