El Vez

Originally tempted by the appealing pictures seen on yelp, we finally arrived at El Vez at around 10pm after two attempts. It was well worth the wait! Although we managed to order way too much food, it was all quite good, which is saying something considering how full we ended up. The ambience was also very distinct – the lighting and décor was reminiscent of Distrito or Continental – trendy and colorful with a modern atmosphere. Most people there were lively and excited, probably celebrating with post-work drinks.

We started the night off with their popular Tito Santana guacamole. This came with chips and a spicy red salsa on the side. The guac was great, and I'm not even the biggest fan of avocado (sorry!). The mango pieces set a nice sweet contrast between the rest of the ingredients: bell peppers, chiles, jicama and habaero.

Tito Santana Guacamole

Chips & salsa

For the main entrees we decided to go with the Taco Tasting Platter, which had 5 different tacos: sea bass, beef, chicken, carnitas, and mahi mahi. They were all quite good, although my favorite would have to be the sea bass taco, which consisted of a unique sweet potato puree, grilled scallion, and fried jalapenos. The beef tacos were also quite good, especially because I enjoy spicy foods and the roasted tomatillo-chipotle salsa had a nice kick. By the time we finished the tacos we were pretty full already, which unfortunately may have caused some diminishing marginal utility with the remaining food.

Taco Tasting Platter: (clockwise from TL) Mahi Mahi, Sea Bass,Chicken, Beef, Carnitas (center) 

Close-up of Beef Taco

Close-up of Sea Bass Taco <3

In addition to the tacos we also ordered the Enchiladas Mixtas, which had 3 different enchiladas: chicken suizas, shrimp, and hibiscus. The chicken was extremely creamy and had lots of cheese, a little too much for me, but definitely tasty. We weren't sure what hibiscus was at first, but it was a very interesting dish with bright pink/purple colors from the beets and carrots, and was quite good (and vegetarian!). The shrimp enchiladas were my personal favorite, although they had a strange appearance from being coated with a cilantro sauce. I think the combination of flavors and colors for all of the enchiladas made the eating experience that much more fun.

Enchiladas Mixtas (R to L): Shrimp, Hibiscus, Chicken Suizas

By this time we were practically unable to breathe from eating so much (don’t make the same mistake we did) and sadly did not have room for dessert. Next time, definitely coming back to try the signature El Vez – flourless chocolate cake with peanut custard, caramelized bananas, chocolate suace, and peanut butter ice cream. :D