La Condesa Pt. 1 - The Restaurant Bar

I was apprehensive.

Perhaps I wanted La Condesa to be bad. I wanted the drinks to be boring or made with half-assed ingredients. I wanted to food to be uninspired, the chips and salsa bland. Why? I don't know--jealousy? 

For me, surprisingly, they actually got most things--almost everything--right.

I am not a food critic, nor do I pretend to be a connoisseur of anything, but I do know drinks, and I do know salsa. So I feel I have a few thoughts on this new modern restaurant that some of you might want to read.

Don't be completely stunned by the poppy turquoise decor, the funky lighting, or the dusty xeriscaping outside; make your way quickly to...

THE BAR

There are two bars at La Condesa, a restaurant bar and then the upstairs bar called "Malverde"--named for the Mexican patron saint of drug dealers (!). Upstairs wasn't open yet when we went, but the downstairs bar and its lighthearted bartenders left me completely content.

Some interesting tidbits (good or bad, it's up to you):

- For shots of mezcal, the bar blends mezcal worms with salt to put around the rim. Too weird for you? Shame on you. Give it a try.

- They use pasteurized egg whites in their drinks. By the time I realized this, the bar looked a little busy for me to bug them about it; I want to know why. Perhaps when they get busier and the fear of waste dissolves they will moved to regular ol' egg whites? I hope so, because my Pisco Sour was, well... without.

- Their house margarita is made with a liquor made from Damiana--a plant used as a female aphrodisiac in Mexico, Central and South America. Of course Lance ordered one for me. I still liked my El Cubico better (see below).

Our bartender was really exited to be there and equally so that we were there, too. He was completely willing to answer any of our questions about the restaurant as well as questions about the drinks and the food. I didn't have the time--or the tolerance?--to try every single drink, but here are the ones I did taste. 

The Alma Blanca--Had muddled corn, habeñero infused Chinaco blanco tequila, ginger, aloe vera, lemongrass, pineapple, and a hibiscus infused salt rim. Overwhelmed yet? Don't worry, the taste is simple yet complex. The drink is sweet and smooth. While not my favorite drink of the night, it was definitely at the top. 

El Cubico--Tobacco infused Hornitos, Navan, lemon, grilled pineapple juice, volcanic-saffron-infused salt, and a light mist of mezcal on top--served in  a snifter. This drink was phenomenal. Put your nose down in the snifter and you'll feel like you're smoking a cigar. But the flavor was otherworldly. Sweet, yet sharp--just wonderful. We had the bartender make it with mezcal instead of the tobacco infused tequila just to see the difference; what resulted was a much better drink by our standards; however, if mezcal isn't your bag, go for the original. I have no complaints.

The Passion Fruit & Spiced Mango Margarita--Tres Generaciones Reposado, ginger, passion fruit, spiced mango, lemon, and pasilla-pepper-spiced salt rim. Very tart, tasty, but just not that interesting. Perhaps this was one of their ways of catering to a more fearful diner--one who shies away from worms and tobacco in their drinks?

El Guillermo--fig infused Jim Beam Black, Navan, orange bitters, grilled grapefruit juice. This was really, really nice. I wasn't sure about the grapefruit, but the grilling really tamed it nicely.

Watermelon-Elderflower Martini--Tito's, St. Germain, aloe vera, lemongrass, citrus & watermelon juice. What a disappointment! I don't know if they forgot my St. Germain, but I couldn't taste it at all. I suppose I shouldn't be drinking watermelon in February, anyway, but still. I was so looking forward to this drink, and it fell very short. Hopefully they'll use St. Germain in another recipe later. I'll most definitely try it again when watermelon is in season.

Kiwi-Thyme Caipirinha--Thyme infused Leblon, kiwi, lime, sugar cane syrup, and soda. The thyme was lovely--there was an whole new level to the drink--and the presentation was beautiful. And I've been wanting a delicious kiwi drink lately. If you like Caipirinhas, I think you'll like this one. 

At this point we paid our extremely expensive bar tab (although expected and well worth it) and made our way to the table--but that is for another blog. 

More to come later.

Adios.