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Health & Fitness

La Costa Mission Does the Trick

For passionate Mexican faire, La Costa Mission has got the goods.

The other night, my wife Kathie and a very good friend of ours decided to get a bite in the Bu. And at the end of our street was a brand new restaurant called La Costa Mission, owned by Tommy O'Connell and his wife, Heidi. So, since we love Mexican food - and it was Mexican food - it was sure to be cool.

Now, most places suffer from imbalance. Either the food is awesome, service is okay and the experience is average. Or, maybe the food stinks, but they are trying really hard to make up for it. Rarely do you get a home run.

As we approached the restaurant, we were blessed to run into our friend Kim, who enthusiastically introduced us to the key players, including “SuperChef Geno.” We were then introduced to server excellente, Omar, and seated near the stunning fireplace. Now, the manager Gustavo is a very well known dood from his days at Tra Do Noi, another favorite of ours, but having jumped ship to La Costa, we knew we were on the right track the minute we walked through the historical doors. Rock solid, beautiful place with a fountain, big fire, Original Malibu Tile everywhere, great history as an old gas station and a general feeling of peace.

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But the peace all ended when I ordered that extra chopped serrano chilis...I'll get to that soon.

First up was the chips n’ guac. Fresh, but with unsalted chips, allowing you to actually taste the guac along with a dab of tamatillo dippage. And it was good. No hoty toyty-ness was revealed by Mexican Coke parked right next to my wife’s Malbec wine. These guys were hip and wanted you to grub chill-style.

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My buddy Christopher ordered the ceviche appetizer and it was like a flavor explosion. His eyeballs were boingin’ like jumping beans. The combo of lime, Serrano, fishies and tamatillo left him wanting to savor the flavor all night. (I could visualize Geno whippin’ this puppy together and watching Nemo in hysterics. The dood is passionate about food.)

Then, Kathie’s appetizer was the pocket quesadillas. Cheese filled with an epazote pepper to add the herb flavor, hubbed by guac and the famous tamatillo. Now, I thought the salsa was good until out came the “real” homemade stuff. Sweet, smokey, spicy and all that. We nearly had a fist fight over it.

Since Kathy and I are vegetarian and Christopher is a carnivore, we had the chance to get our flavor buds around a couple of things. And that started with the veggie enchiladas. Chock full of peppers, mushrooms, zooks and Farmer’s Market nick-nacks, those enchiladas rose our expectation to a new level. And that’s where the chopped serranos came in. Ouch.

I love spicy. And this was sending me to the moon. But I ordered it separate, so you can leave that out if it freaks you to get freaky.

Christopher zap-daddied to the Carne Asada. He could barely wait for me to take the picture before he laid the smackdown. Along with plantains, guac and beans, his knife-work was right out of a Jackie Chan movie. I could actually hear the whips and slices between the yums.

And just when we had enough, Gustavo brought out a final dagger to our side. A coconut pastry that filled in all the gaps. Just enough to make me have to crawl back up the street on all fours and somper into bed with a big fat smile on my face. I dreamt of chillin’ on the East Side of Cozumel.

Thanks, La Costa Mission for the spectacular service and fresh flavors. You guys rocked my taste buds. And if I were you, my fined feathered readers, I’d make a reservation and get in there before Geno ends his first song. Geno, (short for Generosity) is eager to flip a brick in the food world.

Cha delicioso...Fireball

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