A Wish Come True: Queso Relleno at Chichen Itza

[Dommy]

Despite the fact that we all LOVE to tease the transplants who come here crying about lack New York Bagels, Mission Burritos or Bufalo wings. We must admit, we all have our food wishlists. Things we miss from our travels, other homes, things we wish someone would just do a little better. In fact, if it wasn’t for people’s wishlists, these boards would not exisit…

For me, my wishlist is full of food of my childhood summers in the Yucatan. For years I made due with the take out at La Flor de Yucatan and kept an eye out for other Mexican restaurants for the occasional Cochinita Pibil dish, even Lebanese places for Kibis. Discovering Chichen Itza at Mercado la Paloma was a revelation, even when they just had their little stand, it was the only TRUE Yucatan restaurant I’ve been outside of Yucatan. My wishlist was shortened… but still, due to their size and the sheer enormity of the cuisine, they did not have it all…

And so this past weekend we found ourselves at the Science Center. I admit, I hadn’t been to Chichen Itza since they opened up their new place on 6th. I had hoped that perhaps the expanded menu at the restaurant might lead to an expanded menu at the stand. My wish came true… I was scouring the new menu when I let out a huge gasp… #1 on my wishlist was now proudly featured… Queso Relleno… I almost cried…

Queso Relleno is one of those TRULY Yucatecan dishes. Not only does it incorporate the history of the region, but it’s riches as well. In the late 19th century, the Yucatan was known through out the world for one thing… Rope. The finest rope in the world was made on Plantations near Merida. This brought seaman from all over the world… many of them stayed and settled there too… Among them were the Dutch… The dutch brought with them balls of Edam Cheese. They would hollow out the balls to at the sweet buttery cheese… and then give the shell to their Mayan servants. From those shells was born Queso Relleno. The ball is stuff entirely full of ground meat (At the time it would have been ground deer) and spices and then steamed in a cloth. Sauces were made from the meat, one red made of tomato, another white similar to a roux… and given the Mayan name, Kol…

Like many things, a peasant dish has now become one of special occasions. In all my travels in the Yucatan, I’ve only had it a handful of times. And each time was as memorable as the last. I was anxiously waiting for it to arrive hoping that if it captured even the most BASIC of flavors, I would be a happy woman. When it arrived… I cried again…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71363164@N00/519385915/

It was served with Tortillas. And I happily dug in. The cheese was indeed pure edam. Buttery and dense. Just slightly melty. The ground pork was amazingly spiced. The nuts and raisins did not distract, but added to the texture and overall taste. The tomato sauce has a nice heat that cut through it all. But the best part was that Kol. It was DEAD on. I closed my eyes and I was 10 years old and in Merida again. The genine can forget about the other two wishes… my first and most important wish has been granted…

P. decided to order the Cochinta. We also had hoped that with the coverage in the L.A. Times and the new restaurant that the flavor would have been amped up a bit. Sadly, it still was not at the level we hoped it would be. The meat was perfect… melty tender. The texture of the sauce, beautiful, almost stickey with how long it had been cooking with the meat. The recado spicing however was sadly quiet, nuanced, but it missed that PUNCH that you find at La Flor. The dish is BEAUTIFUL and the meat so wonderfully done, it is truly a heart break that the flavors don’t do it justice. We joked that it’s the reason why they now serve it with an Habanero. Really… if you can handle any spice… slice it up and lay it in the recado to get some more spice and flavor. It actually works WONDERS…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71363164...

As we hope on our bikes to head home, I couldn’t help but be so thankful that we stopped by Chichen Itza. I’m so proud of them for being brave enough to start their own place. To open up a great restaurant and to make dishes that only a few people like me would have on their wishlists. But after reading this post, I do hope that now more of you have decided that a stop by Chichen Itza and the Queso Relleno is a must try on your wishlist…

--Dommy!

[Mattapoisett in LA]

Next time Dommy! drags me along to the Mercado I will get the Cochinta as a torta to see if it has more flavor since the bread will absoarb the sauce. Also I'll stay in the far shadows while Dommy! is ordering to be sure the Chichen Itza people do not mistake me for the Gabacho I look like.

- P.

[Ollie]

I love Chichenitza but....and I know some of the dishes can be "labor intensive"....IMHO it's overpriced and underportioned for what is served..

[silverlakebodhisattva]

As a notorious cheapskate, I never thought I'd be in the position of defending restaurant prices, but CHICHEN ITZA OVERPRICED? Come on, folks! Consider what people are willing to pay for lame Mexican food at Mexico City, inconsistent Mexican food at Allegria, and just plain old chain junk food at Acupulco, El Torito, and the distance folks will drive (to MONTROSE at $3.50 a gallon!) for Cabanita, etc.

We're talking, after all, a RESTAURANT, with service and a wine license, not a stand.

In terms of potential client base, it's a couple of miles from Silverlake/Los Feliz, a couple more from Hollywood, and about a mile or two west from downtown LA, from which many thousands of people head (importantly) WEST when they go home at night.

End of tirade.

Dommy, go to the restaurant, already. They're waiting for you...

[Woolsey]

But their "stand" brings the food to one's table on the same dishes as the restaurant, with portions about the same as at the restaurant. In fact, at the "stand," extras like rice and beans are included, whereas I've yet to see them at the restaurant. (They didn't come with the Queso Relleno.) Often, a wine license helps lower the prices of food by deferring expenses to drinks, which have higher profit margins, so why, with a wine license, is everything so much pricier? It might help if Chichen Itza put the focus on Mexican beers and got a full liquor license. Call me uncooth, but I personally go for margaritas with my Mexican food, not Chardonnay. The level of service and ambience, amount of food provided, and variety of offerings at the MacArthur Park spot just don't transcend the mark-up over the Mercado la Paloma location. (And yeah, it seems the food at the "stand" is just plain better, too...)

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Most of the CI dinners come with rice & beans (ate 'em on Sunday...), but the relleno doesn't; frankly, from Dommy's description, it sounds like something that many people are going to split as a starter.

I'm not going to launch into a discussion of resto economics, but seems to that as among sit-down dinner-service restos serving comparable food in the greater LA Metro area (I'm leaving out any discussion of what folks are charging in say, Santa Monica for a taco...) their prices are very reasonable.

[Woolsey]

It's sort of a strange thing. You're right in many respects. The prices are fairly reasonable; going to Chichen Itza isn't in the same league as, say, going to Patina or Providence, not by any stretch. Their prices are comparable in price to competitors like El Cholo or La Serenata de Garibaldi, probably even lower. What they really are competing against, I feel, is themselves. They're competing against their lower-priced branch across town serving much the same portions with much the same service with prices that a markedly lower.

This sort of self-competition is the same reason I find myself no longer going to Roscoe's. On the rare occasions I do go, I look at the ever-increasing prices and the smaller and smaller chicken pieces (I swear they must be frying Cornish game hens these days), and I can't help but compare the overpriced, stingy Roscoe's today against the high-value Roscoe's of years past.

When you've given someone a great deal in the past, it's hard to erase that memory. It can create bitterness, as the angry Zankou Chicken thread floating about demonstrates. "How dare they charge for extra garlic sauce?!" I just feel that it's not the good deal it is at USC, and that the restaurant hasn't taken it to a higher level from the La Paloma location to make it something special yet. I just feel I'm paying a premium for remodeling, and that's not a fun feeling to have with one's meal.

[Woolsey]

I live near the new Chichen Itza, though I don't frequent it often. (I used to work at USC and would eat at the original Chichen Itza, and the fact that the MacArthur Park location's prices are nearly double those of the Mercado la Paloma spot's are something I just can't get over.) But I went down to Chichen Itza Sunday and, on a whim, ordered the Queso Relleno to split with a friend. I can't say I share your enthusiasm for this dish. First off, ours did not resemble anything like what yours did in the photograph. We received a big bowl of soupy white sauce flecked with ground pork (something like Central American picadillo) dotted with red tomato sauce. There was far more of the white sauce than the red. Floating inside was the ball of waxy baby Edam, which was showing almost no signs of melting. Between the two of us, we were presented just three tortillas to scoop the gooey mess into. It tasted fine, I guess. It seemed the meat was nicely seasoned, with olives and tomatoes, but the white sauce was a bit bland and watered down the affair. The ball of cheese never even got soft, not after thirty minutes; we had to hack away at it with our spoons, and it was rubbery in the mouth. There was also the rather unpleasant surprise - for me, at least - of a hard-boiled egg yolk. (I hate eggs, especially boiled ones. Fortunately, my friend discovered it whole and was able to extract it.)

We were not impressed by the Queso Relleno. Maybe it was the cook that afternoon; after all, our dish beared a visible difference from what Dommy photographed. If it had less white sauce - which the cheese and meat literally swam in, and which diluted the flavors far too much - and if the cheese was melted to where it got to some degree of pliability like Mexican queso fundido, it might be a really great dish. (Even if you do go for it, I would say this dish works better as a starter, like queso fundido; I can't imagine this as an entire entrée.) As it was last Sunday, it was a one of those Chichen Itza experiences like their awful Pan de Cazon that reminds me - stick to the Cochinita Pibil.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Interesting. The Chow-Spouse LOVES the Pan De Cazon, ALWAYS orders it....

[Dommy]

Ack! Sorry to hear of your bad experience with the dish... Yes, the boiled egg yolk is traditional. Hard Boiled Egg is used in many Yucatecan dishes like Papazules... my grandmother's albondigas ALWAYS had hard boiled egg in them...

I have yet to go to make it to the restaurant... perhaps the cooks there are not up to snuff... I dunno, I hope to check it out soon for the Recado Negro...

--Dommy!

[Woolsey]

I love the original, reasonably priced Chichen Itza, and I just realized that's where you had your meal. It seems the original location has the better cooks, too.

The MacArthur Park location's prices are just sort of ridiculous for the neighborhood and the food. Why isn't it full every night? Because people in that area don't want to pay $15 a plate before drinks, tip, starters, etc. It's just the wrong kind of place. Antojitos Bibi and Mama's Hot Tamales (whenever they're open) both offer much better value. Heck, Chichen Itza doesn't have a full liquor license, so you can't even get a margarita. The new restaurant's too pricey for it to be the kind of place residents of that working-class area of town can frequent regularly, and it's too out-of-the-way, with very little else in the way of other nightlife, shopping, or other attractions, to draw a lot of people from across town.

Whenever I'm down by Mercado la Paloma, I may give the Queso Relleno another go. (I'll just ask for no egg.)

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Well, we got a call from some old friends we hadn't sseen for a while, suggesting we eat Sunday at "this new restaurant we just found on 6th down by McArthur Park", and the Chow-Spouse immediately said "Oh, you mean CHICHEN ITZA!", and we were on.

Now it's possible that the CI folks recognized us from prior visits, but they seemed to have the spice thing going on a bit more Sunday; the habanero salsa turned up on table immediately, and both the Pollo Pibil, and the fish equivalent FINALLY had something like the oomph we have urged they need.

SO WHY IS THIS PLACE NOT FULL EVERY NIGHT??!!!!

Any chance that some time in the future they might do the Queso Relleno with chicken or turkey, instead o' pork?

r gould-saltman

[Dommy]

I suppose you could ask... although it might be a bit of a task, because kol is made with the drippings of the meat as well... But you can call ahead and see if they would be willing to 'accomidate'. :)

--Dommy!

[David Kahn]

Beautiful review, as always Dommy.