40883 Mon Oct 31 18:06:58 -0800 2005 12 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 196319 We made a reservation two weeks out...would love to hear from any Chowhounds who've tried it... Mon Oct 31 18:06:58 -0800 2005 0 goingoutagain 1 196388 more info Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/40736#195436 Mon Oct 31 21:30:50 -0800 2005 196319 0 try this 1 196399 I ate at the bar at Tres Agaves this past friday (10/28) with some friends for a nibble and a few margaritas. As you may expect, it was very crowded and the service was overwhelmed. The space is fairly typical SoMa--exposed brick walls, high ceilings, beams and ducts visible should you turn your gaze upward. This place is cavernous, and that's accentuated by the current lack of stuff on the walls. However, it's definitely pleasant and comfortable. I split the "Tacos Del Dia al Pastor" which are "Adobo marinated pork & lamb tacos from our wood burning pastor oven" with one of my friends. The pork had a nice deep, complex flavor, but it was gummy. it probably could have used another minute or two in the back of their oven to get the gumminess out. The lamb tacos were better overall. Lightly charred on the outside and juicy on the inside, these were covered liberally in chopped raw onion and cilantro. They were actually very spicy, more than I would have expected. My friend couldn't finish his. Also deemed "too spicy" was the jicama salad (it was certainly hot). The chile relleno were deemed "ok" (i didn't have any). The chips are average. The default salsa i believe is a smooth chipotle puree. It's very smoky/charred tasting. I have to say, the best part was the margaritas. They are Tommy's Mexican-worthy. At $24/pitcher (maybe it was $20) they better be great. The default tequila for margaritas is Herradura silver, so it's decent stuff. They are sour, a little sweet, and strong. Oh, they didn't have desserts available as of last friday. But i'd cut them some slack--they just opened. Mon Oct 31 22:58:59 -0800 2005 196319 0 sic fan 2 196402 oh, and i bet it'll be nuts before & after giants games, given its proximity to whatever they're calling that stadium now. Mon Oct 31 23:15:25 -0800 2005 196399 0 sic fan 3 196425 The first home game for the Giants next season is Thursday, March 30, 2006. The timing of the restaurant's opening gives them maximum time to work out the kinks of a new restaurant and to build up a customer base before the likely crowds of Giants fans congest the place. Their location is a bit hidden and certainly not directly on the main walking path of 2nd Street from BART/Market Street to the stadium, so we'll see. I'm looking forward to trying out Tres Agaves this week. Most restaurant critics allow a new place to get settled for a few months before passing judgement. It's nice to see others here give feedback while expressing optimism that things will get better over time. Tue Nov 01 02:01:27 -0800 2005 196402 0 Benny Choi 1 196413 I was also there last Friday and it was packed. The jicama salad was bland and not spicy enough. The agua caliente had too much lime. I was also not wowed by their chips/salsa/guac. I thought the chile relleno was very good (but subtle), as was the carnitas, the birria, the carne asada, and the corn/zucchini casserole. I really like that they serve the sides family style, my favorite was the beans with chorizo, my least favorite was the arroz verde - I thought it was overcooked. When restaurants serve beans/rice on the plate, I feel like 1) there's no room on the plate for anything else and 2) I waste a lot of the food because the portion of rice and beans is too big. Overall I thought the food was very good - I liked all the entrees even though the sides were uneven. I'm sure that those will improve over the next few weeks/months. Tue Nov 01 00:52:52 -0800 2005 196319 0 felice 1 196472 I've been three times - a charity event before they opened, opening night for a drink that became dinner (with one other person) and Friday night with 12 people for my husband's birthday. Short version - Once they refine some of the recipes and tighten service, its gonna be awesome for fans of Central Highlands cuisine. So far, their strong suit is the grilled dishes or ones from their wood-burning oven, the dishes that need work are the shrimp dishes. Long version - On both Tuesday and Friday the bar was jam-packed with people. They are working out service kinks - the bartendars get pretty slammed, we were ordering margaritas by the pitcher so we wouldn't have to wait too long for drinks. (Personally, I think they should borrow bartenders Miguel & Estephen from Tommy's -- those guys can make pitchers of perfect margaritas in 30 seconds flat blindfolded, with one arm tied behind their backs!) The menu is Jaliscan/Central Highlands cuisine and has a number of things that are not commonly found elsewhere in the Bay Area and some of the items (i.e. Carne Asada) are familar but are the Central Highlands version, not the Americanized Bay Area version of the dish. It will be interesting to see how well that plays here. I have eaten many of the dishes on their menu in their native location (Guadalajara, Tequila and the Los Altos area) so my preference is that they mimic the originals. Note they are trying out "family style" service. The entrees come with sides served in bowls for sharing. This was not a problem with the dinner I had with just one other person but at the 12 person dinner, it seemed to confuse some people and caused some "sharing" issues, particularly since a couple of people ordered small plates & sides instead of an entree and therefore decreased the quantity of family sides. The family style sides are: Ensalada de Repollo (Shredded cabbage salad with mango & serrano chile) - which is so yummy I'm gonna start making it at home (replacing my jicama cole slaw as a favorite low calorie treat) Frijoles Refritos con Chorizo (Refried pink beans with Mexican sausage) - quite smoky and goooood Frijoles Negros ‘de olla’ (black beans with epazote) - fine but a little bland for my taste so I doctored it with salsa & cilantro Arroz Verde (Green poblano rice) - not just green colored rice, you can really taste the roasted poblano. Tortillas Frescas (housemade corn tortillas) - nice Salsas Regionales (assorted regional salsas) - we four - a habenaro, a roasted red, a green and a pico de gallo. All were good but the pico de gallo really stood out - it was light on onion & peppers and had a lot of cucumber so its especially refreshing. It was spot on to a pico de gallo I had in a little place just outside the town of Tequila. Fresh Chips - they fry their own chips but they're thick style which is not my favorite. Some of the small plates that I enjoyed were the: Coctel de Pulpo - Octopus, Avocado, Cucumber & Jicama in a warm spicy tomato broth Costillas de Puerco con Salsa Verde - Slow Roasted Pork Riblets in a green chile salsa Gorditas de Res con Salsa de Aguacate - Griddled Masa with shredded beef & avocado I thought the Aguachile de Camarones (Raw Shrimp, Cucumbers, Tomato & Avocado tossed with a serrano & habanero salsa & toasted pumpkin seeds) could use a little work but that's because I've had stellar renditions of this dish in Mexico. I thought the Ensalada de Jicama (Jicama, Orange & Cabbage Salad Arbol chile powder) was kinda bland especially since the cabbage/mango salad that comes with the dinner is so good. Regarding Entrees: Carne en su Jugo (Jaliscan Style Slow Cooked Beef ~ in a rich broth with bacon, cilantro, onions & lime) - I thought this dish needed some work but once again that's because I've had a stellar rendition of this dish in Guadalajara. Camarones al Mojo de Ajo (Mexican Gulf Shrimp ~ in a garlic, lime, serrano chile & parsley) - the bite I had of this dish was a kinda strong on lime but I know it has potential because of the versions I've had in Mexico are amazing. Carnitas (Slow Roasted Pork~ rubbed with Mexican oregano & chile salsa) - I'll have to get it a couple more times to be sure, but the carnitas I had on Sunday and again on Friday may have been the best I've ever had. Chile Relleno con Huitlacoche en Salsa Jitomate (Poblano Chiles ~ stuffed with queso & mexican truffle) - haha "mexican truffle" haha guess that sounds better than "corn smut". Anyway, I enjoyed this dish quite a bit but one of my friends said "it doesn't pop"...whatever. Birria (Roasted Goat ~ in a rich tomato-chile broth with chile de arbol) - I enjoyed my bites of this dish but the portion size seemed a little small in comparison to the chile relleno & the carnitas There are also sides you can order separately. We had: Budin de Elote y Calabacita (corn and zucchini casserole with salsa verde) - was definitely good but I make a similar dish at home that I love so I'd be less likely to order this in the future. Quelites con Ajo (wilted greens with Mexican red garlic) - this is a simple but tasty dish. Elote Asado con Chile (grilled corn with arbol chile, butter & lime) - another simple dish but the charring really took it to the next level. The night we had the table of twelve people we sent a couple of dishes back because they were cold (our waitress was very nice about it) and ended up passing some dishes around because the staff didn't deliver it to the person that ordered it (this caused some confusion since people weren't familar with the dishes). But since it was a celebration and we were fueled by many pitchers of margaritas, we had a great time. I think the biggest complaint was that some dishes were too salty. I'm not a fan of big, loud, trendy places but I'll be going back because I love the food from this region of Mexico. Also, I noticed that their brunch menu has chilaquiles which is one of my favorite dishes and their lunch menu has tortas ahogados!! yeehaw! Who wouldn't love a drowned sandwich? I must had dozens of them in Guadalajara so I'm really looking Tres Agaves' version. Disclaimer: I'm a member of Tommy's Blue Agave Club (the tequila tasting club) and have been hearing about dreams and plans for a Jaliscan Tequila Joint since the dawn of time (ok, maybe 2000?) Tue Nov 01 12:37:47 -0800 2005 196319 0 Pssst 2 196533 psst- great post, per usual. i actually took notes in case i ever try this place one day Tue Nov 01 15:14:55 -0800 2005 196472 0 violet 3 196556 Thanks! I love regional Mexican food. Since moving to SF, I've learned to make alot of dishes myself since the Mexican food here is so homogeneous. I'm thrilled to have a new region represented in the restaurant community, now if we could just get a decent Mexican bakery.... One of the things I forgot to mention is the prices. Many of the entrees (with the sides) are in the $15 range. I think the extra sides were $4-6. We ate ourselves silly and drank plenty of margaritas on Friday and spent about $40 a person with tip. The dinner for two on Tuesday was $61 before tip (2 entrees with family sides, one pitcher of margaritas, side of corn). FYI - The house pitcher of margaritas is $24 and pours about 4 (to 5) margaritas ($6 a drink) so if you can swing ordering pitchers it saves time and is a good deal, especially given the high quality. Tue Nov 01 16:16:15 -0800 2005 196533 0 Pssst 4 196684 Thanks so much for the wonderful report. Looking forward to going. As to the Mexican bakery issue ... have you been to Casa Latina on San Pablo in Berkeley? Wed Nov 02 01:13:40 -0800 2005 196556 0 rworange 2 196753 Sounds promising. I'm looking forward to trying the food. I found the margaritas a little too sweet. Erika could hardly drink it she thought it was so sweet. Wed Nov 02 12:43:50 -0800 2005 196472 0 nja 3 196886 I did notice a couple of batches of margaritas were sweeter than I prefer. Tres Agaves uses agave nectar instead of simple syrup to balance the acidity of the fresh lime. Since that's not a common bar ingredient and since the drinks at Tommy's aren't too sweet, I just assumed it was a start-up QC issue...hopefully. Wed Nov 02 21:07:18 -0800 2005 196753 0 Pssst 1 196521 Lunch service is scheduled to begin Nov 22. Tue Nov 01 14:20:52 -0800 2005 196319 0 Benny Choi