by Blair "B-Rex" Loup
Mole (mow-lay) is one of those foods on a menu I can never pass up. It's a personal rule, you know, like when a Spice Girls song pops up on my playlist, I listen to it. Last Monday, Jay and I were talking about a green mole dish that Jim Urdiales'
Mestizo presented at Crawfête and decided to head there for lunch. Jim happened to be there and we all started talking about moles. One thing lead to another, and Jim wound up putting us in a food coma for the rest of the afternoon.
We tried a green and red mole with two different proteins and I honestly can't tell you which one I enjoyed more.
The red mole, served over a grilled chicken breast, had that slightly bitter ever-so-sweet sweet balance working with a velvety texture; in the words of Jay Ducote, it was "money." A mound of Spanish rice, pico, and sautéed onions laid on the plate, but who has time to think about rice when there are pieces of fried plantain all over the place? The sweetness of the the fried plantain combined with the bold flavors in the mole left me satisfied...but wait, there's more!
 |
| Mole con Pollo at Mestizo |
Just like Jim, the food at Mestizo is fun. The green mole topped this crazy fresh stacked enchilada/Mexican lasagna-type dish. Instead of being rolled inside of the tortilla, the flavors were stacked: fresh spinach, chunks of feta, and succulent shrimp. It was all so fresh and light, totally different from the richness of the red mole, but totally flavorful. I loved the fresh spinach inside, it just brightened the entire dish with the zesty tomatillo in the mole.
 |
| Green Mole at Mestizo |
Jim and his executive chef, Stephany Novoa are creative, fun, and full of personality, and you can taste it in the dishes they create. Sometimes it's nice to step out of the Tex-Mex slump and try some of that same "south of the border" flare fusing with Louisiana cuisine.
