Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen

[luvzig]

Has anyone been to this Mexican restaurant, off the Circle in Orange? We went to a birthday party there Saturday night, and what a find it is! Great, authentic, upscale Mexican food in a cool 1903 building on S. Glassell, by the Army Navy store. It's owned by Gabbi & Ed Patrick (friends of friends of ours), and she's a classically trained chef with a passion for regional Mexcian cuisine.

We dined in the new wine cellar - available only for private parties, I believe - and can't wait to go back and eat in the main restaurant. Ours was a five-course meal with wine pairings (which were surprisingly, unbelievable good - I somehow didn't expect great wine with Mexican food; how naive am I??). I don't have a copy of the full menu, but here's what we had:

1st course: Champagne Demoiselle Brue "Effervescent!" Perfect balance with the queso Oaxaca, has a citrus note, nice acidity and pairs very well with the acidity in the tomatillo and cascabelle sauce.

2nd course: Domanie Des Grandes Perrieres 2005 Sancerre, Sauviognon Blanc. This wine was bottled at the property of Jeome Gueneau in the Sancerre Appellation, Loire Valley, France. Fantastic minerality with this wine, it pairs very well with the earthiness of the beets and is a classic with goat cheese.

3rd course: Conde Valdemar Grand Reserva 1998 Classic from the Rioja region of Spain. 90 percent Tempranillo fro mone of their oldes vineyards, Earty red fruit, aging has given this wine elegant balance, give the Chilean Sea Bass with saffron sauce an enhanced and lasting impression.

4th course: Kilikanoon, Baroossa Valley Shiraz 2005. Luscious black fruit, blueberry and ripe plum notes, fantastic combination with the New York Medallion and Mole Sauce. Silky smooth with the butternut squash tamale.

I wish I had a better description of the food, but everything was wonderful. My favorites were the queso Oaxaca in tomatillo and cascabelle sauce, the beet salad (who knew beets were so good??), and the butternut squash tamale.

The web site is www.gabbismexicankitchen.com, and in my opinion it's well worth a visit if you are in that area.

[Fooferah]

I think that is the place my mom was telling me about just the other day. Sounds amazing.

[lath19]

I went a few times when I used to live right by the circle. The design and ambiance is a 9.5, the service is a 3, the food is a 6. A lot of their dishes are really lacking in flavor especially given the price. I've never seen more than one bartender at a time and it can take a loooonnnnggg time to get a cocktail (which is a big problem for me because I drink when I eat). The only dish I really enjoyed was the aracherra so if you go try that.

Never did the private wine cellar dining though. Sounds like it is quite a bit different.

[luvzig]

That's a bummer that the service and food in the dining room didn't live up. The wine cellar is pretty new - just opened in September, I think. Most of our dishes were not on the regular menu, but I would have expected the same quality in the dining room...we're going there for lunch later this month so I'll have to report back on that experience and see if they hold to the same standard.

[Fooferah]

Comparative study rules.

[luvzig]

Okay, I'm lame. Does this mean "in this situation, we must follow the rules of comparative study", or "cool, comparative study rules!"?

[Fooferah]

Next time, I'll make sure to say "rulez!"... then there won't be any question.

Obviously you are very much NOT lame, and your idea rulez!

[OTTo VoN BLoTTo]

Originally Posted by luvzig

Has anyone been to this Mexican restaurant, off the Circle in Orange? We went to a birthday party there Saturday night, and what a find it is! Great, authentic, upscale Mexican food in a cool 1903 building on S. Glassell, by the Army Navy store. It's owned by Gabbi & Ed Patrick (friends of friends of ours), and she's a classically trained chef with a passion for regional Mexcian cuisine.

We dined in the new wine cellar - available only for private parties, I believe - and can't wait to go back and eat in the main restaurant. Ours was a five-course meal with wine pairings (which were surprisingly, unbelievable good - I somehow didn't expect great wine with Mexican food; how naive am I??). I don't have a copy of the full menu, but here's what we had:

1st course: Champagne Demoiselle Brue "Effervescent!" Perfect balance with the queso Oaxaca, has a citrus note, nice acidity and pairs very well with the acidity in the tomatillo and cascabelle sauce.

2nd course: Domanie Des Grandes Perrieres 2005 Sancerre, Sauviognon Blanc. This wine was bottled at the property of Jeome Gueneau in the Sancerre Appellation, Loire Valley, France. Fantastic minerality with this wine, it pairs very well with the earthiness of the beets and is a classic with goat cheese.

3rd course: Conde Valdemar Grand Reserva 1998 Classic from the Rioja region of Spain. 90 percent Tempranillo fro mone of their oldes vineyards, Earty red fruit, aging has given this wine elegant balance, give the Chilean Sea Bass with saffron sauce an enhanced and lasting impression.

4th course: Kilikanoon, Baroossa Valley Shiraz 2005. Luscious black fruit, blueberry and ripe plum notes, fantastic combination with the New York Medallion and Mole Sauce. Silky smooth with the butternut squash tamale.

I wish I had a better description of the food, but everything was wonderful. My favorites were the queso Oaxaca in tomatillo and cascabelle sauce, the beet salad (who knew beets were so good??), and the butternut squash tamale.

The web site is www.gabbismexicankitchen.com, and in my opinion it's well worth a visit if you are in that area.

I've been on vacation so a little late seeing this, but thanks for the wine pairing descriptions, luvzig! Well done! They sound like excellent matches, too. Hope I can try here sometime.