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| - This is a five-star review in praise of a single dish: the enchiladas. I first started getting Pasqual's enchiladas (always the blue corn tortillas; always the green sauce; always with the black beans) decades ago. I've fallen off the wagon many times, and then thought, after a period of years - - hey - - why not stop in for the enchiladas at Pasquals? Well, it is time to fully give them the praise they so richly (and I do mean 'richly') deserve.
Are there better enchiladas anywhere? I think not. The toothy-ness of the blue corn shells, smothered just enough by the sauce and cheese are pure perfection. That the enchiladas are lurking in the middle of the plate, in a sea of bold black beans, flaky savory rice, zesty sauce, and just the right amount of gooey smothering cheese - - this is sheer excellence.
I made a little mistake, after decades of getting one cheese & one chorizo enchilada, to get one with grilled veggies this time. I suppose the grilled veggies were good for me, but it kind of broke up the orgy of sensual smoldering smooth rapture - - just a tiny bit. I also asked for that particular enchilada to be served with the mole' sauce. I don't think they are up nights slaving over a large black kettle with chocolate shavings and arcane spices to produce the mole' - - but I still kind of like it. The chorizo enchilada with the green sauce, was, however, so completely sublime that words cannot describe it, but I will continue to attempt to employ words. What's remarkable is that their chorizo is not the dark, biting, acidic stuff you might be familiar with - - it is instead a deft, flavorful, mild but still richly satisfying savory sausage, that goes with everything else on the plate like Tristan goes with Isolde.
OK, I'm going a bit over the top here, but, for me, the enchiladas at Pasquals are a totally iconic meal. It is simply a whole that is massively more than the sum of its parts, and a complete masterpiece of the enchilada ouvre, pardon my French.
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