Taos Restaurants: El Meze

El Meze (website)

What we had:

• Fried green olives stuffed with Spanish bleu cheese
• Sopa Verde (slow braised collard greens, smoked bacon and Campo de Mantaban gratin)
• Grilled Hearts of Romaine with lemon anchovy dressing and Manchego cheese
• Grilled bone-in Ribeye steak16 oz dry aged with Moroccan butter and herb frites
• Lemon Mousse and Raspberry Napoleon
• Mini Cardamon Doughnuts served with a caramel chocolate sauce

El Meze was a total surprise. We’d never been there, it’s rather new, but the bartender at Doc Martin’s was also a waiter there and recommended it. We couldn’t have been more thrilled. Honestly we were blown away.

The restaurant is very cozy, a small room with about ten tables set up. (There may have been more dining space, this is all I saw.) We each had a glass of pinot noir, and I ordered the fried olives, despite B’s dislike of fried foods and bleu cheese. It was delicious! Served with a lemon wedge, this was definitely something I’d consider making for a cocktail party. I might serve it with a lemon aioli. Very nice!

The bartender had recommended the sopa verde, so I ordered it. The soup was huge, definitely more on the “entrée” side of soups, and it was so good. Imagine a less-greasy version of southern, home-style collards, in soup form. It was too good. The broth was perfectly salty, and went so well with the “campo de mantaban,” or the cheese-covered toast in the middle. I actually had to have the waiter take it away from me, since I had ordered the steak and was worried I wouldn’t have any room left.

B’s salad was, I can’t believe I’m saying this about a salad, SO GOOD. The grilled romaine made it feel like “salad-y” and more like a meal .The dressing was the perfect blend of lemon and anchovy — not too fishy. Another couple of dishes to replicate.

We did the boring thing and ordered the same entrée. I think it was the skiing, because I was really craving a steak. Boy-oh-boy, was that a steak! 16 ounces doesn’t sound like too much, I’m normally going to go for the 8 ounce steak, but that wasn’t an option. And I was hungry. I’m pretty sure it was the biggest steak I’ve ever eaten. The Moroccan butter was perfect, the steak was cooked perfectly, and the herb frites were, for lack of a better word, adorable. We asked the waiter what was in the Moroccan butter and he started rattling off herbs… I didn’t have time to grab my pen and paper, but I’ll be trying to replicate the flavor at home. I’ve had some good steaks, but this one was really the best I’ve ever had. We Texans could really learn a thing or two from the Moroccans.

We were too full to eat dessert at the restaurant, so we took it home. On the way out, the owner/chef came out to visit the tables. He was such a nice guy, and I hope his restaurant does well. It was one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

The desserts! Ohmygosh the donuts. Cadamon donuts. With chocolate! And Caramel! And the Napoleon. Kind of a weird choice for B, as he doesn’t like lemon desserts, but it won him over. So good, so light and airy. Just perfect. I hope they open a restaurant in Austin, I really, really do.