El Take It Easy
Date nights don't happen too often around here, but I think that they are going to become a lot more frequent now. We decided to head over to El take it Easy as our first date night spot. This might have even started some new kind of tradition with us, because I can't wait to get back and try the other options on their menu. The food was more than delicious, and I am still talking about it with our friends and family. El Take it Easy is a farm to table concept restaurant, that is supplied with local and fresh ingredients from Suzie's Farm. Their menu is inspired by Mexican wine country cuisine, and they serve local wines and beers, as well as from Baja California.
Duck Confit Taquitos - Local duck, potato, local carrot & avocado.
This menu was so hard just to choose a couple of items from. I must have read through it at least 10 times, before we finally made a decision for that night. We started off with the Duck Confit taquitos. Duck confit rolled in a tortilla and fried? Really? Count me in! If we weren't going to order other dishes, I probably could have eaten 8 of these. Okay, maybe not that many, they are a bit rich for that. The creaminess of the duck confit and the crunch of the taquito is such a lovely texture combination.
Scallop Tacos
We went on a Tuesday night, and their "Taco Tuesday" special was Scallop tacos. These tacos were little works of art. Starting from the handmade corn tortilla, and then topped with grilled scallops, hard boiled egg, salsas, and lettuce. You might think that a hard boiled egg sounds a bit odd on a taco, but it made perfect sense. It adds a silky texture and unique flavor next to the sweet scallops. The scallops were cooked to perfection, and just as delightful on their own as they are in the taco.
Pastured Lamb Sandwich - pastured lamb, pickled jalapeños, trotter mayo, pickled onion, mint, feta cheese, french fries.
Are you getting hungry yet? I know that I sure am. We split the Pastured Lamb sandwich, as our next dish. I had never had lamb that was sliced so thinly before, and now I wish that I could make a sandwich with it daily. You bite into the sandwich and it explodes with flavors and textures. The mint adds this fresh attribute, but then you get some tang from the feta, and heat from the jalapeños. There is a lot going on, but it is not one bit overpowering.
Chocolate crème pie - mezcal whipped cream, candied cocoa nib
We finished the meal off with a slice of their Chocolate Creme pie. As soon as I read Mezcal whipped cream on the menu, I just knew that we had to try it. This is yet again another dish with amazing textures and flavors. I am sure by now that you can tell that I am all about textures with food. The candied cocoa nibs added just the right crunch to the luxurious chocolate creme and flavorful mezcal whipped cream. I must make mezcal whipped cream the next time a family event comes along. Just thinking about an espresso with a dollop of it sounds so lovely.