Page 165 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023 DISCOVERING TURKEY

spired designs. The room was blissfully cool, a
blessing after the June heat and humidity out-
side. Though short, the menu was nearly over-
whelming with its melange of familiar
ingredients in unusual pairings. I chose the
seven-course tasting menu while trying to re-
sist the warm puffy roll and paprika-chili but-
ter that arrived almost immediately.
I ordered the Ixchel Makal cocktail (named
after the Maya goddess of women and fertil-
ity) and received what looked like a leather-
bound book. Rosemary-scented smoke wafted
out as the server opened the lid. The glass in-
side held a refreshing blend of cranberry
juice, beetroot puree and sotol, a distillate
made from the desert spoon plant, abundant
in Chihuahua and other northern Mexican
states. The bartenders relied on Mexican spir-
its including mezcal, tequila and raicilla for
their creations. The wine list featured bottles
from the Guadalupe and San Vicente valleys
and other Mexican wine regions.
My meal was a succession of successes.
Standouts included an amouse bouche
arancini with Chihuahua cheese and chichar-
rones, followed by slivers of raw dorado
(mahi-mahi) wrapped around green mango,
shrimp and hojo santo, a plant from southern
Mexico with a slight sassafras flavor. The silky
dorado entree took the catch of the day to an-
other level with a chili beurre blanc and epa-
zote. Even the churros with cajeta ice cream

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