Rosa Mexicano

Last night Birdie and I went to an art show at a law firm that was showing works by Mat Ollig (an artist friend of Birdie and really worth checking out).  Following the show, we headed to try the new kid on the block, Rosa Mexicano, on the corner of Hennepin and 6th.  

The place looks great, very open, bright and certainly a happening environment.  We had a reservation but had to wait a little at the bar, where we had a drink while waiting and gave Mat time to join us.  I was surprised by a rather short wine list, but the pino noir I had was excellent.

We agreed to seat outside to shorten the wait. That proved to be a good choice, it was a great night.  Warm and with a nice breeze.  The waitstaff was friendly and attentive, but the star of the night was the food (good thing at a restaurant ;-)  

We started with a hamachi tartar with watermelon, cucumber and jicama served with a tomato habanero sauce and jalapeño ice.  The fish was sufficiently fresh but the best part f the dish, in my opinion was the jalapeño ice (a little bit of what felt like spicy pepper sorbet).

We followed the tartar with Tuetanos Rostizados (roasted bone marrow) served with garlic toast and a chipotle-piloncillo sauce.  The bone marrow was smooth and silky (as it usually is, no much merit on that), the sauce was sweet and spicy and helped cut the fatty flavor of the marrow.  Overall a successful dish.  

And as the picture shows, I even convinced Birdie to try it (I can't believe that married to Kim, the man that will eat anything,  she never had before).  She enjoyed, as did Mat.

The best dish came after that, the Chamorro (pork shank) was large enough to feed two people.  Served with rice on the side, the shank had jalapeños and beans (and I think mushrooms).  The pork had a crispy exterior and a nice juicy and very flavorful interior, almost as tender as carnitas.  Really a terrific dish.

The second entree we shared was Chile Rellenos (stuffed chiles).  These are dried peppers that are rehydrated, stuffed with meat and roasted.  Overall not bad, but I would have enjoyed them with a little bit less meat inside and perhaps something else like rice or some veggies.

Overall a good start for an area of Hennepin that needs a little revitalizing.  The price point was higher than I expected, but low enough to allow them to fill up a restaurant of their size.  Very much worth visiting again.  Hopefully next time with Sharon when she is back from San Francisco.