Mole Mole Mole!!!

I don't remember how we got on the subject, but my Spanish professor, with whom I am now good friends, told me that his grandmother makes the best mole in Mexico.  And so of course, I have to have the best mole in Mexico.  And then I just could not get my mind off of mole, and really wanted some, because oddly enough, I had never had mole.  BUT I wasn't just going to go to any old tex-mex fake Mexican restaurant for it.  I was having grandmother's mole!

Well, when I came home for the holidays, we met up for dinner, and we did not have grandmother's mole, because she was not visiting until March, BUT we had the next best thing.  We went to the only restaurant in Orange County that he'll go to for Mexican food. That's how you know it's good. And authentic. And surprisingly, it was just down the street from my law school, in the middle of a shopping center.  You always expect really good authentic food to be hole in the walls, but this was no hole.  It wasn't a large restaurant, but it was cozy, the ambience was nice, and the tables were lined with linen.

Of course, when having Mexican food, margaritas seem only the natural beverage to order.  They told me they had a cucumber margarita, sweetened with agave.  I thought, that sounds like my kind of margarita--guilt-free…almost.  Well, the margarita was fabulous.

But the star of the night….Mole poblano.  O. MY. GAH.  It was the best meal I had had in a while.  If you don't know what mole is, it's a dark sauce made with chili peppers and chocolate among other ingredients.  The chocolate gives it a slightly sweet flavor, but it's not like having chocolate sauce over your chicken.  No, that would be weird.  If you didn't know chocolate was an ingredient, you wouldn't know that there was any in it.  The sauce is somewhat thick, but not like sticky thick.  I would actually probably compare it to like a curry, only not as runny.  Oy, you just have to go have some for yourself.  I cleaned plate!

And my professor ordered Mole Verde, and for blogging purposes, I had a bite of his, too, and O. MY.GAH.  Fabulous.  It's completely different--it's green, duh.  It's a bit lighter, but truly, truly just wonderful.  Holy crap.  

I can taste both in my mouth right now, just thinking about them.  Forget this lame review, and just get your butt down to "Amorelia" in Costa Mesa, CA.

Oh, and the cherry on top…BEST, and I mean THE ABSOLUTE BEST FLAN I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.  We had the traditional and a coconut flan.  I was curious to try the coconut flan, and o my gah, I loved it more than the traditional.  First off, they give you a sizable portion, which I would recommend sharing.  No, who am I kidding.  You gorge that thing by yourself!  You know, sometimes you get flan, and it comes out like lame jello. But this, this was so nice and thick, and creamy, and perfectly sweet.  Despite how large it was, I didn't not find it overwhelmingly sweet.  I cleaned plate on that too!

Holy moly.  No, holy mole!  I can't wait to get back down there.

BIG LOVE & HUGS

Love,

Justine