Fine Mexican Cuisine in Hacienda Xochitl
Hacienda Xochitl is the brainchild of Mexico City-born Sommelier Cesar Porras, a man with a vast career in the restaurant business, who has worked for the largest and most important restaurant chains in Mexico, and has worked also with top international chefs like Paul Bocuse.
OLast week we dined at Hacienda Xochitl, a fine Mexican cuisine restaurant located out of the beaten track, up in Colonia Agua Azul, and I was reminded of what a dining experience is all about. The restaurant’s setting is a hacienda style courtyard and corridor, quite comfortable and welcoming.
Hacienda Xochitl is the brainchild of Mexico City-born Sommelier Cesar Porras, a man with a vast career in the restaurant business, who has worked for the largest and most important restaurant chains in Mexico, and has worked also with top international chefs like Paul Bocuse, one of the founders of the nouvelle cuisine style of cooking.
His passion has always been wine. As a teenager he began working as stock boy in a cellar, and his new-found love earned him great opportunities in the restaurant industry and took him up to the top of the corporate ladder. He opened high end restaurants in Mexico, Brazil and others countries.
Today, he is one of only three professional sommeliers in the Puerto Vallarta area. This does not exclude him from being an excellent cook. He has always been involved in the kitchen operation and today he personally supervises every dish prepared by his qualified kitchen staff. He makes sure only fresh, top quality ingredients are used in preparing each dish.
Our dining experience began with empanadas. Ranchero empanadas for me and Zapata empanadas for Letty. Ranchero empanadas are filled with cuitlacoche and the Zapata are filled with poblano strips and cream and cheese. They are served with excellent side dishes of molcajete sauce and green tomato, chile and cream tartar. They are most delectable!
At main courses, Letty had one of the house specialties, the Margarita Tuna. A delicious fresh tuna filet with zucchini slices, peppers and tomato with fine herbs, and cilantro oil.
I, in turn, had the grilled arrachera with zucchini slices, mushrooms and peppers. Arrachera is an excellent flank steak and the combination of guajillo sautéed peppers and onions was the perfect side dish. Cesar being a superb sommelier, there is no doubt the pairing of wine and food is bound to be equally superb. His suggestions of a Malbec –Tempranillo and an excellent Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon proved to be unbeatable. The restaurant’s cellar is growing both in quantity and quality of wine.
A Mexican coffee prepared right at our table was the perfect high note on which to close a unique dining experience.
Hacienda Xochitl is open every day for lunch and dinner, from 1 to 11:00 p.m.
388 Rio Nazas Street corner of Rio Ameca Street, Colonia Agua Azul, Tel. 322 222 3344
E-Mail: haciendaxochitl@gmail.com www.haciendaxochitl.com