{"id":3529,"date":"2014-02-20T22:00:46","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T22:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/food\/agaves-lifts-mexican-comfort-food-to-new-heights\/"},"modified":"2014-02-20T22:00:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T22:00:46","slug":"agaves-lifts-mexican-comfort-food-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/agaves-lifts-mexican-comfort-food-to-new-heights","title":{"rendered":"Agaves Lifts Mexican Comfort Food to New Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Photos by Brian Addison. Full gallery below.<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s a phenomenon in the States that is echoed by the Executive Chef of Agaves, Abel Hernandez, \u201cuna percepci\u00f3n americana\u201d: the perception that Mexican food is comfort food, Mexican food is largely Sonoran and Guadalajaran and that Mexican food is not high end.<\/p>\n

\u201cTacos and burritos,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThat is what Americans\u2014especially the Southwest\u2014expect from Mexico. But like any country, its cuisine is vast and differing: Yucatecan, Oaxacan, Sinaloan\u2026 And it doesn\u2019t have to lack flair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Los Angeles area places have popped up to prove the obsession with border Mexican cuisine among gringos needs to be alleviated: Corazon y Miel in Bell brings classical technique to Mexican and Central American dishes while Coni\u2019Seafood in Inglewood brings Sinaloa-style pescado zarandeado<\/em> to the heart of all grub lovers alike.<\/p>\n

Long Beach, though offering some of the best Sonoran and Baja street food through staples like Los Compadres and Taqueria la Mexicana, has not quite found the voice of the rest of Mexico.<\/p>\n

Oaxaca Mio at 10th St and Orange Ave. was a short-lived glimpse into Oaxacan food in the LBC. Its variety of moles easily rivaled some of the best in L.A. (yes, even Tia Mole in East Los) while also offering Oaxacan classics and rarities like chapulines<\/em> (marinated minced grasshoppers\u2014don\u2019t squeal: they were utterly delicious), molotes<\/em> (Oaxacan empanadas), tlayudas<\/em> (think Mexican pizza for lack of a more eloquent description)\u2026<\/p>\n

Hernandez is trying to change all these misperceptions with his Downtown Long Beach restaurant Agaves. Though largely misperceived as a club\u2014it admittedly has many party nights which cater to the Pine Ave. weekend crowd\u2014its true star is the hidden gem of its cuisine.<\/p>\n

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The Ensalada de Nopalitos.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Agaves’s Ensalada de Nopalitos<\/em> is inarguably the best in Long Beach: tender, raw cactus soaked in a housemade oregano vinaigrette and avocado oil with a hint of ginger, a few drops of chili oil (it doesn\u2019t add heat but flavor), and cotija cheese. The dish is a warm welcome to start with for anyone willing to explore Agaves’s vast menu.<\/p>\n

Other appetizers stick to Hernandez\u2019s clean palate: his ceviche is direct and to the point with tiger shrimp marinated in a house mixture of citrus juices and topped with jicama, mango, avocado and a hint of chili oil and cilantro. And his Coliflores a la Cazuela<\/em>\u2014Hernandez\u2019s take on fried cauliflower \u201ccasserole\u201d\u2014is a Mexico City staple deconstructed: the veggie is topped with pepitas, a chipotle mayo, and fine shreds of epazote<\/em>, a perfumey herb native to southern Mexico.<\/p>\n

These antotijos prep for the main events that are the especialidades de la casa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Hernandez\u2019s breadth of reach is impressive: taking us to Oaxaca, one can easily find exquisite chicken mole poblano with Agaves’ss decadently rich dish that harbors the perfect blend of heat and sweet. The Talla Salmon<\/em>, marinated in achiote\u2014common in Latin and Jamaican food\u2014is plated on corn esquite<\/em>, all underneath a beautiful red pepper coulis sauce.<\/p>\n

But two of Hernandez\u2019s biggest stand-outs are his takes on common dishes for the Southern Californian: carnitas and the chile relleno.<\/p>\n

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The Marisco Chile Relleno.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using a single chunk of slow-cooked pork, Hernandez then goes through a process that is specific to the Queretaro region of Mexico: a housemade caramel is lathered onto the pork and put into searing hot cast iron to render and brown the fat. Squeeze a lime over it, pair it with the equally awesome sweet\u2019n\u2019spicy haba\u00f1ero salsa and I assure you, you\u2019ll be in gastro-heaven.<\/p>\n

The chile relleno opts for the ocean\u2014a style I have never had and was hesitant about. I\u2019ve had the common Sonoran chile relleno\u2014good ol\u2019 cheese-stuffed battered pasilla pepper\u2014and I\u2019ve had Oaxacan\u2014on the sweeter side with seasoned beef, raisins, and olives\u2026 But shrimp and scallops in a cr\u00e8me garlic sauce and topped with a light layer of jack? One\u2019s eyebrows can easily be raised.<\/p>\n

However, the dish was a rich (but not overwhelming) seafood concoction that\u2014particularly when scooped with the layer of chipotle cr\u00e8me and crema Mexicana\u2014is a simply delicious, complex dish that harkens to French style with Mexican flavor.<\/p>\n

The fruits of Hernandez\u2019s labor will ultimately be left to those training underneath him as the Mexico City-based chef, who also runs the universally acclaimed Cocono in Queretaro, will head up to Portland to take on a similar residency to help refine Mexican cuisine in the rainy metropolis.<\/p>\n

His menu, however, will remain. Thank the culinary gods.<\/p>\n

Agaves is located at 200 Pine Avenue.<\/em><\/p>\n

{gallery}addison\/Agaves{\/gallery}<\/p>\n

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It’s a phenomenon in the States that is echoed by the Executive Chef of Agaves, Abel Hernandez, \u201cuna percepci\u00f3n americana\u201d: Mexican food is comfort food, Mexican food is largely Sonoran and Guadalajaran, Mexican food is not high end. Agaves in Downtown Long Beach is trying to change all of that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":68780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1525,1526,333],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-agaves","tag-mexican","tag-mexican-food","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}