This November weather makes me feel nostalgic, and the cool closeness of the evening had me craving something spicy. My boyfriend Phil and I walked over from our house on a foggy Wednesday night. It wasn’t too crowded and Sonia, who runs El Lobo, came and chatted with us as we sat down. She’s of Mexican descent and has incorporated Latin roots into the menu.
We ordered a couple glasses of a red Argentinian blend that the server recommended. For seven bucks a glass this stuff was nice: medium bodied and smooth with just a touch of earthiness to it. I could definitely notice Malbec’s prominent presence in the mix. For years the Malbec grape was mostly hidden in French Bordeaux blends but seems to have found a happy home in the Argentinian mountains where it has recently taken center stage.
I ordered the Ceviche de Atun appetizer. Each order is made fresh individually. The ahi tuna is marinated in lime and comes with a symphony of flavors: capers, jalapeno, red onions, and cilantro on a bed of red cabbage. It has jicama slices and guacamole salsa, waiting patiently on the side to get into the action with crunchy tortilla chips surrounding the plate. Like when a musician listens to a song rather than hearing a wall of sound, they can instantly dissect it and figure out what each instrument is adding to the mix: bass, keyboard, and guitar. Cooks have a way of tearing apart a recipe in order to understand and appreciate it as a whole. Each ingredient in this ceviche was at the perfect volume and added to the melodious harmony.
For the main entrée, Phil and I both went for the Camarones a la Diabla. With its grilled black tiger prawns, bell peppers, and onions sautéed in a garlic chile de arbol sauce, this is hands down the best version of this dish I have ever tasted. It normally comes with potatoes, and Phil went for it as is, but I got it with rice. Even the rice here is something special, and I think it made the meal less filling so I could eat more, more of the impeccable sauce with the meaty bites of shrimp. It was spicy, but the heat didn’t overpower the many layers of spices. The culmination of flavors reminded me more of Morocco than Mexico, and it made me feel lucky to be alive in this day and age of food. Just think of the many centuries of travel it took for these tastes to come from the Spice Islands (Indonesia), march through the Mediterranean, and eventually Latin America to land on my plate.
On our walk home through the fog, with boats calling out to each other in the harbor, the red wine and heat of our meals gently warming us, I remembered reading on Yahoo Travel that Long Beach was one of America’s top 10 unexpectedly romantic cities. In that moment I whole-heartedly agreed.
El Lobo is located at 2941 E. Broadway, (562) 438-1311
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