Dinner

Monte Alban

I’m a fool for mole. There is something about the mystery of the ingredients, the complex flavors and the fact that people either love it or hate it that draws me in. If there is mole on the menu, it’s likely that I will order it, and I will use Mole as a measuring stick as to how good the restaurant is.

Six of us met up at Monte Alban the other night, none of us had been there before. When we sat down, we tried to order a beer or two and some drinks, but had a hard time flagging down a waitress. By the time the waitress did stop by, we were making a few jokes about how bad the service was. Boy how things changed. One of my friends asked her what she recommended on the menu and the waitress lit up!

She gave us detailed descriptions of their five kinds of mole, suggested that we try the barbacoa, which is seasoned goat meat, steered us away from changing up sauce combos — “that mole just doesn’t go with the seasoning on the chicken, we can do it, but I really don’t think you will like it” she told us. Honestly, I have had few servers who were as helpful. When we talked to her about the five different moles she offered to bring out samples so that we could taste them. Delightful!

From the above picture, going clockwise,starting with the mole with the chip being dipped in it — black mole which is rich and most bitter, yellow mole which is mild and a bit sweet, red mole which has a tomato flair, green mole with tomatillo added, mole colorado which was somewhere between the red and black mole.

I settled for the mole colorado served over a fresh piece of white meat chicken. The dish also came with rice and a side of home made tortillas.

I loved the rich flavors and the prefectly cooked chicken. I have had the mole down the street at Juquila, and the sauce is good, but the quality of their chicken tends to be on the low end. We did get our beers too, and in true Oxacan style they were served with lime and chili powder. I’m not sure where the chili powder tradition comes from, but it is a terrific treat with a Mexican beer.

In addition to the home made tortillas, Monte Alban also serves home made chips, served warm and greasy, just as they should be. We ordered some guacamole as well and enjoyed dipping the chips while we waited for our food.

Other dishes at our table included carne asada, mole enchiladas (served without substitution and confirmed by our dining companion that it was best as-is) and a dish called frijoladas which is pictured above. Frijoladas consist of a smooth bean concoction, topped with chicken and mole sauce, delicious.

Monte Alban is deceptively large inside. It is located in a little strip mall at the corner of Santa Monica and Brockton, just East of Bundy. The parking lot is tiny, it is better to park on the street or back in the neighborhood behind it. The only serve beer (no margaritas), the prices are more than reasonable in the $7-11 range for most dishes, cheaper for tacos.

I really think that Oxacan food is an ovelooked treasure. To the casual diner, all Mexican food is the same. We’re fortunate to have so many Oxacan choices around here, let’s not forget to take advantage of them!

11927 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 444-7736

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.

© 2006 la.foodblogging.