After a year of mostly picking up take-out food on my way home from a bike ride, Cecile and I were in the mood for outdoor dining the other night. We chose Mextizo Restaurant and Cantina, formerly the home of The Blue Door restaurant at the West Gate Center in San Jose that featured Greek-inspired cuisine in an upscale setting that was affected by the COVID-19 shutdown. I had written a couple of positive posts while the Blue Door was in operation and had the chance and pleasure to meet Sylvia Foundas, one of its' founders.
She and her husband Peter, whose family is steeped in the restaurant business were faced with the challenge of making a big change in their offering. They decided to create a new concept restaurant and brought in Executive chef, Everardo Andrade who was a former cook at Reposado in Palo Alto and Olla Cocina in San Jose before joining the Blue Door Restaurant team. Andrade created a menu that reflects the food he enjoyed growing up in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The irony is that many years ago, the 8,000 square foot space was home to the Chevy’s restaurant chain. The owners believed Mextizo was a better fit for the neighborhood that they opened almost a year ago. The shutdown was a perfect time to engage in several weeks of a major renovation.
We ordered a beer and strawberry margarita with salsa and chips to start. Cecile enjoyed three Empanadas Vegeterianas for her entree that included cilantro avocado masa stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, butternut squash and Oaxaca cheese served with salsa tatemada and Mexican coleslaw. I had a delicious Traditional Asada: Grilled hanger steak marinated in adobo that was topped with Mexican green onions, cilantro, guacamole, radishes and red tatemada salsa. This was complimented with a side of refried black beans. We can’t wait to try some of their other offerings in the future.
Even though Cecile and I have been fully vaccinated, we are still avoiding indoor dining for the time being unless there is an open door with plenty of ventilation. “According to a recent article in The New York Times citing peer…peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the odds of indoor transmission are about 19 times as great as the odds of outdoor transmission.” Of course other studies state there is a less than 1% chance of Covid-19 transmission with indoor eating. While they fight it out, we believe it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of caution.
