Two thumbs up! Way up!
DESCRIPTION: Without really knowing what to expect from Guatamalan food, we stopped in Maya Quetzal recently for dinner. Finding an open table, we were promptly greeted and provided menus to peruse. Right from the start it was obvious that we were going to have a hard time deciding on dinner. But, rather than go hungry, we decided on the Chile Relleno combination and the Chile Rostisado plate. While awaiting the dinners, we munched on chips and salsa. The salsa was very good, medium to hot on the spiciness scale, which boded well for the rest of the evening. The dinners arrived quickly with sides of black beans and rice, and they were great! The chile relleno was stuffed with spinach and cheese, which made for a nice variation on the standard relleno theme and kept it quite mild. The chile rostisado was stuffed with spicy potato chunks and smothered in melted cheese. The flavor of the potatoes is hard to describe, but it was reminiscent of a potato curry dish inside the poblano pepper. It was great and we would recommend it to anyone who likes spicy food. Having sides of black beans and rice was a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous refried beans and Spanish rice. Besides, black beans happen to be our favorite legume, so it was a nice treat. After finishing dinner and a single flan (very good) split between us, we admired the Guatamalan weaving on the walls. Only then did we happen to notice that Maya Quetzal has been recognized as one of the top 50 Hispanic restaurants in the country. Twice. And we think it is fair to say that the accolades are well deserved.
DATE: 2003-11-21
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Chile Rostisado