The courses continued on the hearty path, and now is the time to wipe your mouth if you have started to drool a bit. The next plate to come out was Sole wrapped in a zucchini carpaccio with a lime sauce, tomatoes and black olives. At first I didn't want to ruin the presentation, but there was no way around it. Creating that sought out bite of zucchini, flaky sole, tomato, and olives was easier than it looked. The dish is on the lighter side, for those of you watching your figure, and is full of bright flavors.
The following course literally melted in my mouth, and no there wasn't any chocolate involved. A piece of filet cooked to perfection, and smothered in a mushroom sauce and caldo de res reduction. You barely even had to use a knife to cut through the meat, it was that gorgeous. I think I saw my husband close his eyes for a slight second to enjoy every morsel. This is a dish that will very well have you hear yourself saying "yum", even if your mouth is full of food. This was the end of the savory courses, it was now time for a palate cleanser, and some dessert.
Raise your hand if you have had dragon fruit sorbet before. If you aren't one of those with your arm in the air, you need to put that on your "to eat" list. The color itself is magnificent, but the flavor is truly something special. Zaira informed us that these dragon fruit hailed from Sonora, and that there is a very short season for them, so get them while they are hot. It has this bouquet of floral notes, with a little bit of sweetness lingering in the background. This was an excellent way to prepare us for the next dish ahead.
We ended this delightful lunch with crepas de cajeta. I am not a huge fan of sweets, but anything with Cajeta you can count me in. The crepes were so thin and buttery. Did I say that I wasn't a fan of sweets? Oh well, then that wasn't me swirling my piece of crepe in the cajeta to pick up every last bit.
We will be making a trip back to Cataviña to try out some of the other items on the menu, as well as their breakfast. On the weekends they also offer Menudo and Caguamanta.
A special thank you to Jorge D'Garay and Zaira Echave for inviting us to dine at Cataviña restaurant. It was an absolute pleasure, and the food was delicious!
Jose Maria Velazco # 2461, Zona del Rio
22010 Tijuana, Mexico
By Kristin Díaz de Sandi
lifeandfoodblog@gmail.com
Kristin and Antonio blog at Life & Food and you can follow them on Twitter at @lifefoodblog and Facebook.
