Cafe de Olla

Huitlacoche Quesadilla at Cafe de Olla.

 

I've been hearing raves about Cafe de Olla in SF's Mission neighborhood for years now, and we recently checked it out. Located in an indoor shared space with offices, their kitchen has no vent hood, oven or other heavy equipment that we could see, which means some of their prep must be happening in a commercial kitchen, though some of the items we had were clearly put together on the spot. All the tortillas tasted like they were pressed and cooked fresh. Above is a Mexican Mocha, and, as is typical of this coffee drink, the chocolate is seriously dark, and there's a hint of cinammon. So good that Robin ordered a second one. 

Everything here is Oaxacan, so you'll get Mexican cuisine atypical of what we Yanks normally associate  with these classic dishes. As in here above, a Chileajo Tamale, wrapped in a banana leaf rather than a corn husk. Like every other great Mexican meal I've had, whether in someone's house, or at a restaurant, or even from a taco truck, this is food made with love. The tamale was perfectly moist, and exploding with the flavor of the pork and chile costeno. Notice the salsa--that's not just any salsa. It had just enough picante heat, but mostly it tasted fruity, consisting of ingredients (chiles mostly, possibly tomatillo & tomato) that were at ripest perfection. Even the side salad was on point.

Memela. First time to have one of these. Thick tortilla, spread with frijoles, sauteed onion, salsa & queso fresca. The texture differences in the ingredients sparred with the great flavor. I'll definitely order this again.

Cross section of the tamale. Notice the moist, unctuous mixture of pork and chile costeno. We had another kind of tamale in mind, but a customer bought up a huge quantity of them the night before. If they're anything like this, I can understand why.

Quesadillas with freshly made tortilla. Store bought don't look (or smell or taste) like this. Notice there's  that fruity salsa again.

Huitlacoche quesadilla. Huitlacoche is the old name for corn truffles or, in the English vernacular, "corn smut." It is a fungus that grows on corn, and many farmers hate it. Fortunately, more and more Mexican restaurants are featuring them on their menu. The flavor is like very nutty corn with some slight similarity to truffles.

Quesadilla Rajas & Epazote (serranos & epazote.) 

I consider this one of the best examples of Mexican cuisine that I have experienced, and am looking forward to return to explore more of their menu.

For more information check out their website: https://www.cafedeollasf.com