La Condesa

Yesterday was Shannon's birthday, just a short time after the La Condesa groupon so we called the day before and headed on over.  The atmosphere is very clean, comfortable and chic.  It was more casual than we were expecting but still a classy place.  Just as Shannon was saying how much she hated arugula, out came the vegan platter.. littered with arugula.  We had fried corn masa, topped with creamed sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, green beans and arugula.  An arugula salad that was described as similar to one offered on their regular menu with toasted pumpkin seeds, a bit of couscous, fresh peaches and oranges, and a delicious lemon dressing.  Grilled eggplant (the only thing Shannon hates more than arugula) atop sliced peaches, mint and cooked lemons.  Then a delightful pile of grilled asparagus topped with shaved jicama, mango and chile powder.  Let us just say, this was all outrageously good.  Any thought of hating arugula was out the window because this was the best arugula ever, it perfectly added to the fresh, sweet lemon flavor and the ripe and juicy peaches, this was by far Miguel's favorite.  The way the arugula added to the fried masa was another feat because it had no dressing at all but the apparent pepper flavor paired with the slightly pickled onions and crispy corn flavor like magic.  Another trick they performed last night was the eggplant, we have never liked eggplant after giving it many chances but out of left field this was Shannon's favorite (tied with the masa).  It acted like tofu by soaking up the grilled flavor but with a new texture that was tough but so smooth.  The asparagus couldn't even compete with these titans of flavor so it was just a great side dish, plain and simple.  We called ahead of time to ensure Shannon got a birthday dessert and boy howdy did she, that's fancy talk for "it was really good."  Anyway, we each got a small glass of 3 scoops of the best sorbet ever.  2 scoops of dark chocolate and 1 scoop of coconut, yum.  As if we weren't already on cloud nine at this point, we get the bill and we have $6 left to spend before using up our $50 groupon.  We go with the $6 guacamole with chipotle and toasted almonds.  When you frequent as many restaurants as we do you come to expect some dishes to taste pretty much the same no matter where you go, guacamole being one of them.  Thank you La Condesa for throwing that out the window with this almost tex mex inspired, after dinner appetizer.  The avocados were perfect to the normal standards but the spicy, smoky flavor of the chipotle sauce and the added smoke and crunch of the almonds just sent this guac over the edge.  It was literally finger licking good, fortunately we took this to go so we were licking our fingers in the comfort of our own home!  Overall, this was a culinary experience not to be missed by vegan or meat eater.  That being said, we would have to limit this type of dining to a yearly, or perhaps a semi-annual event.  The cheapest cocktail was $8 and the cocktails we wanted were $12, and it just kept going up from there.  The wine was moderately priced, we managed to get a bottle of red wine for $28 which is not bad and it tasted great.  One of their "things" is their tequila selection but the prices were too high to even look at the menu.  Each vegan plank was $18 and was too light to share.  We have seen other vegans get tofu on their planks though so perhaps it could be possible with a hearty request.  It may also be worth mentioning that their coffee smelled delicious and almost compelled us to order it but we had bellies full of wine and couldn't possibly pour more liquid on top.    

Recommended
http://www.lacondesaaustin.com/