When Mexican food is put in the hands of already successful Laurence Jossel, Executive chef and co-owner of Nopa, it becomes a neighborhood gem!

I came to visit recently open Nopalito, a week after they opened, but was unlucky at getting a table. No one to blame on, just the interest awaken by Nopalito in the neighborhood and beyond.

Finally, Wednesday night, unmotivated to be in the kitchen myself, the BF and went for a second chance. We were told that calling in advance to put our name down on the list, was ok, so we did. And when we arrived, we had a warm welcome and a table right away. We got seated with another couple at a big table, close enough to be convivial but far enough to still have a sense of privacy.

I am, by the way, a very big fan of the “communal” tables in restaurants. Perfect if you are dinning alone to meet people, and more convivial than a counter.

We started right away with the Totopos con chile, spicy tortilla chips, sprinkled with cotija cheese, served light sauce made of crema and lime.

Then, shared the Quesadilla azul de hongos y Huitlacoche. This wonderful blue corn tortilla was filled with oyster mushroom and Huitlacoche (the “corn truffle”, and cheese. It was delicious!

We Followed with the Gordita de picadillo, the Tostada de tinga.

We finished by the Birria de chivo - goat stew. It was so good, I will go over and over to Nopalitos just for this dish. Unusual sauce made with with roasted tomato, spices and chocolate, giving the recipe the extra complexity without over-doing it. That dish got almost licked clean.

I applaud the Chef Jossel that brought an original but still traditional menu to Nopalito. The service was great and to me this is marked down as a great place to go in my neighborhood!

Summary: Nopalito not only will impress you with very interesting and delicious food, a great service but also for very affordable prices. Bill for 2: $53.71 (this was a lot of food, drinks included) I would highly recommend Nopalito, if you are in the neighborhood or not.