Sazon: Interior Mexican

I used to go to Sazón (1816 South Lamar) with relative frequency, as it's not too far from my house and I've always enjoyed their interior Mexican cuisine. But it had been about 2 years (or more?) since I had been -- shame on me! Their on site parking got a little tougher in recent times, and apparently that has stymied me from dining there along with the onslaught of traffic on South Lamar. But Sazón is still standing in the face of over-development along this corridor.

Around 1:15 pm on a recent weekday, I met a friend for lunch, and I had my pick of parking spots, not to mention tables inside. (I hope we were just fortunate to miss the lunch rush, and not they're not hurting for business.) There were only two other tables with patrons, and I was promptly greeted by the waitress/hostess, and settled in at a lovely painted tiled table to wait for my friend who arrived just a few minutes later. The chips were tasty and they brought two little bowls of salsa, one for each of us.

I ordered the Ensalada Mexicana, which clearly was made fresh. The spinach looked like it just came out of the bag, and had almonds, tortilla strips, ancho chile, and a nice vinaigrette that I remember liking, but now I can't remember what the flavor profile was.

And I got the tacos al pastor, because the sweet and savory pork is always a favorite! These are fairly small, but they were perfect to go with the salad, and these also tasted good and fresh. Crispy bits of pork with little bits of pineapple on a corn tortilla.

I also ordered a Crema de Elote (creamy corn chowder) to take home for dinner with half of the salad. My friend also ordered a salad and a bowl of the caldo, their version of chicken and rice soup. I didn't try it, but she said it was great. The crema de elote was creamy, sweet, and not overly rich.

In the past, I have been very pleased with their mole negra de Oaxaca and the cochinita pibil, both traditional interior Mexican dishes. Sazón is also one of the few places I know locally that serves huitlacoche (corn smut... yes, smut -- look it up!), which they put in empanadas. They do have enchiladas, but these are not your greasy Tex-Mex type.

So if you're looking for good interior food, and can grab a parking spot, stop by for breakfast, lunch or dinner! I've actually never been there for breakfast, so I'll have to check that out. I also remember their margarita at happy hour being decent. I've linked to their Facebook page, but normally they have a website at www.sazonaustin.com which shows their menu, but the page is currently not functioning. Their Yelp page does have a link to their menu though. Sazón has nice atmosphere, including a outdoor patio on the Lamar side; the food is not fussy or trendy, just good and fresh as it should be.

Polvo's

Just before New Year's, I met a group of friends at Polvos, a place haven't been in probably 7 or 8 years, even though I live nearby. The South First Street Mexican food joint (and member of the "Mexican Mile") is well-known for it's relatively cheap but potent margaritas, but I've never known the food to be their stronger suit. Would I be proved wrong?

Fortunately, we had a reservation, because on a Saturday night, the place was packed. We were seated at an eight-foot plastic folding table with plastic folding chairs to match, and there was hardly any space to maneuver around the room. Being a colder night, there was a lot spill-over inside of folks waiting for tables, which certainly contributed to the noise levels. I arrived a few minutes late, and the margaritas, chips and salsas were already flowing when I sat down.

"Old time" Austinites may recall that the location that Polvo's took over used to be a restaurant called Seis Salsas, which had a salsa bar in the middle of the floor for customers to help themselves. Polvos has continued that tradition, with a number of salsas available. I didn't go up to the bar myself, so I am not certain on the exact names of what was at our table. On the left, is the roja, which I liked. Good bright flavor. The contrast, on the right, was a salsa that tasted very burned and overly roasted to me; looking online at their list of salsas, this may be the ahumada, or smoked, salsa. Others at our table liked this particular one, but it didn't do anything for my taste buds. Here you can see the festive lights and the salsa bar, though I have a feeling these lights may be up year-round.

One hungry eater got the Goliath Burrito; unfortunately from the picture, you can't really tell the size of this thing, but it was huge! A good 10+ inches long, and well-stuffed with your choice of meats.

The Guacamole Salad comes looking beautiful, nice chopped pieces of avocado, tomatoes, onion, cilantro. You can either eat it as is, or mash it up and make your own guac. Unfortunately, the kitchen threw a handful of salt in it, and it was practically inedible, and the person who ordered it is a salt fiend, so if she says it's too salty, it's too salty. The waiter was very apologetic, and handled the situation well; overall, given the crowds I thought he did a good job. Not his first time at the rodeo.

 

 The Camarones Diablo are shrimp in a tequila and chipotle sauce, which was rather spicy.

I ordered the Combo Plate, and my selections were a chicken enchilada with mole sauce (on the left) and an al pastor soft taco. Overall, it was good, but nothing to write home about. The mole sauce had decent flavor but no depth...honestly, I have made more satisfying mole sauces, and yes, they take time and a lot of ingredients. This one was a bit sweet and it had the cocoa undertones, but I couldn't really get any other flavors -- no raisins, or nuts, or even much of a lasting chile flavor. Now the al pastor was a bit better. The pork was nice and tender, juicy; at first I didn't see any pineapple pieces, but then I realized there were some in there. That's what I love about al pastor -- the savoriness of the meat combined with the sweet twang from the charred pineapple. The beans and rice were your average Mexican establishment fare.

So do I feel that I was proved wrong about Polvo's food? No. It honestly doesn't cut it for me. If I am going to have interior Mexican in this part of town, I am going to pick Habanero on Oltorf, just east of South First, or Sazon on South Lamar, just north of the light at Hether/Mary Streets, or Borrego de Oro (no website) on South Congress, just before Ben White/290. Life's too short to eat sub-par food!

El Meson

The second location of El Meson opened last fall, and while it's not that far from my house, last week was my first time going. I was really struck by the interior of the building, with beautiful tile work on the floors and even in the bathroom! Unfortunately, I think because of the tile, noise bounces all around, and it was fairly loud for a little bit. But we were also surrounded by two tables with young children, but good thing they left not too long after our arrival.

My friend was there when I arrived, and also at the table was a fresh melon "ceviche" that was very tasty. Nice amuse bouche palate cleanser, with melon and cucumber diced very finely.

For entrees, I had the chicken with mole rojo, and my friend the chicken enchiladas with verde sauce. Mole is often the standard dish I get at interior Mexican restaurants. I love the complexity of flavors it brings, and having made it before, I appreciate the work that goes into it. Our waiter said it's 22 ingredients, and continued to say that it tastes the same -- consistent -- every day. It was a good mole, I will certainly agree. However it lacked the depth and aforementioned complexity of a great mole sauce (or even my own mole sauce...). So thumbs up, particularly if you're not too familiar with moles. The verde sauce on the enchiladas had the requisite tomatillo tartness to it. Their sides of rice and beans didn't really excite me, not a ton of flavor in either. They actually aren't pinto beans; the waiter said they are a close cousin, but I can't remember the name.

 For dessert, we split a piece of tres leches cake, which was quite good. Not overly sweet.  

The biggest complaint I have heard about the South Lamar location is their pricing; apparently it is higher that at the original Burleson Road spot (I haven't been there either). From their incomplete website, I think Burleson serves breakfast and lunch, whereas South Lamar is lunch and dinner, which may account for some of the price differences. I wish their website would post the menu for the SoLa location. Would I go back? Yes. But given the choice between El Meson and their neighbor one block north, Sazon, I would pick Sazon.

Sazon

I had dinner at the interior Mexican spot Sazon last Friday night, and admittedly, I should have written this post when the food descriptions were a little fresher in my mind. I arrived just after 8pm to meet a friend. There was a guitarist playing music near the front door. As it was a Friday night, it was packed. And loud. And the musician. Great.

There's no formal host(ess) stand, so patrons just kind of wait inside the door. There didn't seem to be one person in charge of hosting, because at least three of the waitstaff came by and said there was seating available on the front patio, but as it was colder out, I said I'd like to wait for an indoor table. Other people came in, most of whom did go out to the patio which apparently has space heaters. Again, there's no one in charge of the seating, so to someone who does not frequent Sazon, it seemed completely disorganized. I had probably only been there 5 minutes (though it seemed much longer) when my friend arrived. We waited probably another 5 - 10, before getting seated, though the man who was clearing the table went first to a group that came in after us. (They politely said we had been there first, though I would have politely told the man that we had been there first if they had not... again, no one in charge...)

The physical space inside is not huge, and there is a bar that takes up about a quarter of the interior space along the back wall. There were maybe 15 - 18 four-top tables; didn't go out on the patio, so not sure how big it is out there. There's papel picado and sombreros lining the walls, and I think a neon beer sign on or near the bar. Casual atmosphere, appropriate decorations. The food is decidedly interior (as in authentic) Mexican, as opposed to Tex Mex. Looking on the back of their menu, they actually have a mission statement and a bit about their food, something that you usually don't see, and I find a nice & educational touch.

Turned out my friend had eaten a huge late lunch, and wasn't hungry. I had an early lunch and was starving. Chips (tasty, not greasy) & salsa (basic red, fresh, but otherwise fairly non-descript) arrived as we sipped on Mexican beers. I ordered one of their house specialties, the Cochinita Pibil, which is pork mixed with achiote and spices, and baked in banana leaves; it was served with grilled red onions, rice, black beans, and what they refer to as plantain chips. When the waiter asked what kind of tortillas (flour or corn) I wanted, I asked his preference, and he quickly responded that they make their corn tortillas there. If you can tell from my (ooops!) blurry picture, it's an attractive looking plate. There's no real complaints about it, but I think the pork was lacking in major flavor. Their plantain chips were thicker cut (half-inch in diameter) than what I would consider a normal "chip" in terms of bagged potato or even plantain chips, and to me it wasn't mashed and fried enough, at least how I like them! The tortillas were made with white corn, and were extremely tender, almost like flour tortillas. No real problems with the dish, but I am not sure that I would order it again.

I've been to Sazon maybe 2 or 3 other times, and I've always enjoyed it. I was glad to see they were packed on a Friday night in January (though it made parking more difficult), and hope that they will survive a slow economic period, though there were no indications that anyone in there was concerned about the local economy. It's a place I would gladly go back to, and explore other regional dishes. (And if you look at the contacts page on their website, you can see a much more focused picture of the cochinita pibil.)