This week, we flipped a coin between either Blue Agave Mexican Cantina or Kona Grill, and ended up going to Blue Agave.
I don't think either choice would be terribly disappointing considering how much we hear about both places from the on-air personalities on KTAR-AM, but I was not only not disappointed by Blue Agave, I was even pleasantly surprised beyond my already-high expectations.
We started with the usual chips and salsa, but once we had a chance to order something, we started our meal with the Crab Chimichangas appetizer, which consisted of crab, cream cheese and spices wrapped in a flour tortilla and served over a spicy red pepper mango sauce. This was served to us sliced into six pieces which was very easy for the two of us to split, and the combination of the crab and the red pepper/mango sauce was stellar. SOOOO good.
We followed that up by ordering two entrees, thinking that after having had chips and salsa, AND the crab chimi, we'd have plenty to take home. We were right on the money on that prediction.
Songstress picked out the taco platter, which came with three different kinds of chicken tacos, each with a distinctive flavor of their own. These included one with a chipotle cream sauce, and one with plenty of cotija cheese and something that the folks at Blue Agave call Oaxaca sauce, named for one of the states of Mexico. I'm not sure what exactly is in Oaxaca sauce, but it sure was tasty. Now as you're aware, I said three kinds of tacos, so permit me to return to that. The third taco had a raspberry sauce on it that was absolutely amazing. This place sure knows how to combine sweet and spicy in some extraordinary ways (see the aforementioned red pepper mango sauce...).
What I chose was the Jalapeño Cheese Filet Mignon, and what I got was yet more culinary amazement. A tender juicy filet smothered in a spicy melted cheese sauce, served with green chile mashed potatoes and what I believe to have been more of the chipotle cream sauce that Songstress got on one of her tacos. Oh, and did I mention that there was a helping of the same crab/cream cheese mixture from the chimichanga sitting between the top of my steak and the layer of cheese? WOW. Just, WOW.
The price point is less than you'd expect from the reactions you got out of me on these dishes, and is pretty typical of the slightly-higher-than-middle-of-the-road Mexican restaurants. On the "sucks to rocks" scale, I give it a "deep-fried rocks served with a red pepper mango sauce". You owe it to yourself to check it out if you're in the Valle del Sol.
Oh, and BTW, for the uninitiated, the name "Blue Agave" refers to the plant used to make tequila. If you like margaritas, you're likely to enjoy the kooky names for what sounded like some very tasty concoctions.
Next week we have a church picnic, so I don't know if we'll grab something to-go from a new place we've not tried, but we'll let you know. :) Probably do Kona Grill on the 14th if we can...
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