Nuestra Cocina

No one works harder than the Tortilla girl at Nuestra Cocina. It's a spirit of hard work in the open kitchen; The Executive Chef was toiling away at the grill station while the Sous Chef did the expediting. Tortilla Girl pressed out and hand griddled small, delicious tortillas at a blinding speed.

I wasn't counting (yet), but the Tortilla girl probably made 150 tortillas while we waited about 40 minutes on the heated patio, Margaritas in hand. It was a totally acceptable wait for 7pm on a Saturday night. The floor staff was efficient, if cool, working people through their meals at a speedy clip. I guess they flipped the entire dining room at least 3 times. We were seated at the eatin' bar, which wraps the open kitchen on two sides, quickly followed by a small ramekin of a roasted tomato salsa--the smoother, blended, cooked salsa you love when fresh tomatoes are not worth the effort--and three of those wonderful tortillas. Another round of drinks arrived, Kosher Twinkie ordered a Serrano Lemon Drop, which I think earns a guy +1 on the Kinsey scale, but the herbal, green serrano flavor made a balanced, interesting cocktail out of an otherwise normal, boring drink. I had a glass of Rioja, which was fine, but served in a glass still warm to the touch.

Tortilla girl made, by my count, 20 tortillas while we sat at the bar eating my tangy, creamy and nutty Grilled Spanish Goat Cheese in a banana leaf with Pepita Salsa and three of those fresh tortillas. My only complaint, in fact, is that they're skimpy with the tortillas. I don't blame them, of course, because Tortilla girl never slowed down, but barely kept up.

She made at least 100 while I ate Enchiladas de Calabaza, reminding me how much I love squash in spicy dishes. Quite simply, Nuestra Cocina's Molé Cascabel is a tour de force of layered chile flavors, subtle and forceful, spicy and mild.

She made about 20 before the Sous Chef noticed I had not gotten the side of black beans that comes with the Enchiladas, but no matter--I haven't had beans cooked that well in a long, long time. I watched the Kosher Twinkie devour the Beef Tips with Chayote and Onions in a Chipotle sauce. He needed, wanted, but thankfully didn't ask for a straw to suck up the leftover sauce, so I recommend ordering a side of Arroz. I could have used some too, to leave no calorie unconsumed. I drank a beer somewhere in there, and we got out for $85 or so, which includes, if you haven't been counting, 3 cocktails, 1 glass pour and 1 micro-beer, then the food. including tip.

MSG said something similar, but there is something wonderful about watching a happy kitchen at work. They were slammed, but the smiles didn't fade over the night, even from the Tortilla girl. They looked like they were having fun, and the love was in the food.

Nuestra Cocina
2135 SE Division st.,
Portland, OR. 97202
(503) 232-2135
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