Sala - Sabor de Mexico

This past Saturday evening, the Mister and I hit up Sala, an upscale Mexican restaurant just down the street from us in Virginia-Highland. If you remember about a month back, I posted about a restaurant who came to our station and brought various yummies for us to sample. Based on what I'd tried at the station (orange margarita, great guac, pork taco), I was anxious to peruse the menu in its entirety and see the restaurant space itself. Being that it was such a beautiful night, we wanted a table on the patio... but no such luck as we walked in without a res. We took a seat at the bar and ordered an app. Love the bar stools by the way - they are made of solid wood (oak maybe?) and they are nice and heavy and stable. Looks-wise they were just ok, but they got an A+ on functionality. We ordered the Sopes de Frijoles for our appetizer, which looked particularly, um, appetizing because I had just read this blog entry on the central Mexican specialty. Just what the doctor ordered! Our sopes arrived beautifully plated. The creaminess of the refried beans and the sweet flavor of the masa complemented my cocktail perfectly. Speaking of cocktails: when you go, you must try the Relampago Latino. It is their house infusion of Sauza Blanco tequila and pineapple. Que bueno, no? I am a pineapple fiend, so I was delighted to see this cocktail on their menu. It was a welcome change from your standard margarita, so I ended up having dos. The pictures on Sala's website do not do her dining room justice. The atmosphere at the eatery was sooo comforting. The lighting was soft and warm, and the dark wood tables and one red wall made me feel like I was putting on my coziest fall sweater. Not what you might expect for a Mexican restaurant, but the environment and decor was just so inviting. I was happy we ended up with a table inside the restaurant for that very reason. For dinner, Mr. Soup ordered the Tacos Pollos, which came with a delicious poblano mole. My man enjoys a quality mole, and can usually be counted on to order anything on the menu accompanied by said sauce. The hint of Mexican chocolate in the mole made the tacos simply divine. However, I have to say that my Tacos Bistec trumped the chicken. Tender grilled carne asada topped with a guajillo-avocado salsa and a bit of fresh cheese and crunchy cabbage.... my mouth waters with the afterthought. The tacos at Sala are small - they come on 4" tortillas, three to an order. It doesn't sound like a lot of food, but along with the scrumptious refries and rice that came with our orders, it was the perfect amount of food. And now I will end this post with the obligatory OLE! (clap clap!)