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| Coctél de Atún |
This new restaurant was the first foray for this family into our town. For the very short time that the restaurant was open, I tried to eat there when I could to help the restaurant survive. The son, Luis, was trying to do food that was not the usual knock-off predictable garbage Americanized watered down Mexican.
Luis and I got to know each other a bit and he would share tips about Jaliscan food with me and would always encourage me to order his off-menu specials. One blistering hot and extremely muggy day, I ordered a special called coctél at Luis' urging. I wasn't sure what to expect from a dish named cocktail.
What arrived at my table was a giant soup bowl of a spicy cold tomato soup, garnished with avocados and vegetables, and topped with several steamed shrimp. Of course! Coctél de camaron, shrimp cocktail, not a dish that I ever associated with Jalisco, but why not, with all its coastline?
What impressed me most about this dish how was delicious the tomato juice-based soup was and how refreshing it was on that blistering day. I never forgot this dish or how proud Luis was of it in all these years since.
A couple decades after this experience, I finally got around to doing my own version with #1 grade yellowfin tuna. My broth is tomato juice, clam juice, cucumber, lovage, garlic, cilantro, and chipotle. It's on the green side because I blended cilantro stems, lovage, and cucumber into the tomato juice to give it a bit more body. Vegetable garnishes are red onion, poblanos, orange peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado.
Delicious! Luis, wherever you are, thanks for the idea!
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