For a few days that happened to coincide with Geoff's visit, my mom and I had the honor of hosting Sonam Llamo, star of
Khyentse Norbu's (my mom is a student of his) movie
Traveller's & Magicians. Sonam and her sister Phuentsho, who are from Bhutan, were in SF for a few days to appear at some of the movie screenings around the Bay Area. The movie is quite beautiful, and I believe the first feature film to be shot in Bhutan, so go check it out if it's playing near you! Anyway, here is a lunch we had with them at
Maya. Maya is a sort of fancy-ish Mexican place that I go to every once in a while. It has been pretty consistently good in the past.
guacamole - avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro - $7
quesadilla abierta de tuna - crispy flour tortilla, pan-seared tuna, jicama salad, roasted sesame chile de arbol salsa - $13.5
This place has some of the best guacamole I've tasted. You can ask to have it spicy, and they actually put a decent amount of heat in it. The chips are always hot, thick, and crunchy - always a great appetizer to share. The open-faced tuna quesadilla was less specatular. The tuna was okay - rare in the middle and tasty when combined with the salsa. I guess I enjoyed the jicama salad, which was a refreshing break from the fish. The tortilla portion was a little bit dry though, and I think the cheese may have been melted too far.
Maya has an excellent tortilla soup which I didn't get this time around, and a wonderful tampique�a steak that I also love. Actually, there are a lot of of items on the menu that I enjoy - the tuna quesadilla is probably the least exciting thing I've tried there. I also recommend you try their freshly-made juices which vary from day to day. They have a prix fixe option that is $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner which includes appetizer, entree, and dessert, and allows you to choose from a wide variety of stuff off the menu. It's a really good deal which I'd suggest taking advantage of.
guacamole - avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro - $7
quesadilla abierta de tuna - crispy flour tortilla, pan-seared tuna, jicama salad, roasted sesame chile de arbol salsa - $13.5
This place has some of the best guacamole I've tasted. You can ask to have it spicy, and they actually put a decent amount of heat in it. The chips are always hot, thick, and crunchy - always a great appetizer to share. The open-faced tuna quesadilla was less specatular. The tuna was okay - rare in the middle and tasty when combined with the salsa. I guess I enjoyed the jicama salad, which was a refreshing break from the fish. The tortilla portion was a little bit dry though, and I think the cheese may have been melted too far.
Maya has an excellent tortilla soup which I didn't get this time around, and a wonderful tampique�a steak that I also love. Actually, there are a lot of of items on the menu that I enjoy - the tuna quesadilla is probably the least exciting thing I've tried there. I also recommend you try their freshly-made juices which vary from day to day. They have a prix fixe option that is $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner which includes appetizer, entree, and dessert, and allows you to choose from a wide variety of stuff off the menu. It's a really good deal which I'd suggest taking advantage of.