experiment #70 - Cobaya Olla with Chef Scott Linquist

After a month's hiatus, we're back. Experiment #70 brought us to Olla, Chef Scott Linquist's restaurant on the west end of Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, a Mexican restaurant that's both traditional and contemporary in its ways. We brought fifty guinea pigs to take over the place, and Chef Linquist brought fifteen dishes that highlighted the varied flavors of Mexican cuisine.

You can see all the pictures in this Cobaya Olla with Scott Linquist flickr set, and stay tuned for recaps coming soon. Here's his menu from last night:

A Mexican Romance with Cobaya

A menu journey through the multifaceted culinary landscape of Mexico

Bocadillos

Snacks - served with cocktails and mezcal

Guacamole

warm chips with four salsas: pasilla Oaxaca and roasted pineapple, charred tomatillo habañero, salsa fresca, and salsa verde

Chicharron

freshly fried pork skins, salsa borracha, roasted garlic aioli, cotija, cilantro

Chapulines

Oaxacan toasted grasshoppers, golden raisins, marcona almonds, Mexican chocolate dust

Verdure

jicama, cucumber, pineapple, watermelon radish, tajin

Welcome Cocktail

Oaxacan Burro - Alipus "San Juan" single village mezcal, ginger epazote shrub, ginger beer, lime

Mezcal Tasting

Espadin Agave - Alipus "San Juan," "Santa Ana Del Rio," "San Luis" compliments of XXI Wine and Spirits

Picpoul, Bonny Doon Beeswax Vineyard, Arroyo Seco, California 2015

La Mar

Kumamoto

oysters on the half shell, sea urchin, tomatillo cucumber serrano mignonette, lemon olive oil

Ahumado

house smoked salmon and 3 eggs – Siberian Osetra caviar, smoked trout roe, chicken eggs – Mexican crema, poblano salsita, bolillo bread

Navajas

razor clams, cured chorizo, toasted garlic, chile morita, roasted tomatillo, shrimp head aioli

Chardonnay, Gerard Tremblay, Chablis, France 2015

Pato y Patas

Pato

fresh nixtamal sope, duck three ways – cured and seared breast, carnitas leg, foie mousse – mole coloradito, pasilla Oaxaca and kumquat marmelada

Patas

menudo, rich broth made from 3 different patas (feet), tripe, hominy, guajillo chile, Mexican oregano, sunny side egg

Brut Rose, Antoine Muller Methode Traditionelle, Alsace, France NV

Cochinita, Carnitas y Cachete

Cochinita Pibil

pork shoulder slow roasted in banana leaf with achiote and habañero pickled onions

Carnitas

Michoacan style confit of pork leg and shank, salsa verde, pickled jalapeños and vegetables

Cachete

slow cooked Niman Ranch pork cheek, pork belly, charro beans, roasted tomato salsita, chipotle

Garnacha/Cariñena, Buil & Giné, Giné Giné, Priorat, Spain 2014

Oaxaca

Barbacoa

slow roasted Colorado lamb shoulder, recado de pasilla, roasted jalapeño mint salsita, salsa borracha, roasted cauliflower with pumpkin seeds and poblano crema

Chichilo

slow roasted long bone angus short ribs, Oaxacn mole chichilo, piloncillo roasted butternut squash, crispy Brussels sprouts

Malbec, Fabre Montmayou, Gran Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina 2012

Dulce de Leche

Cajeta Flan

goats milk dulce de leche custard, muddled raspberries, smoked Maldon sea salt, whipped cream

Weber Blue Agave, ArteNom, Seleccion de 1146 Añejo, Highlands, Jalisco, Mexico

A big thank you to Chef Linquist for putting together a great dinner, to all of his team at Olla for helping to make it happen, to XXI Wine and Spirits for the delicious and educational mezcal samplings, and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs whose interest and support makes these events possible.