La Condesa

Contemporary Mexican in downtown Austin. This place is just a short walk from Google, as is Fixe, so Erin & I had a biscuit at Fixe's bar then walked down for our reservation at La Condesa. I like the interior.. open and airy with tile floors, it has a Spanish villa feel. The menu was kinda inscrutable. Even for someone like me who duolinguo certified as 18% fluent en Espanol, there was an ingredient or two in each dish that had me scratching my head. We eventually settled on a mushroom based starter called HUARACHE DE HONGOS Y HUITLACOCHE. I tried to order it by name and the server was like, 'just stop'. I wasn't even mad.

Many mushroom starter

It doesn't look like much, and there were some funky notes, but mushrooms, cheese, herbs came together for a rich, earthy flavor. The corn fritter on which it was served also has a nice crisp to the bottom. Really good.

My entree, 'bistec asada'. This was really good! I don't have a picture, but it was cooked to tender medium rare, had a nice bark, and was served sliced on a pool of bone marrow relish that had an awesome spicy kick. The radish on top was also tasty. Left me satisfied but not stuffed.

Bistec Asada

Erin's entree. This was billed as a steak taquito.. Which was a bit misleading if you think taquitos are crispy rolled things... Erin requested just the cheese and meat so that part was working-as-intended. The grilled manchego was maybe a bit rich/overpowering so we had a hard time finishing this one.

Taquito?

A good place to have in your back pocket if it's Fri or Sat afternoon and your favorite places are booked up. 3 aemon stars.