![\"RestaurantInfo\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/RestaurantInfo.jpg\")
<\/a>As of last week, however, I added El Agave Restaurant and Tequileria to the list. Located above a liquor store at the south end of San Diego Avenue\u2019s main commercial drag, the restaurant\u2019s cozy, enticing ambience goes easily undetected, as does its penchant for fine tequilas and opulent mole sauces.<\/p>\nAt the top of the stairs is an intimate pub-like bar as well as the first of many wooden shelving units crammed with tequilas. The collection infiltrates the entire restaurant in a sparkling exhibit showing off bottles of every shape, size and color.<\/p>\n The ownership claims to house more than 2,000 brands, a believable declaration despite that only a couple hundred of them are listed on the menu. Still, the choices are dizzying as they encompass tequila\u2019s three main categories: the blancos, reposados and anejos.<\/p>\n They\u2019re served in two-ounce pours starting at $5.75 and climbing to $175 for connoisseurs bent on twice-distilled 1800 Coleccion, for example, which is touted for its soft, almond-y flavor.<\/p>\n Visiting as a twosome on a weeknight, we passed on acquiring the inevitable buzz that comes with sipping distilled agave and B-lined to the food menu instead. But next time for sure.<\/p>\n Chalupas de Langosta is a specialty dish common in the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca. It appears on the menu as an appetizer involving a pair of dense masa ovals topped with lobster pieces, artichokes, diced tomatoes and crumbled white cheese. They were hearty and delightful.<\/p>\n A similar starter that we didn\u2019t try \u2014 tlacoyos cuitlacoche \u2014 uses blue masa to showcase a filling of black beans, corn fungus and queso fresco. In either case, neither dish typifies San Diego-style Mexican food, which is partly why people come here.<\/p>\n Another appetizer of mini quesadillas (served four to an order) were deliciously novel, thanks to nutty-tasting manchego cheese, roasted poblano peppers, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms and wisps of shredded chicken folded inside. Chipotle cr\u00e8me fraiche on top added extra zip.<\/p>\n From two types of ceviche available, we ordered the \u201cdel mar\u201d version capturing generous chunks of shrimp and octopus bathed in a nicely chilled medley of tomatoes, baby corn, red bell peppers, olive oil and fresh lemon juice. The other, called cevichelo, is the almost-vegetarian option using Portobello mushrooms instead of fish. But it also contains tomato juice infused with clams.<\/p>\n Our next course featured a Tijuana-style Caesar, served accurately in whole-leaf form and with a tad of Worcestershire sauce in the dressing. But the single crouton in the mix left me yearning for that classic crunch.<\/p>\n My companion\u2019s ahi salad was technically a mound of beautiful tuna tartare plated alongside fresh, lightly dressed greens. Lots of citrus and cilantro emerged from the velvety tuna, making it impossible to stop eating.<\/p>\n Ten different mole dishes are grouped into a single category on the entr\u00e9e menu, which also includes sections for seafood, steaks and lamb. Mole, known sometimes as \u201cthe curry of Mexico,\u201d is an earthy, complex sauce made typically with myriad spices, nuts and hints of chocolate. Their recipes vary wildly throughout Mexico, although rarely do we see multiple versions of it on a single menu.<\/p>\n Served over chicken or pork, I gravitated initially to rosa de taxco, a pink mole that gets its rosy color from white chocolate and beets. But when our waiter informed me that it\u2019s among the sweetest, I decided to try the mole rojo instead, a spicier recipe highlighting guajillo peppers, garlic and bananas and sans any chocolate.<\/p>\n The flavor combination was astounding \u2014 deep, rich and zesty enough to turn a boneless, skinless chicken breast into a memorable event.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>