El Quetzal

Let's start on a brief linguistic note since "quetzal" is not exactly a word one hears everyday. The quetzal was the most sacred symbol of the Mayas, whose civilization once spanned from present-day southern Mexico to the northern Central American region, including what is now Guatemala and Belize, and parts of El Salvador and and Honduras. To the Maya, the quetzal symbolized both freedom and wealth. Cool, huh?

We first visited the restaurant El Quetzal in 2006, not long after it moved into the neighborhood. I remember being relatively unimpressed by it's humble exterior with really only a painted window and a sandwich board on the sidewalk to mark its existence. A friend who worked in the Sodo district highly recommended the restaurant and it was within walking distance of our Beacon Hill home so we gave it a shot. The food was okay and the offerings limited so nearly a year went by before we tried it again.

In 2007, we decided to go to El Quetzal again. The place was still there a year after opening and Mexican is one of the few cuisines that E and I could eat just about all the time. Well, thank goodness we went back because the kinks had been worked out and the food was not only awesome but cheap. It had been a long time since I was last in Mexico, and in truth, I was in college and just a wee bit inebriated (read: my friends carried me across the border), but everything at El Quetzal tasted so authentic. We made it one of our regular haunts and ordered from them at least once week for some time.

Well, success is often a mixed bag for the consumer, especially where restaurants are concerned. While we celebrated the fact that the restaurant was often quite occupied and thus felt good about its continued presence, we did note with some alarm that the prices slowly but surely crept up. When the quality seemed to drop in relation to their near downtown equivalent prices, however, we finally decided that it was time to take a break. Now, this was more of a Rachel rather than a Ross kind of break as we always thought that we'd get back together again after the offending member of the pair sorted through its issues. The break lasted a lot longer than we both probably imagined that it would, but ultimately, the world did right itself.

We stayed away for well over a year and only tried them again by accident. We were actually trying to nosh at a nearby restaurant but got discouraged by their projected wait of over an hour. Not being folks who wait that long for much, we thought we'd give El Quetzal another shot. We are so glad that we did. The restaurant was completely remodeled and expanded, and now served alcohol. The space had morphed from claustrophobic to airy, and holy moly, their sangria was the best I've ever had at a restaurant. I ordered enchiladas that were so spicy that the back of my head was sweating profusely in the most lovely fashion, and man, was it good. E had fish tacos which, she too, thought were the best that she had ever had. El Quetzal, we're going to just forget about our time apart, during which you probably became too close with the copy shop girl next door. We look forward to the next chapter of our relationship.