Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Azul 17: The Soft Open Has Begun

Azul 17 Mexican Cuisine & Tequila Lounge has opened quietly -- starting with dinner and working towards an October 8 grand opening.

Dzoey ate at the Snowden River Parkway restaurant on Sunday night and says they were serving appetizers, salads and small plates. This week, they're adding main dishes. Next week, they'll add lunch. I had been piecing together the story, but Dzoey has a full report that I slightly edited:
I liked the decor which gives the place a nightclub feel. Not sure if it will go over well in family oriented Columbia, but on the other hand, there's probably pent up demand for a place like this. They are happy to see families as well, and treated my kids nicely, but if I were in my 20's, I'd feel comfortable coming here.

The food was good. Real Mexican, not Tex-Mex, though they say they'll have some Tex-Mex on the menu for people's comfort zones.

The tacos are excellent, just like Lilly's [Mexican] Market (mother-in-law of the owner) or one of the US 1 taco trucks. I tried the sopas de tortilla, expecting a chicken-soup type dish. Instead I got an intensely flavored tomato based soup with chicken in it. It was delicious and surprising. We also tried the crab empenadas which I liked but the kids didn't.

They have two salsas, one mild but very flavorful and the other one spicy with decent flavor and a nice long tail.

Definitely worth checking out. We'll go back when more of the menu is available.

3 comments:

  1. Super excited about checking out this place. I'm a young 20-something that lives in HoCo and totally agree with the pent up demand for a nightclubby place that is more local than Baltimore or DC that is NOT Nottingham's or the Greene Turtle. Yay! Thanks for the report!

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  2. I was at the mall last night, and they had posted flyers on everyone's car in the lot. I really wanted to visit the restaurant, but I don't appreciate the litter they likely contributed to the parking lot last night. Very disappointing.

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  3. "Not sure if it will go over well in family oriented Columbia, but on the other hand, there's probably pent up demand for a place like this." You just said a mouthful! Pent up demand for sure! Seems like whenever a cool place comes in to Columbia, i.e. Cosi, it turns instantly suburban, and all the cool just drains right out of it. But not Azul 17. How refreshing.

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I love comments -- especially comments that specifically recommend dishes or items to buy. Tell people what you like and why. If you can, please don't leave it as "anonymous." Just choose "name/URL" below, type in a nickname and leave the URL part blank. I like following people's comments even if I don't know your name.