SOL Y LUNA - GREAT MEXICAN FOOD

I'm going to start my first review of a place I just went to for the first time, SOL Y LUNA in Tarzana, California.  I think I may have just found my new favorite Mexican restaurant in the LA Area.  I can't believe I never have ventured into this "casa de amazingness" before tonight.

Upon arrival the place was PACKED!  We waited about 25 minutes to get seated. To me that means people must love this place.  The ambiance was just the way I like a Mexican restaurant, it was dark, with very festive decorations like guys in Sombraros painted in a mural on a wall.  It reminded me of the Mexico Pavillion in the World Showcase at EPCOT center.  To top it all off, there were two guys going table to table with their guitars playing everything from marrichi to "It's A Small World"  This music just added to the atmosphere.

Now onto the food....

They started off by bringing tortilla chips and two different kinds of salsa.  A chunky pico de gallo looking one and a more saucy one.  I started off with the saucy one which had a nice smokey taste, then I dipped a chip in the chunky one which to my surprise was the spicy one! 

I've always been a fan of restaurants where they make your salad table side.  At SOL Y LUNA they make your Guacamole tableside.  We got the guac with everything in it. It was probably some of the best guacamole I've ever had.

For dinner 3 of us split the house specialty, Molcajete Sol Y Luna.  Basically, we ordered this because we saw it on the table next to us and it looked interesting.  It wasn't only interesting, it was delicious.  It's served in the huge bowl made of black lava rock.  The  sizzling bowl is overflowing with chicken, shrimp, steak, cactus leaf (which I didn't eat), full green onions and panela cheese.  This is all topped with a red sauce that is to die for.  The coolest part is when you start to pull the tender meat out of the pile the red sauce that has been heating up below erupts out of the hole you created like a volcano.  They also bring you rice, beans and hand-made tortilla's, which I had one of, but the meat was so good on it's own, who need the extra starch and calories (there are probably enough in the main dish)  The best part was the panela cheese. I didn't eat too much of it, but the heat from the lava rock pot makes it just soft enough without turning it to liquid. Its gooey and amazing. Overall, this was such a unique dish that I've never seen anywhere before.  I don't know if I would ever order anything else (even though there was a lot of great looking choices on the menu)

So from now on when people ask me for a good Mexican Restaurant, I'm going to send them to this place. 

Here is their website in case you want to check it out...

www.solylunarestaurant.com