Fungi, chilies, and squash blossoms; asadero, escargots, and wine reductions. Chef Eduardo de Pria incorporates them all at his award-winning gourmet restaurant, a celebration of native Mexican ingredients and European technique. Pria's daily specials change often and might include tantalizing starters such as escargots sautéed with white wine and onions or Pria's famous cilantro soup, fragrant with herbs and spice. Grilled nopales (cactus paddle) are layered with marinated pork loin and achiote for a homey bocadillo; Florida blue-crab cakes with sweet yellow corn are napped in puebla mole and smoky chipotle sauce. For entrées, try the achiote crepes stuffed with cuitlacoche (a mushroom native to Mexico that grows on corn husks); a more traditional trio of tiny, tender, ruby-centered Colorado lamb chops is brushed with fresh cilantro-garlic oil and served with a wild mushroom-stuffed tamale and a miniature corn-husk boat of puréed black beans scattered with queso fresco. Eduardo De San Angel's service is exquisite, surpassed only by the smart wine list, intimate setting, and exceptional desserts such as a cappuccino, hazelnut, and cocoa Napoleon -- or the legendary coconut flan sponge cake.
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