El Coyote gives the Britton District flavors to howl about
Dave CatheyChef Jonathon Stranger's latest contribution to the 405 diningscape, El Coyote Bar and Cantina, opens today in the Britton District.
Stranger is leaning on a cache of culinary talent that includes Carlos Martinez, Mitchell Dunzy, and recent Oklahoma Restaurant Association Culinary Cook-Off champion Ricky George.
The New Mexican menu gets its inspiration from Stranger's family (his father is Santa Fe born and raised).
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Occupying the the western-most shotgun space at 925 W Britton Rd. on the north side of Britton Road just before the train tracks at Western Ave., it boasts a spacious parking lot and a gorgeous adobe-style patio in the back.
Inside, seating is divided between front and back, mostly on the east side of the building, with the kitchen in between. The back dining room faces the brick-backed, wood-and-tile bar, which is adorned with chile ristras. The space evokes desert-range oasis.
Chiles constitute the heart of New Mexican cuisine, roasted green and dried red, and the menu reflects it.
Red chile is found in the pork adovada, rib tips and quesadilla. I tried a pork adovada taco, which did a great job of expressing the red chile's spicy, complex promise. Looking forward to trying the adovada ribeye
Green chile is the more popular of the two and can be found on the chicken nachos, chicken verde and the green chile double cheeseburger.
Either red chile, green chile or a combination (called "Christmas") smothers the stacked enchiladas, the entree burrito, chile relleno and vegetarian stuffed sopapillas. Sampled the stacked enchiladas (topped with fried egg!), and chile relleno, and look forward to more.
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Also tried a trio of guacamole, queso and spicy salsa and a basket of savory sopapillas.
That's right, savory sopapillas. Just like La Tertulia in Tulsa, El Coyote shelves the flour tortillas and turns to sopapillas that are like miniature Indian Taco pastries you can use to sop and scoop. My buddy Michael Kimball, an Albuquerque-native, believed the savory sopapillas could be sold in his hometown today.
The chef's choice taco was duck confit. If that returns at any time, order it immediately.
We finished with a sopapilla sundae, which was exactly what it sounds like. If you wept for the loss of El Chino Toro's departure specifically for the loss of the churro bowl with salted caramel ice cream, the sopapilla sundae will take the sting out thanks to a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled in caramel and chocolate with a sprinkle of pistachio.
My party of four met for lunch, so we'll have to go back to sample the margaritas and specialty cocktails on the patio. Once accomplished, we'll have more photos and impressions to share plus an interview with the chefs behind the menu. Also anxious to try some of the brunch items like Steak Chilaquiles de Ernie.
El Coyote is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.