Ox and Angela - Spanish Tapas
Ox and Angela, a relatively new Spanish-style tapas restaurant and lounge (it opened in 2011), has repeatedly popped up in my Open Table searches and I finally was able to experience the establishment. Chosen as the place for dinner before our evening out at the Jubilee, Bryan and I arrived quite early, avoiding dinner crowds and taking advantage of the empty outdoor seating area. Like most restaurants along 17th Avenue, Ox and Angela overlook this busy corridor but don't have a lot of space to offer their patrons. There are two small patios, each capable of holding roughly 10 people. On such a beautiful evening, it was great to sit outside and people watch while we ate our meal.
Tapas are not new to us, but we sometimes have difficulty deciding on how many plates to order and on which ones we both might like. (I'm finding that bacon or ham products are becoming more prominent in many dishes, which is disappointing.) So, to make things easier for both Bryan and I, we chose the "Spanish Table", which offered a few items from the regular menu. The price is $45 per person and the menu contains 10 items varying from 'pinchos' to 'tapas'. For the two of us, this was more than enough food to tide us over for the evening!
Our waiter, who was amazing and attentive, keeping our water glasses topped up and ensuring we always had something to eat or drink, brought out 3-4 plates at a time, but began by offering us a small dish of olives with a lovely chili sauce. I normally hate olives but even I could enjoy the green ones quite a lot! I could still taste 'olive' strongly in the white and black ones, though.
Out first were the Persian style dates, covered with a yummy walnut and pomegranate syrup. My favorite! I could have just eaten these all night. Included in this course were the Croquettas (salt cod & potato fritters), Jamon Serrano (cured ham), and Pan Con Tomate (basically a bruschetta-like dish). It was suggested that the pan con tomate was tasty if dipped in the aioli from the fritters dish - definitely a great combination! The Pan Con Tomate was wonderful, while the fritters were alright (the aioli was great, though). Bryan enjoyed the ham.
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Course number 2 consisted of the seared albacore tuna, tomato salad, and stuffed pepper. Of these 3, the stuffed pepper was amazing - stuffed with goat feta, serrano ham, and olive oil, it was so good (despite the ham)! I enjoyed the salad a lot, too.
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Finally, we were presented with the Hanger Steak (which, honestly, kind of disturbed me as our waiter noted it came from the dewlap of the cow...gross!), Patatas Brava, and Kale Salad. I tried one small piece of the steak, even though I wasn't feeling good about it - okay, so the meat was very tender and cooked wonderfully, but still...I let Bryan finish off that dish! Kale salads are kale salads, in my opinion; it's tough to make kale super tasty, but it was still a good salad. However, Bryan and I couldn't get over how scrumptious the Patatas Brava were - crispy fried potatoes with a pimenton ketchup and garlic aioli. I'd order that dish again, too, along with the dates!
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Overall, Ox and Angela was very enjoyable. Our waiter was fantastic, and judging from the other staff members, it seemed like everyone was is great spirits and happy to be serving customers their food, along with providing opinions and suggestions. That is something that I do really appreciate. The food was good, but aside from a couple of dishes, not outstanding. I think tapas restaurants are fun, though, so it would be an establishment I could return to one day.
Tapas are not new to us, but we sometimes have difficulty deciding on how many plates to order and on which ones we both might like. (I'm finding that bacon or ham products are becoming more prominent in many dishes, which is disappointing.) So, to make things easier for both Bryan and I, we chose the "Spanish Table", which offered a few items from the regular menu. The price is $45 per person and the menu contains 10 items varying from 'pinchos' to 'tapas'. For the two of us, this was more than enough food to tide us over for the evening!
Our waiter, who was amazing and attentive, keeping our water glasses topped up and ensuring we always had something to eat or drink, brought out 3-4 plates at a time, but began by offering us a small dish of olives with a lovely chili sauce. I normally hate olives but even I could enjoy the green ones quite a lot! I could still taste 'olive' strongly in the white and black ones, though.
Out first were the Persian style dates, covered with a yummy walnut and pomegranate syrup. My favorite! I could have just eaten these all night. Included in this course were the Croquettas (salt cod & potato fritters), Jamon Serrano (cured ham), and Pan Con Tomate (basically a bruschetta-like dish). It was suggested that the pan con tomate was tasty if dipped in the aioli from the fritters dish - definitely a great combination! The Pan Con Tomate was wonderful, while the fritters were alright (the aioli was great, though). Bryan enjoyed the ham.
Course number 2 consisted of the seared albacore tuna, tomato salad, and stuffed pepper. Of these 3, the stuffed pepper was amazing - stuffed with goat feta, serrano ham, and olive oil, it was so good (despite the ham)! I enjoyed the salad a lot, too.
Finally, we were presented with the Hanger Steak (which, honestly, kind of disturbed me as our waiter noted it came from the dewlap of the cow...gross!), Patatas Brava, and Kale Salad. I tried one small piece of the steak, even though I wasn't feeling good about it - okay, so the meat was very tender and cooked wonderfully, but still...I let Bryan finish off that dish! Kale salads are kale salads, in my opinion; it's tough to make kale super tasty, but it was still a good salad. However, Bryan and I couldn't get over how scrumptious the Patatas Brava were - crispy fried potatoes with a pimenton ketchup and garlic aioli. I'd order that dish again, too, along with the dates!
Overall, Ox and Angela was very enjoyable. Our waiter was fantastic, and judging from the other staff members, it seemed like everyone was is great spirits and happy to be serving customers their food, along with providing opinions and suggestions. That is something that I do really appreciate. The food was good, but aside from a couple of dishes, not outstanding. I think tapas restaurants are fun, though, so it would be an establishment I could return to one day.
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