Starring the Chocolate Cake

One of our international staff this summer has roots in Oaxaca, a state in Mexico famous for its chocolate and its chocolate mole (mole negro). Being the chocolate aficionado I am, I needed to check out this cuisine and found Oaxacan Kitchen, a beautiful little “bistro-style” cafe off the main drag in Palo Alto. While the menu offers a wonderful variety of vegetarian and vegan options for vegan-me (I had the excellent Ensalada Mixta and Negro Mole on the side to sample), it was all about the dessert – the Oaxacan Kitchen’s Chocolate Experience.

A flourless chocolate cake, Oaxacan drinking chocolate infused with cinnamon, and chocolate ice cream were beautifully served on a plate as a complementary trio dessert. The cake was to die for excellent with a rich and dense dark chocolate flavor and texture which paired well with the subtle sweetness and smoothness in the ice cream (which I sampled as chocolate is my vegan exception). Though the bites of ice cream I had with the cake and sampled alone were good, others thought the ice cream excellent. I gave them the rest as I savored every bite of the cake, along with the drinking chocolate. The cinnamon accents of the drinking chocolate complemented exquisitely the bittersweeet depth of the cake. While the drinking chocolate was creamy, it was a bit too subtle in its milky chocolate flavor for my tastes. It was best enjoyed with the cake.

Overall assessment: 4.5 cacao beans (out of 5)
The chocolate cake stars with a wonderful supporting cast, making the Oaxacan Chocolate Experience a true winner in my chocolate review book.

(Review date: 2009_08)