On a street corner of Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, lies a valley find unlike many others. As I approached
Sol Y Luna on Saturday night, second thoughts were in order, a crowd of well to do ladies and gentlemen surfaced, even before we were inside, about 20 people deep. As we approached the hostess, we were kindly asked to wait an hour if we’d like to eat there. Inclined to see what the wait was about, Stephanie and I decided we would just hop over to the local bowling alley and have a beer, catch up about over the holiday adventures and take her outfit photos for her blog. As we waited, it was clear that we would be around for a little while, so finally after about 45 minutes, we decided to take a seat at the bar, which opened up two seats just in time for the two of us to snag them. We were greeted kindly by a very sweetly natured bartender named Jessie. You could tell it was getting to the part of the evening to wind down a bit by the time we were seated, which I appreciate because I know the middle of service in a large busy restaurant it hectic for everyone.
We ordered house margaritas, which were poured from the gun; nothing over the top, but not a bad drink for the price. I’d probably order a Cadillac next time, if I were to have margaritas there again. The bar was studded with fancy decorations, mirrors and lots of different types of tequila and draft Mexican beer. Jessie asked us if we’d like to start with guacamole as an appetizer, which we were inclined to do because it looked so good. The avocados were perfect and creamy, and the large bowl was made right aside us for us to put in whatever it was we’d like to make it mild, medium or spicy. We were also served two types of salsa: a pico de gallo, which is a more chunky tomato, onion, and cilantro sauce, as well as a smokey spicy salsa with flavors of chipotle. Both salsas were delicious, the chips were perfectly crunchy and light, not too hard or too soft for breaking in sauces or thick guacamole.
As we enjoyed our huge bowl of guacamole and chips, along with our margaritas, we perused the menu to see what our main courses would be. By this time we had decided that we’d just continue to sit at the bar. I decided I would order the salpicon tostada with shredded beef and refried beans. Stephanie had a black bean and cheese burrito. My tostadas were huge and very delicious. The refreshing, light dressing of just simple oil and vinegar and not overwhelming presence of cheese, was an important factor in the overall delightful nature of the dish. This was a refined Mexican-style dinner. Everything just seemed to fall into place and after all the food, we hardly realized we had waited so long. It was an amazing meal with a great friend, awesome service and even the mariachis came by to serenade us. A great place for good food, but I’d say to head in around 9:00 p.m. or later if you don’t want to wait, or go on an off day, but even then, I’m sure some wait maybe in order for this very desirable Mexican cuisine.
