My friend, Rose, invited me to lunch last week at Blue Agave. We had lost connection after high school and didn’t reconnect until last year. She is one of the most sincere, caring, and ambitious person I know and started a non-profit to raise money for the disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico and Mexico. Blue Agave is the venue where she wants to host her next fundraiser. I was excited by the invite because I finally found out what replaced the Bayou, and was ecstatic about trying out the new restaurant.

The restaurant has a different vibe than when it was the Bayou with the freshly painted walls, new tables and chairs, and sparkly chandeliers. Rose informed me that the upstairs was a lounge area and where the prospective fundraiser would be held. The lunch menu offers a variety of options from starters such as soups to entrees such as enchiladas and fajitas. You are also able to order off the dinner menu during lunch. We were served chips and salsa, which I was not the biggest fan of. The onions were not chopped, but sliced and looked dehydrated. It’s not the best salsa, but definitely not the worst.

It took us awhile to decide what to order because we were talking and laughing a lot. Our server was extremely patient with us. When we were ready to order, I asked for the Sopa Azteca but they were out. I was disappointed but being that it had recently opened, I understood. I went on to order the Table Side Guacamole instead and the Cali Burrito. I was happy to learn that the entrees came with rice and beans. It drives me nuts when you have to buy the sides separate when I believe the entrees should always come with rice and beans. Rose ordered the fajitas and her brother, the enchiladas.

The guacamole made its way to our table and when I took a bite, I instantly thought it needed more salt. Rose felt it needed more salt too so I grabbed a saltshaker from the nearby table. After adding salt and mixing, it made it taste better. Our food arrived and it smelled delicious. My Cali Burrito was well seasoned with the proper amount of vegetable to steak filling. I enjoyed the pico de gallo and cheese sauce that it was topped with and could swear that it was also topped with a chipotle red sauce that added the perfect zing to it. The rice and beans tasted great with the burrito that I wanted more. Rose’s brother, inhaled his enchiladas, which could only mean that they were delicious. Rose enjoyed her fajitas and almost cleaned her plate. The serving size was very generous.

The chef stopped by to see how we were doing and asked about our meals. When we mentioned the under salted guacamole, he was gracious and took it off our bill. He also made note to make it to my liking when I stopped in next. Before leaving, I jokingly told our server that I might stop by later that evening. After hot pot dinner and desserts with friends later in the day, I found out that a friend I had planned to meet up with afterwards was at Blue Agave. I arrived a few minutes after she had left and bumped into our server and the chef. I decided to stay and check out the lounge area. I loved the look of the white chairs and couches in the upstairs lounge and how warm it was inside comparatively to the single digit weather outside. I definitely will be going back for dinner and to enjoy the Latin music while lounging on a white couch.

http://blueagavemadison.com