A Look At Ensenada, MiMo’s Coastal Mexican Sensation, In Six Dishes

Tostada le de Vieira

The tostadas use Ensenada’s house-made tortillas as their base, the product of intensive masa sourcing, and a little help from a local taco favorite.

“My good friend Eduardo (Lara) from the Wolf of Tacos, he connected me with this guy who’s making masa out of organic corn,” Herrera says. “He’s just making pure mixta tamal, cooking the corn in limestone and then grinding it.”

The masa’s heartiness is obvious on your first bite into the tostadas, stacked high with creamy and spicy flavors that could easily overpower a lesser tortilla. The la de atun tostada layers guacamole and salsa macha, a cool combination that counters the crunch nicely. The tuna on top is a protein-packed finisher, but the fish flavor offers texture and while blending in seamlessly flavor-wise.

The other tostada offering is the la de Vieira topped with scallops, labneh, jicama, apple, and salsa seca. And while the atun is a worthy starter, this tostada might well be the dish you keep coming back for. The scallops bring a savory, meaty overtone complemented with the sweetness of the apples and jicama. The labneh lays a tangy, creamy blanket over the entire bite, making these tostadas a texture-lover’s dream.

Ceviche Tradicional Pescado

Ensenada’s cilantro-forward take on ceviche could easily be something you’d find in a Peruvian or Nikkei restaurant, and brings a little international variety to the menu.

Unlike some ceviches, this one doesn’t feel overwhelmed by citrus, and you’ll notice more flavor from the onions and cilantro than you will from the lime-based sauce. It makes for a nice, bright interlude between the corn-heavy starters and tostadas, and the savory mains.

Chips, Guacamole, and Salsa

Ensenada’s presentation of this south-of-the-border-staple immediately announces that this restaurant does things a little differently. Rather than the traditional bowl of spicy red sauce, Herrera presents five different salsas with small spoons for sampling.

The green tomatillo tastes like it grew on a vine in a backyard garden, the fresh flavors of cilantro, tomato, and onion bringing a refreshing first bite. Around the plate, the salsa verde and salsa macha are similarly flavorful, finishing with the red tomatillo and its habanero kick. Mix it with the green tomatillo on your chip for an unexpected blend of cool and heat.

The guacamole leans cilantro heavy, but keeps it simple with a smooth, creamy texture. A pool of green oil sits in the center, best when mixed with the rest of the guac to kick the flavors up a notch. Chips are cut from Ensenada’s house-made tortillas, and bring a solid crunchiness to the first-course experience. The chip portions are small, so load each one up with salsa and guac, and save room for the rest of the meal.

Aguachile Negro

If you’re into spicy flavors, Ensenada’s aguachiles are a must, the one place on the menu where Herrera allows himself to go all-in on chiles if someone wants to play their own personal game of “Hot Ones.” The aguachiles offer four different bases – camarones, white fish, a mix of both, and cucumber as a non-meat option, with three unique sauces categorized by spice.

“The aguachiles, we have three different levels of spice, and the black one is my favorite,’ says Herrera. “But we’ve got something for every taste.”

Despite boasting three chile peppers (the hottest level on the menu), the aguachile negro won’t overpower someone who’s used to spicy food. It hits first with a blast of coastal citrus, giving way to an electric jolt of habanero that leaves your mouth tingling, not burning. It’s spicy, but still chilled out, much like the coastal areas of Mexico which inspired the dish. The cucumber, radish, and avocado similarly serve to mellow out the habanero, and you won’t find yourself reaching for much more than a sip of water to cool your mouth off.

Pork Carnitas

If you’re new to Miami and your Spanish hasn’t caught up yet, “para compartir” means “to share.” And that’s precisely how the entrees at Ensenada are meant to be enjoyed.

“We only have four entrees on the menu, and the idea is to share them,” says Herrera. “It’s big dishes, and we want you to make your own tortilla.”

The large plates personify the brand of familiar-but-different that made Ensenada stand out in New York. The carne asada – a new dish for the Miami location – is made from Denver steak, a cut not typically used in traditional preparations. The skate wing tempura is a dish rarely seen on menus in South Florida – or anywhere.

The must-order, though, are the pork carnitas, served in a brick of pulled pork that gives each bite a hint of crispy, savory crust like one might find on a strip of bacon.

“We confit it overnight, then press them and serve them to order,” Herrera explains. “Then it comes with a little pico de gallo, a little fermented cabbage, a little daikon radish marinated in chili powder. We actually had to take it off the menu in New York because we couldn’t keep up with demand. We didn’t have space to cook it overnight and do it right, so we brought it down here.”

Concha Ice Cream Sandwich

Like its predecessor in New York, Ensenada is still very much a small-time operation – not quite a “mom and pop”, perhaps, but close. Look no further than the dessert menu to see how Ensenada is a family affair; it’s the creation of Herrera’s girlfriend Raven Walker, an accomplished pastry chef in her own right.

The menu teems with intriguing ice cream creations,  thanks in part to the large ice cream machine the team found when first inspecting the Vagabond space.

“I found this crazy $12,000 ice cream machine, one of those carnival ones,” Herrera says excitedly. “And [Walker] runs a very small, very well-curated ice cream project in New York called Pachamama Helados where she does very rare flavors. So, I knew we’d have to bring it for her to do an ice cream program.”

You’ll find some of Walker’s unorthodox flavors on the sorbet menu, like heirloom tomato and guava, and celery and cardamom. Her initial ice cream creation is inside the Concha Ice Cream Sandwich, where two shell-shaped pastries are filled with a caramel and burnt agave ice cream. Like the entrees, this dessert is meant to be shared, and you’ll definitely want to use a fork and knife rather than trying to bite into it whole. It ends the meal with the same spirit of innovation and international influence that runs through the main courses, and will have you leaving Ensenada anticipating your next trip back.

Ensenada is taking reservations now.