Bay dining
Oxnard restaurant is easy to overlook,
By Saundra Sorenson 10/04/2007
A restaurant that sports a painting of the Virgin Mary cuddling Pope John Paul II at the entrance will generally give me pause for thought, but the overall feel of Bahia Del Mar — located at the edge of downtown Oxnard — was that of a long-established diner with a comfortable, homey atmosphere and what appears to be an exhaustive bar.
The restaurant’s name means “bay of the sea” (by my estimation — I opted for French in high school) and the color scheme and general relaxed feel makes the name stick. A frenetic bi-lingual menu with almost violently tempting images offers up classic Mexican fare, with a strong emphasis on seafood (specifically shrimp).
We started our meal by sampling from a small but complete beer menu (Modelo? Check. Pacifico? Check. Christy and I were satisfied). We tried the chips, which were a tastier corn tortilla variety than I was used to, and far less greasy. We gave the almost prohibitively spicy salsa a try (tasty, but a bit too far on the “painful” side of the kick spectrum).
The ceviche arrived, aesthetically pleasing in its presentation. The raw fish, marinated in lemon and lime, arrived with a garnish of sliced avocado and was served with chunks of onion which were edible and subdued when mixed with the citrus juices. I was especially impressed that this ceviche came with twists of bitter orange, an old convention that’s often ignored in restaurant variations of the dish.
Christy ordered the enchilada suiza, two chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. Just as Bahia del Mar managed to put out corn chips that went light on the grease, these beauties were free of unnecessary oil and had a rich taste with a light impression. Mild shades of citrus complemented the green salsa.
Jessica ordered brocheta de camarones, shrimp skewered with onion, green pepper and tomato. She was impressed by the lemon zest taste of the shrimp.
I went with the shrimp and beef fajitas, a normally startling combination that I felt justified in trying, all in the name of science and a good review. The shrimp was prepared in much the same way it was for the brocheta de camarones, and the unlikely pairing of proteins worked well together. I was even impressed with the corn tortillas, which tasted fresh and homemade.
If you’re from Southern California, you’ve probably been reared on Mexican food to the point where you’re easily disappointed but rarely impressed. This is why I recommend Bahia del Mar overall: At one point during our meal, the three of us paused to admire the refried beans. This gave me tantalizing expectations for the flan (for another day) and for the margaritas we might have ordered if it had been a different time of day.
With seafood and Mexican food, it’s easy to see how everything could go so horribly, horribly wrong. Shrimp can simply taste off, with no rhyme or reason; rice can be sub par. The weakest point of the meal was the grilled slices of beef in my fajitas; it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t tough. It just wasn’t as above average as the rest of the meal.
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