Anise Kitchen & Market

Artichoke Fritters

Eating clean is a valuable asset in living your best life. Whether you strive to keep a healthy physique or are more concerned about caring for what's on the inside, Anise Kitchen offers an array of guilt-free vegan/vegetarian dishes (with the option of adding chicken) and is a refreshing addition to Laredo's restaurant circuit. We went out to their Del Mar location for an afternoon of good conversation, drink specials and a chance to really tackle their menu.

Starters

Artichoke Fritters (above)

The menu lists this dish as having "marinated artichokes, celery, dill, panko and remoulade sauce". It also contained olives and capers though they aren't listed. It arrived hot and the crispy crust gave a nice juxtaposition to the tender center while all the ingredients caused the fritter to have an overall tangy flavor. The dish's flavors complemented each other too well where no one ingredient stood out from the other. It was a very salty dish (as all ingredients are salty on their own) and the inside was a bit mushy. The fritter was more like a vegetarian crab cake than a fritter: a traditional fritter contains egg whites and is very crunchy, airy and light. This dish was tasty and interesting, we feel it was just misrepresented. Presentation on this was beautiful; Anise excelled at making two pieces of food look like art.

Buffalo Cauli Bites

Cauliflower coated with rice and potato flour served with an herbed greek yogurt dipping sauce, carrots and celery, buffalo sauce

This healthy alternative to buffalo wings had great flavor and a crispy outside which led them to be our favorite starter of the afternoon. Greek yogurt dipping sauce was fresh, cold and zesty: an excellent compliment to the heat of the baked vegetable. We highly recommend grabbing this appetizer.

Loaded Fries

Natural chicken, avocado, green onion, cilantro, cheddar, cashew chipotle cream

These sweet potato fries are actually baked giving none of the guilt usually associated with fried fries. The cashew chipotle cream had flavor and lent an interesting texture to the dish--our only gripe is that there could have been more of this. Fries were a little dry but that could've been avoided if there was more cream sauce and if it wasn't so thick. The chicken was tough and dry. Our server recommended this dish so we looked forward to it but were disappointed by the execution.

Mediterranean Flatbread

Spinach arugula walnut pesto, kalamata olives, pickled cucumber, feta, balsamic glaze

The flavors in this flatbread were quite strong. Feta and balsamic are often found in Greek salads and have greens to break up the flavors so in this dish the two ingredients together were overwhelming at first. Eventually the palette acclimated but this was our least favorite appetizer. It was a cold dish, maybe toasting the flatbread could have given a bit more depth and texture by bringing out the bold flavors.

Main Courses

Tacos Del Mar

Organic corn tortillas, grilled wild mahi-mahi, Brussels sprouts and carrot slaw, cashew chipotle cream

Everything about this dish was great. The tortillas were soft and thick with a homely quality. The brussels sprout and carrot slaw brought a nice crunch and texture to the taco. Cashew chipotle cream added a good smoky flavor and the avocado salsa really brightened up the tacos with its tangy, mild heat. Our only concern was that the fish was very overcooked and dry. 

The Roaster

Natural roasted chicken breast, twice baked goat cheese sweet potato, hazelnut green beans

The sweet potato in this dish held a bit of a "wow" moment for us. It contained chopped walnuts mixed throughout the flesh and while the pop of crunch was a nice surprise, what wasn't was the idea that if one of us had a tree nut allergy we would be in bad shape. So while this dish is marked gluten free, Anise should consider marking it as containing an allergen or at least listing nuts in the ingredients. When we first got the dish, we thought the green beans were going to have hazelnuts as the menu states. We asked our waiter about the "hazelnut green beans" and he explained that the green beans were cooked in hazelnut oil. This entire menu item was poorly described. The chicken was juicy but had an aftertaste of burnt oil which was unfortunate because the chicken should be the star of the dish--it was out-shined by the large sweet potato. As a whole this item was very simple and lacked in presentation.

Bison Burger

Arugula, grilled red onion, tomato, muenster cheese, cashew chpotle cream, whole wheat bun and sweet potato fries

These sweet potato fries were fresh, crispy and tender, the way fries should be, making them quite different from those found in our appetizer (which were baked too long in order to melt the cheese leaving them dry and hard). We ordered our bison burger to be cooked medium and it was cooked to perfection. The cheese was melted, the spinach and tomato were crisp and fresh. The only setback to this dish was the whole wheat bun ran dry. Toasting it would have given the bread a soft, airy quality.

Peas on Earth with Prawns

Soba noodles tossed with a lemony tamari sauce, grape tomatoes, snow peas, sugar snap peas over an English pea puree

From the moment this plate was set before us, something smelled fishy. We assumed it was perhaps the pea paste and carried on eating the rest of our appetizers before coming to this one. When time finally came to dig into the main course, I ate around the shrimp. The pea sauce had a great lime flavor and the noodles and peas alike were cooked perfectly, but the shrimp was daunting. A small piece was cut to try but the flavor was off-putting. Something was wrong with this dish and as if by fate the chef came out to see how the meal was going. He unfortunately witnessed my reaction firsthand and when I presented the idea that something was wrong with the fish he aggressively "assured" me there wasn't; which was off-putting all on its own. We did get an apology from our waiter and put in an order for the salmon instead. While we enjoyed our after-dinner drinks, a table nearby was seen returning their Peas On Earth so we can only hope the chef decided to sniff for himself after that.

Peas on Earth with Salmon

Drinks

Anise does an awesome job on social media promoting their monthly drink specials. Every month you can be sure they're gonna whip up something pretty and delicious. Since following their Instagram I've been enticed by their delicately-housed spirits so to finally get a chance to partake was actually downright exciting and the perfect end to our meal experience. 

Tequila Root

Tequila, ginger beer and pineapple with a ginger candy garnish. This drink was tasty while maintaining freshness. The tequila was not strong or overpowering and married well with the other flavors. This drink is a staple on their cocktail menu and can even be enjoyed by someone who isn't a tequila fan.

Let's Hit the Gin

Gin, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, lavender bitters, agave and blue majik superfood powder. This one is part of their January cocktail menu and its fresh flavors are perfect for those chilly, sunny Laredo days. Each flavor went fantastically with the other and made for a fun winter experience.

Life is a Dream

Champagne, St-Germain, hibiscus. Life is a Dream is off their regular cocktail menu and the best part of this one was definitely the bubble action. The hibiscus leaves sort of danced while champagne bubbles gently floated around the flower. It had a sophisticated taste and we couldn't help feeling like a million bucks while sipping.

Our waiter, Josh was charismatic, very attentive throughout our meal and knowledgeable about the menu. He recommended dishes to us and while the chef wasn't apologetic for the quality of the prawns, Josh was and we were glad to have him. The Anise menu could use a revamp--specifically mentioning allergens such as nuts and other ingredients found in the dishes that weren't listed. Their wide variety of guilt-free dishes gave us plenty to try and the drinks were absolutely superb. So while some of the entrees were let-downs, the appetizers and cocktails really made up for the disappointments and we will most certainly be returning for starters and drinks.

Since the restaurant is located inside a suite in the shopping mall, the only windows are situated on the front wall. A large wood panel welcomes you into the restaurant and blocks the natural light which leaves the atmosphere of the inner booths dim and intimate. Booths on the right wall take advantage of the natural light and the bar area has lighting of its own; the white bar has a crisp, modern feel. A private party took up 1/2 the dining area which left our party of 6 nowhere to sit comfortably so we opted for the patio. The ambience outside was much brighter and to our surprise more inviting. The white breezeblock benches have colored throw pillows and Edison lighting ornaments the ceiling. Vibes are fresh and clean which complement the food nicely and we'll definitely be going back for patio drinks. 

Tasting Spoon Grade: B-