Oba!

We went to Oba on Saturday for a night out, courtesy of Chuck & Dana. The restaurant was packed, but the waitress said it was actually a slow night for them. We took a seat in the lounge instead and got a cute table by the window. They had a large cocktail menu that was very fun... obviously, as there were martini glasses everywhere. I was going to get sangria, but when Ken wanted wine I was very psyched. Usually he doesn't drink wine. We both wanted beef (a rarity for us and surprised us that we both wanted it). Also nice because it meant we could easily pick a wine that would pair well with both our dinners.

Started off with Ken's beloved.... ceviche. The sampler had three kinds: a black cod, a shrimp with coconut cream that was really spicy, and a tuna-tomato. Ken loved the black cod; I loved the tuna. Overall the ceviche was good and well executed, but it was nowhere near the mindblowing multi-course ceviche dinner we had at Deseo in Scottsdale, Arizona.

As for entrees, I got the hangar steak and Ken got the cumin-coriander crusted new york strip. Both were good, although Ken's was better... very very well cooked with the "perfect amount of spice". They paired a malbec-cabernet blend for us, which was great... and Ken loves malbecs, also a plus.

Turns out that the restaurant gives you a free dessert if it's your first time in! What a nice surprise (although they tell you when you order your entree so that you can save room -- like they don't know dessert goes down a different tube). I expected they'd pick the dessert for us, but they handed us dessert menus where we could pick anything. oooohhh.

I immediately decided on the Kahlua Tres Leches (creamy cheese mousse flavored with kahlua and cream topped with espresso syrup). Ken found the Baked Argentina, the biggest dessert on the menu, and smiled from ear to ear. Basically, it was a huge bombe/sundae.... chocolate cake, bananas, caramel, vanilla bean ice cream, all topped with toasted meringue. Ken thought his was amazing and confused the meringue to be whipped cream. Needless to say, Ken now loves meringue. I loved mine as well. Loved it. Ate half and took the other half home for breakfast. Mmmmmm. I think that the dessert was my favorite part of the whole dinner, company excluded. I think others agreed too -- between the drinks and dessert, no wonder the lounge was packed just as full as the dining room.

Thanks Chuck & Dana!

Full review of Oba by citysearch here.