I went to the recently opened Obispo for a weeknight dinner. It’s on 24th Street steps from 24th Street Mission station. It’s a narrow restaurant with a few tables in front, a bar in the middle, and more tables in the back. They were pretty busy on a Wednesday night with all tables and bar seats occupied, so I just ate at the standing counter across from the bar. Obispo is from the owner of Bar Agricole and Trou Normand and has a focus on rum, with many rum based cocktails on the menu. The food menu has representatives from several rum producing countries, such as Cuba and Jamaica. They also have choripan and empanadas on the menu which I believe are from Argentina, so it’s kind of a mix of Caribbean and South American dishes.
I had the plate lunch ($20) in which you can choose one of the main dishes (minus the shrimp) and two of the side dishes. I had the Jamaican oxtail curry for the main, and for my side dishes I chose the macaroni salad and the congri, which is a mixture of beans and rice similar to the dish moros y cristianos.
Everything was very good. The oxtails were very tender and were in a slightly thickened beefy sauce that had a hint of coconut and some nice spicing. It came with some potatoes. The congri was very flavorful and had a few bits of crispy browned carnitas like pork mixed in. The macaroni salad had some peas in it and was fine. Chilled and lightly sauced. Along with the pickles it was a nice accompaniment to the rich stew and beans and rice.
Had a couple well made cocktails as well - a National (Demerara rum, apricot brandy, pineapple juice, lime juice) which was basically a Hotel Nacional, and an Obispo de Cuba (Jamaican rum, red wine, lime juice).
I’m happy that there’s another good cocktail bar within stumbling distance of 24th Street station. Will definitely be back to try some more things.
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