Trebol (4835 N. Albina)

The last couple of months we haven't had a huge turnout for our restaurant group. Six or seven people at most. But I have had the best time with the small groups. This month we checked out Trebol on N. Albina. Rich picked the restaurant and ended up picking this one because it has such a good website. Always a good sign that the owners put time and care into what they are doing.

This is not a chips-n-salsa kind of Mexican restaurant. In fact, I didn't see a basket of chips anywhere in sight. We ordered the guacamole to start, which had slices of fried garlic throughout. It was spicy and tangy and served with mini tortillas.

We also had empanadas with mole sauce as an appetizer. So smoky and flavorful, flaky and filled with sausage, I think. Maybe chorizo?

As we were discussing the mole sauce, Jorge (our waiter) brought us more mini tortillas to "sop up that sauce." Bless him.

I ordered one of the specials for dinner: smoked pork shoulder on a black bean puree with jicama salad and beets. The pork fell apart when I touched it with my fork. No knife needed. It was so tender. Everything together was a perfect family of flavors, the perfectly textured puree and the crunchy salad, with the tangy beets on top - it was a meal worthy of angelic hallelujahs.

I tasted my sister's drunken beans (mmmm) but other than that, stuck with my own dinner. I have been like that lately, just wanting to totally enjoy what I order and not wandering to other people's plates too much. It gives me reason to go back, I guess.

Speaking of hallelujahs. We ordered dessert. I had a chili chocolate brownie with cinnamon ice cream. Others had tres leches, tequila flan and the glorious sopapillas. The brownie was divine (spicy hot and homey at the same time) and the sopapillas are worthy of such praise and glorifications that are above my capabilities as a writer.

Our dinner group - most of the same people from Siam Society the month before - is jiving now. When faced with a few hours to kill and some really good food, we have sumptuous conversation to match the menu. I can't get the Hallelujah song out of my head as I think about Trebol. It is kind of a depressing song, but really - the hallelujahs totally apply here. And if I just think about Jeff Buckley singing while I eat, well then. It totally works.