Ellington

Description

Food: Cozymel's is a bit more upscale than your average Mexican restaurant, not surprising since the name recalls the Caribbean island resort Cozumel (off the Yucatan Peninsula). Yes, the menu has nachos, quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas and tacos, but they're all rather more glorified here. An on the side, you're more likely to get sauteed vegetables than beans, and if you do get beans, they're likely to be black and whole, not refried paste. Open with the Chile con Queso Dip, yellow cheese melted with chilies, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and cilantro, or the Queso Flameado, a hotskillet fondue of cheese, creamy Cancun and poblano sauces, mushrooms, onions and peppers with chicken or shrimp. Entree best bets are mostly seafood-based: Pasteles Azul, two very crisp-fried blue crab cakes served over field greens and drizzled with a modestly spicy chipotle aioli; Yucatan Especial, shrimp, scallops, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, poblano chilies and red onions sauteed in a creamy sauce served over yellow rice; and particularly the Chipotle Honey Glazed Salmon.
Mood: Like most chain restaurants, Cozymel's is designed to be noisy, and the fuller it gets, the noisier it can be. The decor is sort of dockside shack, with a lot of artificially aged wood on walls that are otherwise painted in bright pastel colors. The kitchen is open. Seating is in booths or tables in the main dining room; there's also a bar area, a couple of side rooms that can be partially closed off for large parties, a sort of penthouse dining area and a covered outdoor patio. Enhancing the Caribbean flavor, the sound system plays cover versions of tropical tunes. -- Eric Harrison