La Paz

La Paz Restaurant Review:

When Oscar Iturralde, a native of Yucatan, Mexico, found that he could do rather well cooking in hotel kitchens while working his way through Harvard, he quit school and became a full-time chef. Iturralde has owned three restaurants in Southern California over the years, but this Calabasas perch is where he hopes to stay. We're happy to know where to go for Yucatan specialties like banana leaf-wrapped pork; octopus ceviche; abalone cocktail; lobster tails in butter and garlic with melted cheese; and whole fresh rock cod sautéed in an annatto seed mixture and served with pickled onions, black beans and rice. The menu may seem endless, but the house specialty involves tender goat baked with ginger, beer, chocolate, cinnamon and red chilies. For dessert, look to ice cream nachos – vanilla ice cream served with cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips, topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. We shouldn't forget to mention that the bar lists more than 140 tequilas, with Iturralde as resident connoisseur, leading to good margaritas. The place rocks with mariachi music during the Sunday buffet brunch. A Friday lunch buffet includes Yucatan pork, fried white fish, chicken fajitas, ceviche and a taco bar. Even better, the weekday happy hour has a free appetizer buffet.