Agaves - Very Good Mexican Restaurant

UPDATED 6/24/2010 - I was by and they are out of business.

UPDATED - went back for a second dinner and tried the Shrimp Diabla. The portion of shrimp was generous and they were excellently cooked, the sauce was good, if a little mild for my taste, but this place is a winner. One note is to pay attention to what is suppose to come with the meals, they tend to just serve the rice and beans, no matter what the menu says, and in this case it was worth asking for the Guacamole; as it was fresh, flavorful with just the right amount of contrast from the crunchy bits. Well, my Mexican food hunt finally pays off in a big way. Of course it was a result of luck. On Sunday I was riding through the Cuyahoga Valley and needed to stop at a Marc's for a Birthday card for my niece. I remembered there was one on W. Aurora Road coming up from the Valley so I stopped. As I was pulling out I noticed that a new Mexican restaurant had gone into the strip mall so I came back on Monday night to give it a try. From the outside Agave Mexican Restaurant is nothing special. Located at 470 W. Aurora Road in Northfield Center it sits at the front of a little shopping center with a fairly plain sign out front and a couple of awnings. Inside is not much more impressive. The walls have been painted a light yellow with orange accents to hide what looks to be a standard restaurant setup. They have added some framed prints. Overall the impression is of a quick makeover, but it is clean. It appears that they spent more on the flat screen at the end of the room then they did on the whole rest of the decor. Once down in the booth a large basket of chips and a bowl of salsa are delivered. The chips are good, fresh and light, the salsa is a bit light on accents to the tomato, but with a little hot sauce added it was pretty good. The first surprise was the menu. Some time and energy went into putting this together. There are quite a lot of choices and they range a lot farther then the typical Mexican restaurant menu. I was especially impressed by the Seafood selection, which was long and varied. But since it was my first time I decided to go with some simple items to see how the food is. I ordered a combination plate with a bean burrito, chili relleno, rice and beans, very reasonably priced at under $8. The food came out on a large orange platter and looked good and wholesome. The second surprise was the flavor. This was Mexican food prepared very well, with bright flavors and simple preparations. The bean burrito was simply that, refried beans in a flour tortilla with a red sauce on top. What made this work was the flavorful beans and the delightfully zippy sauce. Even better was the Chili Relleno; usually batter fried, in this preparation the pepper stuffed with a mild cheese was without batter, but perfectly cooked and then topped with a wonderful tomatillo green sauce. The pepper to cheese balance was just right with the flavor of the cooked pepper coming through. The sauce was a perfect compliment and my biggest problem was that I had soaked up all the sauce before I finished the pepper. The beans on the plate were also good and the rice was well prepared. Overall one of the better Mexican meals I have had in a while. Service was good, water was refilled, check was delivered at the end of the meal and the waiter was friendly without being overbearing. My overall impression is that Agave serves very good, simple Mexican food at reasonable prices. The decor could use some work, but as long as the food is good, I'll be back. I already know that I want to try some of the Shrimp dishes. If you are looking for some good Mexican food I recommend you give Agave a try.