Sra. Martinez, Design District

The Art Basel madness has begun and with it a slew of culinary new beginnings. Domo Japones is now Sra. Martinez (or Senora Martinez to you), a tapas spot from Michelle Bernstein of Michy's fame. We stopped by over the weekend for a sneak peek and had some fantastic small plates. The lady has a hit on her hands, clearly. Apologies for the pale pics, as we were a bit sangria-addled and had only a measly iPhone to capture the experience.
Here we have the fried artichokes - sublime and crunchy. Of all the fried offerings (and there are quite a few), probably best in show.

Next up fish cheeks with raisins and figs,a wonderful dish all around. They use monkfish which adds a nice textural contrast to the sauteed fruit. I also highly recommend the fried eggplant, more like delectable thin eggplants chips with a slight tempura-like breading. The patatas bravas are a heaping platter of steaming potato cubes with a spicy tomato sauce. Mushroom croquettas were nice but lacked bite. The churro dessert comes with a spicy Mexican chocolate sauce that I nearly downed shotglass-style it was so damn good. And the goat cheese dessert with thyme-infused honey was elegant and refreshing. Photos of the interior are here. The menu is here.