I once watched an accomplished chef make mole from beginning to end, and mid-process it occurred to me: Why on earth would anyone want to go to such lengths for a sauce?

But then I tasted the finished product of mole poblano, and I understood.  The myriad of ingredients and laborious process of roasting, toasting, peeling, stirring and blending, had produced a near-black, rich sauce layered with deep and complex flavors, one hitting you after another. It was something special.

And that sauce has become my benchmark for mole.

So let’s talk about the mole at Guadalajara in Briarcliff Manor. First, a couple of pics of the attractive dining room.

Very comfortable and homey.

We had a big group, and the restaurant started us off with chips and big bowls of fresh guacamole — two mild, two spicy. Excellent, although I didn’t taste much heat in the spicy version.

It’s been a while since I’ve had mole poblano, and that’s what I zeroed in on.

It came with a side of beans and soft tortillas.

And here’s the mole.

The flash on the camera sort of ruins the picture, but the mole had a nice silky, dark reddish-brown color to it.

The chicken was tender, and it was a decent mole, but oversalted and missing something. I just didn’t taste those waves of vivid, smoky flavor I’d been hoping for. If the benchmark mole had been made with twenty ingredients, this one tasted as though it’d been made with ten. A little flat and one-note.

Oh well, you can’t win every time.

Moving on to dessert.  I don’t remember what this was — I think three flavors of ice cream with whipped cream?

I finished off with flambéd bananas in Kahlua sauce.  This was very good, but then anything with Kahlua is good.

And because everyone loves fire, I’ll leave you with a vid of the fried ice cream, making its dramatic entrance to the table.

What are your thoughts on Guadalajara, and where have you had good mole poblano in Westchester?

GRADE: B

Guadalajara
2 Union St.
Briarcliff Manor, NY
914-944-4380