El Agave is in Skyway at 11839 Renton Avenue, in one of Skyway's sleazy strip malls, near the Roman Casino. It's an unusual and ambitious Mexican restaurant. The menu is large and has many items not seen in other Mexican places, maybe because the owner is from the seaside state of Nayarit, unlike most of the Seattle area Mexican places, most of who's owners hail from Cuautla, Jalisco.
I had the Filete Agave, a tilapia filet topped with fresh crabmeat and cheese.
Diane, the spousal unit, had camarones al mojo: butterflied large prawns cooked in butter and roasted garlic. Both entrees were exquisite.
Another plus is the kickass salsa. Too many places have salsa that cater to gringoes. Thin, barely hot, insipid. Not El Agave. Their salsa was thick and hot.
The thing is...El Agave is out of place in Skyway, and very empty of customers. If the place were in Capitol Hill or Wallingford, it would be packed. But nobody goes to Skyway, at least not on purpose.
Skyway folks go to Renton to eat, or cook at home, and those that stay in Skyway frequent less ambitious and less expensive places, like Ezell's Chicken.
It's one of the mysteries of the restaurant world: Some places are extremely popular for no apparent reason, with bad food, bad service, bad atmosphere, and high prices...
And then there are places like El Agave: completely empty despite great food, friendly service, classically tacky green and pink walls, and a unique, seafood oriented menu.
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