Alejandro's celebrates the mole trinity with an unusual but fascinating appetizer.

Estofado triggers the palate, tangy with a bright fruit yet thoroughly enigmatic. Coloradito is an unrepentant braggart with a likable smile. But the negro grabs you, demanding your full attention.

These are three of the seven more common moles of Oaxaca, displayed on one plate at Alejandro’s. Anywhere else, the sauces would blanket chicken or pork, but the downtown Monterey restaurant allows them to stand on their own, accompanied only by a centerpiece of rice and a side stack of tortillas.

It’s a captivating idea.

“We wanted it to shine—a focal point—so you could see the complexity of each,” explains Alejandro’s owner Alex Moncada. “The more you know about it, the more you appreciate it.”

The popular restaurant’s chef, Jorge Leyva, is from Oaxaca, as is the sous chef and several others of the kitchen staff. Moncada admits that a plate featuring three sauces is unusual—it may be a first—but it is the perfect showcase of the contrasting moles and he sees it as a welcome homage to tradition.

Of course, it would take too much space to detail each recipe—if the chef would even divulge them. Besides, ingredients tend to vary from one place to the next. Even recipes passed down through generations differ, family by family.

Coloradito is perhaps the most versatile of the three when it comes to pairing with a protein. It typically involves items like tomatoes, sugar and almonds, calling for only a couple of different chiles. 

So the heat is slow to arrive. When it does, however, it refuses to part, leaving a sputtering flame on the palate to contend with layers that ripple from nutty calm to bittersweet and swarthy. 

Estofado defies the notion of painstaking preparation attributed to moles. It can be whipped up in just a few hours, which is like the snap of a finger in mole time. Yet it is an intricate el baile de las cintas on the palate. That translates as the ribbon dance, a fruit tang intertwined with a bittersweet grumble, with layered strands that are briny and spicy. All the while, it remains friendly, especially compared to the negro.

The swarthy sauce is a beast from the start. It can require days to bring the ingredients—as much as 30 different chiles, herbs, spices and famously chocolate—to bear. Alejandro’s version is rich and eloquent, but its voice at first strikes you as gruff. It rumbles, puffing a smoky heat over a dense, pungent earthiness. Presented on its own, however, other features appear, such as bright, fruity highlights, hints of vanilla staves and a clean minerality.

“There’s a lot in there, definitely,” says Moncado of all three moles, adding that the plate has been well received, even without accompanying proteins. “It presents itself very well.”

Alejandro’s is at 474 Alvarado St., Monterey. alejandros.co.