I was there as part of a large group, and didn't feel like I could hold everyone back in order to take photos, so I apologize in advance for the poor photos.
Chips and salsa, complimentary. |
The red salsa had a slight amount of heat to it, but not much. The green was watery and not very flavorful. This was all very unremarkable, but at least better than Nick's Crispy Tacos.
Calamares: Chile jalapeño, crispy onions, roasted jalapeño aioli. $10. |
No serving utensils were provided, which made for awkward grabbing of bits of calamari. The serving vessel was an iceberg lettuce leaf. For reals? They still make that stuff? I kinda doubt we were expected to eat it.
This was by far my favorite of the dishes of the night, and the only one I remotely enjoyed. I'm not sure I'd order it again, and $10 seemed a tiny bit pricy given the portion size, but it wasn't bad.
Taquitoes Vegetarianos: Potato-filled & topped with chile poblano crema, lettuce & queso fresco. $6. |
Also on the plate was some forgettable shredded iceberg lettuce, mild flavorless queso fresco, and the chile poblano creme, that was completely flavorless. No idea where the chile poblano was! The pico de gallo, not listed on the menu, was the best part. Fairly fresh tasting tomato, with a bit of flavor. And again, more iceberg.
I like fried, and I love mashed potatoes, but this just did nothing for me. Meh. My least favorite of the dishes.
I only got a photo of the edge of the dish, but I think there were 5? on the plate originally. $6 was a good price for so many tacquitoes.
Papas Rellanas: potato croquettes filled with house chorizo, criolla salsa. $8.50. |
Of the 5 savory dishes, this one ranked third for me. I would not get it again.
There were two of these on the plate, but someone grabbed one before I could snap a photo. $8.50 for two of these seemed pretty pricy.
Empanadas: epazote & cheese. $8.50. |
They also don't win any presentation points, although they were clearly trying. The sauce was in the middle, the empanadas faned out, but they were totally off center. If you are going to try to make things look good, please follow through!
Second to least favorite, would not get again. $8.50 price for 3 seemed about fitting.
Queso fundido: red chorizo, chile anaheim, roasted corn. $13. |
It was hot and fresh, the cheese was enjoyable in the way that molton cheese is. I found the very small amount of corn and chili annoying, and wished there was more of those components. Maybe when it has chorizo in it that completes it better?
It was served with a side of tortillas, which I didn't get a photo of. There were only a few tortillas, not nearly enough for all of the queso. This was ok, as we had chips we could dip in it instead, but the ratio was definitely off. The tortillas was warm, but unremarkable.
This was my second favorite dish, and was almost decent, but I would not get again. $13 seemed pretty pricy.
Churros con Chocolate: homemade churros, calle 23 reposado caramel sauce, mexican hot chocolate. $7. |
On the side was a mug of mexican hot chocolate. It had some slight cinnamon flavor, but was very watery, and not very chocolately.
$7 was a fine price for a dessert, but this wasn't very good, and I wouldn't get again.
Flan de Elote: caramel, blackberry, mexican wedding cookie. $7. |
Whenever I go to a restaurant, I always read the menus online first, to make sure there is no watermelon. If there is any, I let them know when I make my reservations, and again when I'm seated, about my allergy. I also scan the entire menu when I arrive to double check, and usually mention my allergy even if I don't see watermelon on the menu. My allergy is severe to the point where using the same knife and cutting board would send me into anaphylaxis.
As always, I read the online menus. I read the menus at the restaurant. No watermelon. And since it was a big group event, and in a bar area, I decided not to bother them with telling them about my allergy, it didn't seem worth the complication.
When this arrived, I had forgotten what the description said came on the side with the flan, besides the cookie. I took a bite of the flan, and then skewered a piece of the fruit with my fork. I couldn't quite tell what it was, as it was dark in the room, but it seemed very melon like. Sirens went off in my head. I pulled out the menu, and saw "blackberry" listed. Clearly this was not blackberry. More sirens went off. I quickly called over our server, and she said "oh, yeah, they were out of berries, I think it is persimmon". Persimmon would make sense, as it is peak persimmon season right now. And it almost looked like persimmon, but even in the dim lighting, the color seemed off. I told her about my allergy, and asked her to double check. She came rushing back out a few minutes later, telling me that yes, it was watermelon.
AHHH! This is the closest encounter I have had in years. I even had a bite of flan off of this plate. My throat did feel funny, but it never closed up. I blame myself for not mentioning my allergy, but I was also pretty annoyed that they made that substitution, and that she told me it was persimmon when I asked. I understand running out of ingredients and switching something else in, so I don't really blame the restaurant, but this was pretty scary. She brought out a replacement without the melon.
The cookie was dry and flavorless. The flan was pretty unremarkable, the caramel not very strong. Meh. Definitely not worth an ER visit. $7 price was again decent for a dessert.
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