What’s not to like about a place where the walls are literally covered with original art in that bold, surreal Day of the Dead style? A place where the salsa is served warm with fresh chips? A place where as soon as you take your seat ZZ Ward’s Move It Like You Stole It starts playing?
Oh, and the place also has a wonderful water feature out on the patio, along with a bedazzled motor bike.
The only caution I’ll share with you is that some of the flavors are just as bold as the decor. I went with the combination dinner #4 Happy Gilmore only in part because the Master’s was playing on all the television screens but mostly for the choice of one enchilada, two tacos, and two sides. I went with the shrimp enchilada, the brisket taco, and the fried fish taco with Spanish rice and refried beans. I also tacked on a pork tamale, not because I thought I could finish that all in one sitting, but because I wanted to try as much different food as I could.
The enchilada was very nice, the rice and beans pretty much what you would expect, but the tacos and tamale turned out to be a walk on the wild side. The tamale was covered in mole and that is such a complex recipe that you either like the version you get or you don’t. I wasn’t crazy about this one, but not because there was anything at all wrong with it, it just didn’t win me over. Also a mole will kind of dominate and mask the pork and masa. I’d recommend asking for the mole on the side until you know how much you like it and how much you want to put on your tamale. Same kind of thing with the tacos. The horseradish cream sauce on the brisket taco was almost straight horseradish and burned out any hint of brisket or fried onions and cilantro. Easily remedied with bit of plate surgery, scraping off the extra sauce. The brisket, when finally revealed, was very good. Don’t really know if that was a prep screw up or the way they intended but–sauce on the side, please. Same problem, different flavor with the fish taco. They marinated the sliced red onion garnish in lime juice and it was like biting straight into a lime. Again, plate surgery, pull the onions off and the taco was fine. There are a number of really interesting items on the menu. A shrimp ceviche, a Mayan quesadilla with” Pork Pibil with jalapeno and Pepper Jack cheese and grilled pineapple relish Served with a side of BBQ dipping sauce”, and a number of other mix and match combos to try along with a full range of fajitas. I’m not weighing in on their margaritas because it was a lunch visit and a margarita would be a bit too bold a move for me, even at Friday lunch. But don’t let me scare you off the place. At least hit it for the wonderful art and atmosphere and to check out the margaritas. I certainly will.
