We got there as a party of about a million high school/college girls were getting their chips and salsa, and I suppose I could have taken that as a bad sign, but I didn’t. Considering how many of them there were, the effect on the service was minimal - by which I mean I think that the service would have sucked regardless of whether the throng of lasses had been there or not. We were seated and brought beverages quickly enough, but there was a wide gulf between when we asked for a few extra minutes to look at the menu and when our server finally came back to take our order.
The chips and salsa portion of the service, however, was pretty good. A heaping basket of light, crisp chips and two - count ‘em, two - kinds of salsa were brought out as we were sitting down. One kind of salsa, in one of those wee little wine carafe-looking jars, was your standard medium salsa, not too thick and not too thin. The other was a slightly thicker, darker salsa made with grilled tomatoes. Hello, nurse. It was milder than the bright red version, but it had a nice earthy, smoky flavor to it that was unlike any salsa I’ve had at other Mexican places around Indianapolis.
That grilled tomato salsa, however, was the highlight of the meal. I had combination #11 ($6.99), which consisted of a chile relleno, a burrito, and an enchilada; and while there was nothing actively unpleasant about any of the items, there was also nothing special to remark - it’s exactly the same kind of chile relleno, ground beef burrito, and ground beef enchilada you’ll get at any other Mexican restaurant that lists their combination plates by number.
Maybe mine was less satisfying because I went cheap. Amy’s chicken fajitas ($10.25) were pretty good, nicely seasoned and generously portioned. The plate of accoutrements that came with the fajitas (sour cream, lettuce, tomato, guacamole) had nearly as much food on it as the sizzling plate of chicken, onions, and bell pepper.
There was also a significant amount of time between when we stopped eating and when anyone on the clock noticed that we were finished. Our server appeared to be doing double duty as bartender, so that might have had something to do with it - but it was not as though the bar were across the room and down the hall or anything. The dining room is one big space where you can see everything, and the bar is in one corner of that space.
Thus, I am still in search of a really good Mexican restaurant in the greater metropolitan area. Not since Mike and Angie Lee shuttered the absolutely excellent Casa Miguel’s on Main Street in Greenwood have I had a really good Mexican meal. Casa Miguel’s has since reopened with new owners, and Amy and I tried it - once. The new people kept some of the interior decor and tried to copy the menu, but they do not seem to possess much in the way of culinary skills, and their failure at the new establishment is on the order of spectacular.
(Yes, the once-very-excellent El Sol de Tala has recently reopened on Washington Street on the near east side, but they have a new chef, and he’s still getting his legs under him. The fresh coat of paint throughout the dining room looks nice, though. I genuinely feel for owner Javier Amezcua, who had to close the east side location to focus on keeping the Union Station location afloat - a project that ultimately failed. Hopefully in time the new version of El Sol de Tala will reclaim the glory of its previous incarnation.)
2 comments:
Damien and I are liking your restaurant blogs! Looks like several new restuarants have opened just since we left. We wanted to write food and restuarant blogs after we came to Japan but have been too lazy to do so. I will make your blogs the inspiration to start writing our own. keep writing!
i have been dreaming of mexican food. every american i have ever encountered on this continent also pines for the cuisine. this is what i plan on doing, immediately after exiting O'Hare: milkshake, and then mexican. in that order. do you know of any good places in Chicago, by the by? if not, where should i go in Indy?
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