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| - I always root for Cocina Mendoza because of two reasons: first they are family owned and second, because they are simply such genuine, friendly people. Those opinions aside, here is a candid review of the restaurant.
Cocina Mendoza is classified, in my mind, as a middling authentic restaurant with standard fare which takes liberties with the mid-Atlantic, or Pittsburgh, palate. Upon entering into the restaurant which has a fairly large sign outside its strip-mall location (free open lot parking) and legit clever decor inside (with music playing and big t.v.'s) you will seat yourself more often than not. This is traditional.
You will be greeted by one of several friendly, bi-lingual Spanish and English speaking employees who will bring you a basket of corn tortilla chips and red salsa. The chips are from a bag. I've had three of their salsas, the standard, the tomatillo, and the chile de arbol. The standard, house salsa they bring free to your table may or may not be made in house but it is not made with fresh tomatoes or other fresh ingredients. It is also somewhat sweeter than I prefer though that may be a product of covering up the use of canned tomatoes or perhaps their regional Acapulco recipe is just sweet. I am not nearly as familiar with Acapulco as I am with many other regions of Mexico. The tomatillo sauce was warmed and has a consistency that reminded me of bottled salsas using corn syrup. I did not like it either. The chile de arbol was EXCELLENT the four or five times I've had it. It tastes delicious, authentic, and spicy in every way.
After trying the salsas, I could tell they are cutting corners in certain ways to make fiscal ends meet. I totally understand these decisions however if I could make a recommendation to them: start making 100% fresh, spicy authentic salsas and tortilla chips your family would eat. In this area, salsas set the table for what is to come. I am confident Cocina Mendoza KNOWS this. As a customer, it is tough to change an opinion after a rough opening act. They will definitely bring in more customers if they properly set the table with an excellent salsa. After all, they could always hide pre-made ingredients and cut corners with other less obvious dishes and unsuspecting palates.
Despite two of the three failed salsas, I've had between 12 and 15 meals in the restaurant or used their take-out option. I can easily attest to the fact that their CARNITAS tacos with fresh cut WHITE onion, FRESH cilantro, FRESH cut radish, and fresh lime wedges are truly mouthwatering, moist and delicious. I believe they'd be proud to serve these tacos, which are on a double soft corn shell, to anyone in the Hispanic community. Again, I rave about them because they are very, very, very good. I've had other dishes from bistec to pollo to asada dishes which were authentic and very well done! I've also had popular dishes that were pre-made and Americanized (even if they shouldn't be) ... they weren't good and could potentially drive customers away with bad word of mouth experiences. I don't order food I know to be Americanized Mexican. If I wanted that kind of food I'd just go to Mad Mex or another box restaurant.
Cocina Mendoza makes good food when staying true to their roots. However, they "Americanize" many things, put items like extra big ground beef burritos on the menu, cut corners with obviously pre-made sauces (like enchilada ranchero sauce) or smother dishes with cheese masking depth of flavor leading many to question their overall authenticity and consistency.
In a smart, necessary business decision, Cocina Mendoza caters to all clientele. So, if you are going to go to Cocina Mendoza and order a true Mexican staple and you will almost certainly like your food. If you order something that is not a traditional staple or you order an authentic something which has a suspect description, or order Tex-Mex you should expect the food to be average at best, watered down, prepared for a dull palate.
Overall, in my opinion, Cocina Mendoza needs to stop trying to straddle the middle ground by being authentic with some things and cutting Americanized corners with others. Or, perhaps, they need to use fresher ingredients and make better Americanized food to cater to the masses. Hence, the mixed reviews are accurate depending on the customer's palate, the cook of the day, the quality of ingredients, and which dish was ordered.
Comparison: Cozumel. My take: Your mileage may vary so I have no recommendation.
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