| rev:text
| - The food is hit or miss, the service is pretty much miss.
The family decided to check this place out on a Friday evening based on a recommendation of my wife's co-worker. The Rick Bayless Everyday Mexican cookbook holds an esteemed spot in the kitchen, so I'll admit I set the bar pretty high when evaluating this style of cuisine.
We arrived at 5 pm and our server promptly took our drink order, but things started to slow down. Despite having three servers working five tables, it took about 15 minutes to get our drinks and a small complimentary basket of chips. Did I mention that the basket of chip was small? Our party of four devoured them in three minutes, but no one came by to ask us if we wanted more. (It should be noted that the first basket of chips was free, after that, you'll be charged $2 for a bottomless supply). The chips were the star of the evening. Hot, fresh with plenty of crunch. I would make the trip to the west side just to get another fix. The consistency of the salsa verde was a disappointment. It was far too watery, making it difficult to get the right balance of salsa and chip.
I also enjoyed the Quesadillas de Rajas y Queso we ordered as an appetizer. The corn masa coating was cooked to perfection, but I would have preferred a Mexican cheese over the mozzarella used as the filling. The roasted poblanos were excellent and a small serving of crema was a welcome addition to the dish.
After a long wait (about 20 minutes) and only one refill of our basket of chips, we received the entrees. I ordered one of the specials, a beef barbacoa based on the recommendation of the server. The beef was tender, but a little under seasoned. The dish was overpowered by a pile of raw onions that topped the beef. I like onions, but these gave the dish a sulphery aftertaste. The sides also were disappointing, the re-fried beans were overcooked and lacked texture, the Mexican rice was mushy and bland. With the little more focus on the details, this could have been a great meal.
The kids ordered cheese enchiladas and chicken enchiladas. The salsa verde lacked punch. The tomatillos really needed to be roasted longer to give the green sauce more depth. The chicken was well cooked but under seasoned and I was frustrated with the the use of mozzarella as the filling for the cheese enchiladas. There are some great Mexican melting cheeses that could have vastly improved this dish.
After another long wait, we finally received the bill which totaled $65 before tip for our group of four. The meal cost was reasonable, but I can't really recommend La Mestiza given the below quality of the food and service I experienced.
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