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| - Suffering from a mild bout of cabin fever, my daughter and I decided to brave the arctic conditions and grab some spicy food at A La Brasa. I reviewed the menu options online before our visit and had a couple Peruvian-influenced items in mind when we walked through the doors. However, the restaurant now describes itself as a "Mexican Grill", so it was time for a quick change of plans (note to management - please update your online menu).
After seating us, our server dropped off a basket of standard-grade corn chips and a bowl of pico de gallo. The chips were heavily salted and were nothing to write home about. The pico de gallo was excellent - it was loaded with fresh onions, cilantro and tomatoes along with a healthy dose of jalapenos. My only problem with it was the bowl was too small and every time we tried to use a chip to scoop some out, most of the contents ended up on the table. Because of this, we soon ran out of pico de gallo, but our server was too engrossed with a cell phone call to notice that we needed a refill.
After adjusting to the new menu, I decided about the beef version of the Cemita Poblana sandwich ($10). The sesame-encrusted bun was a disappointment; it had the texture of a hamburger bun from the local Piggly Wiggly. Also disappointing was the beef cutlet - too little beef and far too much of the greasy breading. I did enjoy the rest of the sandwich, which included loads of buttery oaxaca cheese, slightly sweet caramelized onions, spicy chipotle peppers and perfectly ripe avocados.
The $7 cheese quesadilla ordered by my daughter became a comedy of errors. She is a vegetarian and the first version of her cheese quesadilla was peppered with small chunks of chicken. We flagged down another server (our initial server was still busy on his cell phone) who apologized for the error and promised to make a cheese-only version. It came ten minutes later, but this time, the thick corn tortilla was a soggy mess. (I wonder if it sat on the counter too long, since the first quesadilla did not have this problem.) The replacement quesadilla also lacked a serving of the salsa verde that added some much needed zip to this dish. We again flagged down a server, and after another wait, we received the green salsa. By then the whole thing was getting cold - ugh. While my daughter did enjoy the melted oaxaca cheese, she stated she strongly preferred the $3 Los Gemelos version of this dish. With no sides, this dish was a poor value.
The interior of the restaurant was extremely clean, flooded with natural light and nicely decorated.
Overall, the negatives of my visit (spotty service, lackluster food) outweighed the positive (superb pico de gallo). With so many other great, local options for Mexican food, I doubt that I will be paying A La Brasa a return visit.
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