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| - Texicali was a major disappointment.
Tried this place out for restaurant week and suffice it say, I will not be rushing back. Before trying out a new place, I like to browse the yelp reviews (I mean, DUH), the online menu(s), twitter/instagram pages. I looked up Texicali the night before I went and it was a big RED FLAG to me that Texicali's instagram hardly shows any of their food. The low rating on Yelp was another flag. Texicali refers to themselves as a "Taco and Tequila bar" yet for their restaurant week menu, NOT ONE TACO is listed as a meal option. I always figure that the point of the restaurant week is to introduce new patrons to the best of what's offered.
So on to my restaurant week experience...My friend and I started off with the queso fundido - it tasted like basic cheese dip, nothing special of note about it all. For my first course, I ordered the guacamole. I always judge a place by its guac and with Texicali's guac? I'm banging my gavel in disgust. The guacamole tasted like a pre-made mix with some jarred pico de gallo put on top. For shaaaame. The guac was served with fried rings of flour, not chips, which also added to its overall wrongness. Second course, I got the surf & turf (carne asada and shrimp) enchiladas. These actually weren't that bad. Third course, I ordered the chicken zarape. This wasn't that bad either. However, it tasted nothing reminiscent of a Mexican dish but more like something you would find at a Chilli's. Dessert was a tres leches cake with smores. Was not a fan of the cake. Traditional tres leches cake has nothing to do with smores - the cake tasted as confusing as the description.
The best part of the meal was the margarita I ordered. It was perfectly mixed and smooth.
Texicali seems confused as to what direction they want to take the place. Our waiter told us that some of things offered on their restaurant week menu are potential meals that will be added to their regular menu. Personally, I feel Texicali should focus on being a spot to get a good drink (because they clearly know how to make a good margarita) and should lean toward a more 'street food' feel. Make their menus taco-heavy and really get a good grasp on making that their thing and making them good.
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