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| - I am a fan of Mexican food, good Mexican food. Few things piss me off more than crap Mexican food that winds up being an insult to the nation and the cuisine. The Round Corner Cantina won me over with their ability to not screw up a good thing. I went there on a Thursday night with a couple of friends (who are my culinary cohorts now that my girlfriend is out of town for the summer) and we were pleased with our selection. The four of us first discovered the RCC when we were placed on a wait for Piccolo Forno, an Italian restaurant of unparalled excellence across the street. As Piccolo is sans bar, we sauntered across the street to RCC for some cocktails while we waited. We were so impressed and pleased we decided to make a return trip. This is the story of that trip.
When one walks into the Round Corner, you are immediately transported to a dingy Baja tequila joint. I love the decor inside, it it classic Mexican bar atmosphere. I almost expect Clint Eastwood to stroll through the front door smoking a stogie and wearing a battered old serape. The building is deceptively large; the front bar is small but through an almost hidden hallway, you are led to a larger dining room and then an outdoor patio area. The Patio area looks and feels like a Baja surf bar. I like it, it's relaxed and cool and right up my alley.
It is easy to tell by the set up of the restaurant and the menu, that Round corner focuses heavily on the bar side of the business. I don't mind this because they do it right. They maintain a large stock of tequilas and mezcals, and here they actually note the difference between the two (no tequila will NEVER have a worm) and their beer selection is populated by mostly Mexican and Carribean lagers. Not the ideal location for a hop head, but on a hot summer night I like those styles, so I was happy with my Red Stripe. Thry also have a coctail menu that is interesting to say the least. Our female friend drank the red sangria and the Something-Star Cocktail and said they were deliscious, but that the sangria was better. For me, I broke up the beer with a Perfect 10, a gin-based play on a mojito. I thought it was quirky and unique, but I switched back to beer (I just don't do fru-fru glassware). One side note, from my prior visit, be careful if you are drinking liquor here. I was ordering single Hendricks' and Tonics and was easily getting doubles and then some.
As far as the service goes, this is where Round Corner loses as star for me. The service at the bar was quick, effiecient and pleasant, but at the table, things slowed waaaay down. They were busy and I do take that into consideration, but it should not take almost two hours for some chips, tacos, and drinks. Our waitress was nice enough and accomodated all our requests, but she was very slow.
However, when the food did come, we forgot all out complaints. We shared orders of the guacamole, slasa verde, and salsa rojo with chips. The chips are hand made there, as were all of the dips. My favorite was the guacamole, but the salsas, while flavorful, were a little runny for my tastes. The runniness also meant that the guys there got salsa all over us. Followed by the chips we got the tacos. I went full-on-fat-boy and got pork belly, hanger steak, and tempura mahi mahi tacos. Coincidentally, that is also the order of my favorites. Starting with the pork belly, if you are not a fan of fat, steer clear. Actually, scratch that, grow a pair, hit the gym later, and get them any way. The pork belly tacos were excellent; succulent and covered in cilantro, onions, and apples. The steak tacos were good as well, but not quite the experience that the pork belly tacos were. The mahi mahi was the biggest dissappointment. The flavor of the fish was just kind of lost amongst the toppings, namely the cabbage. Also, I feel as if the fis tacos provided the least bang for my buck. They are eight dollars, but are really just a couple tortillas, some sauce, and about three ounces of fish. A bit of a rip if you ask me. I usually don't complain about price, but I did feel it was a little pricey here, especially when I can get tacos of a superior quality from Reyna's in the Strip. I guess you could justify it by saying Reyna's tacos are street food and they don't have to pay for the rent and liquor, but I must counter by saying that the ingredients Round Corner uses are very similar to Reyna's and that Round Corner pays for the liquor with the liquor.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Round Corner. The ambiance, quality of food, and bar mean I will be going back at some point, even if I might not be rushing back. I will probably go when I feel like cocktails and decent tacos, but If I am simply on a mission for amazing tacos, Reyna's is still the king in my book. Four Stars
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