The first time I entered this place, it was a hole-in-the-wall affair in Union Square, Somerville, and bore the name Taqueria la Mexicana. The last time I'd been wowed by a Mexican restaurant was in the late 1980s-early 1990s, at the late, lamented Taco Villa in Amherst and Northampton, MA, a place with chimichangas to maim for. While this new-to-me taqueria did not have chimichangas, or taquitos in the same style, they had excellent nachos, enchiladas and stuffed poblano peppers. I visited several times when I lived in walking distance, and have kept visiting since moving a town or two away.
A few years ago, Roberto, the owner, had a chance to absorb the space used by the Irish pub next door. After a great deal of introspection and examining budgets, he decided to go for it. He expanded and renamed the place Cantina la Mexicana, building a nice new dining room space and adding a good little bar to his restaurant. Some new dishes got added as well, but the old dishes mostly remained the same.
Tonight I went there with my children, ages 6 and 3, determined to have a good meal and to keep them out of their mother's hair for a few hours. We sat in the downstairs section, which is only a few steps below the main area near the bar, and hung our jackets on our chairs. We're regular enough that the staff knows us, and I am thankful that they put up with my (loud, impolite, brash) children.
I debated whether to go for the vegetarian enchilada relleno combo ($7.50), which sports two enchiladas and one refried-bean-stuffed poblano pepper, each covered with cheese and your choice of mild or hot sauce; or whether to go for the grilled skirt steak with grilled avocado and chilaquiles ($16.95). When both children declared they would only eat tortilla chips, and only drink water, I sighed and ordered the skirt steak. I also got myself a glass of limonade ($1.75), a tasty lime beverage that they make on-site that has free refills. They forgot to put it on my bill this time, which I will tell them the next time I go in. Unfortunately, my children distracted me at checkout time.
The tortilla chips at the restaurant are also fried there on site. Eating corn chips fried earlier in the day, lightly salted and served with hot salsa, really gives you an appreciation for how good they are fresh, and just what you miss when you buy store-brand chips. My children chomped on chips quite contentedly. I finished my chilaquiles, which are small tortilla strips covered in cheese, before attacking my steak. I ate my beef very happily, even though it is a little salty for my current diet.
Over midway through our meal, my 3 year old daughter, who had previously insisted that she only wanted corn chips, did not want meat, and did not want to share my dish, told me she wanted meat. After some back and forth, I sighed and told her she would have to wait while it cooked. It was slightly steep at $8.50 for the equivalent of just the meat I'd gotten for my meal, but it was just as tasty. She ate about half of it before declaring herself full.
While they generally only bring the supper menu at dinner, their full lunch menu is also available. It contains some of the best roadside Mexican food I have ever tasted. I brought a girlfriend there once, and after her first bite she told me it was the closest she'd had to her late grandfather's cooking since he passed on, tragically before passing along any of the centuries-old recipes that had been handed down through the generations.
While this is not fine dining in the gourmet sense, I consider this place fit for foodies and cheery for chowhounds. If you find yourself wanting good, real Mexican food, and that cheap big-chain place isn't cutting the chalupas, come here instead. The parking meters run 'til 8PM; come earlier anyways. You can thank me later.
No comments:
Post a Comment