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Mexico Restaurant, a closer look
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Don't just take my word for it! Check out these other fine views on Mexico Restaurant!
See the official Mexico Restaurant site!
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See Reid's quick take on Mexico Restaurant! |
Check out the gang at Hawaii Eats! |
 See what the Yelper's are saying! |
 Wanda Adams and her professional take on Mexico Restaurant! |
Aloha!
3/14/10 - Hmmm... Seen this place before. Smelt it. Tasted it. Felt it...
If I'm sitting here in Mexico Restaurant in Kalihi, why are several servers wearing black shirts with the name Mexico Lindo painted-on? Well, I guess it turns out that the two are actually sister companies from the same owners so employees often jump right over Likelike Hwy. and pinch-hit for eachother if either is in a pickle (official Mexico Restaurant link above is actually Mexico Lindo site, but their menus are basically one and the same). The same folks doing-up the Kailua store left their marks here in Kalihi, as well, it's borderline theme-parkish decor playing the role and setting the scene well, with full bull racks, rope lassos, red earthen bricks, hanging peppers, matadors waving red flags, and Mr. Jose Cuervo everywhere. All in fun, all in fun. Good to transport to a different time or place once in a while, ya know?
And by the looks of it, lots of folks have been transporting themselves back - back to something more familiar, that is, as every time I come, half the dining room is filled with America's finest, in full-dress fatigues, combat hats and all! Apparently, soldiers from nearby Ft. Shafter are also very happy that a full-service Mexican restaurant has opened its doors just minutes away. After all, your typical Samoan and Filipino grocery stores, okazuya's, and plate lunch houses all over Kalihi have gotta seem foreign to our brave troops, and a touch of home is probably just what they need.
Mexico Restaurant is located on School St., just Diamond Head of Houghtailing. If you're coming from Diamond Head, take the School St. cut-off, go straight for almost a mile or so, and you'll see it on the left; from Ewa, take the Likelike cut-off, turn left at the immediate "T" to Kalihi St., then a right on School St., where Kenny's Drive-Inn and the Kapalama Shopping Center are located. From there, it'll show-up on your right-side. And remember, the map below is interactive, so you can scroll in or out as much as you like:
But keep a watchful eye, as the street gets busy and the lots' entrance, just left of the restaurant, is quite small. It looks spacious because of the angle, and its capacity, seemingly more than adequate, but believe me, there's not much wiggle-room, and it does fill-up real quick! Once, we even had to park in the the mini-park directly behind the lot, with a bunch of gentlemen (and I do mean a bunch - at least 15 of them!) playing cards, chess, and drinking beers in broad daylight, high noon! No, I don't exactly recommend parking there for everyone, as technically, the city can still tow, and who knows, paying-off a cashier $150 behind reinforced walls for your car back may end-up being the least of your worries, after all! Though they seemed friendly enough, you never can tell. After asking them in my best pidgeon dialect, hopefully inciting as much common local-boy comaraderie as possible, if parking there was ok, it seemed as if we were all bruddah-bruddah-good, but then again, there is that flammable and highly antagonistic element of alcohol and large groups of men with lots of time on their hands - not a particular set of circumstances I'd care to tempt on a daily basis.
With parking down, your next deal is securing a seat, another possible chore you may have to deal with. Luckily, we were always ushered a table immediately, but each time here, it was one of very few tables still available without a wait.
Actually, the bar was always wide-open, but having never been here during the evening, I'm not sure if this area fills quickly for dinner or not. My guess would be it does!
Regarding the food, as stated earlier, it is very similiar to Mexico Lindo in Kailua - bold, strong flavors, large portions, and a wide variety of choices. While there are lots of traditional-minded choices here, there is also the liberal use of cheddar and sour cream - I won't say that's a bad thing, necessarily, but I know all you purists out there just may wanna know, is all. Furthermore, their salsa is not made with purely fresh ingredients, and their beans, of the brown, not black variety. I'm just sayin'...
At the same time, let me just come out and say it - I do enjoy both of these restaurants very much. For festive groups and gatherings, to begin with, both places are party-friendly and carry atmosphere's very much conducive to fun and good times, kinda like a more traditional version of the former Compadres at Ward Center, which closed down to just about everyone's dismay. Their starter menu is absolutely killer, with excellent sauteed garlic mushrooms(6.95 medium, $9.50 large), excellent garlic or chipotle scallops ($13.95), excellent jumbo shrimp drenched or mixed with garlic, diablo, chipotle, or chorizo ($13.50-$13.95), and an excellent sizzling queso ($6.25 medium, $8.25 large), to name a few:
And all of them come in very generous portions, the above queso being not a large, but medium platter. Unfortunately, we saw it sitting on the pick-up counter for several minutes, and by the time it arrived on our table, the sizzle was down to a drizzle, with only a few weak, pooped-out bubbles of pent-up steam being released around the outer edges. No worries, though. Even when cooled substantially after 20 minutes or so, until its cheddar and Jack cheeses no longer pulled-apart in long strings, but in short clumps, we are still talking about luscious, rich, decadent cheese, yes? Mixed with salsa fresco to alternating color patterns of red, white, green, and orange, it was a beautiful and impressive dish most suitable, me thinks, for four people or more, as it is only an appetizer, and you can imagine how heavy this thing gets after so many bites! I'd consider it a splurge moment, a once-in-a-while kind of thing - oh, so delicious but not something I'd do on a regular basis. Kumi and I finished only half of this platter and about half of both of our main entree plates, and it took four or five hours for me to shake-off that weighed-down feeling afterwards!
Not that I'm complaining. Dis buggah was super-ono, and it'll take an extreme discipline for me to not order it again next time around!
Another popular starter here is their ceviche:
Kumi loves the stuff, but me, I dunno - I'm not really the biggest fan of ceviche in general. That whole cooked-but-not-cooked-in-lime-and/or-lemon-thing, at least in the traditional sense, where seafoods are marinated for several hours, doesn't particularly appeal to me. I usually find the acidic element a little too strong, especially after several bites, and the silky-soft, almost hard-custard-like texture, rather unappealing (shrimp, scallops, and other such seafood types become firmer, though, and that tangy bite is usually a bit more mellow, so I can handle those more). Modern-style ceviche, however, which can use the same basic ingredients and more, but are not left sitting in marinade much longer than the time it takes to plate, is much more enjoyable for me. In modern versions, the savory, salty element is also often more pronounced than the acidic element, another aspect I prefer when talking about raw fish.
However, as is the case with all foods, it's a preference thing, is all.
And my two preferences, when it comes to starters here at Mexico Restaurant, is a toss-up between the sizzling queso above and their spicy diablo shrimp:
We actually ordered it as an appetizer plate, but I guess they mistakenly brought a full-sized entree order to our table, complete with Mexican rice, beans, small salad w/salsa fresco, and a healthy dollop of guac! Fine by me!
Smothered in a spicy, red, well-seasoned diablo sauce, which was more like a gravy, the shrimps themselves were of a decent size, split down the backs for easy consumption, and absolutely delicious in every way! I couldn't get enough of that lovely sauce, which I sopped-up with rice, warm tortillas, beans, or with my bare fingers! Dis one - no can touch!
But leaving the subject of starters, after having so many great tacos at several great Mexican eateries recently, Kumi decided upon a two-taco plate of carnitas and adobada pork for $13.95:
Yeah, horrendous pic. Absolutely nothing going for it (pic, not meal!). Here's a better shot of the pork carnitas taco:
The twice-cooked pork was tasty and tender, first stewed then quickly browned for a few crispy edges here and there. Only thing was, they were supposed to come with corn tortillas, not flour. Aaah, just one of those things, is all. We're usually not the kind to send things back, unless the mistake was really bad.
Here's the other half:
This adobada wasn't quite as soft as the carnita, coming in short strips and with a hint of vinegar, much like a Filipino pork adobo.
Surprisingly, my choice actually tasted even more like a pork adobo:
It was more brown than the normal green that comes from tomatillos and green peppers, and came with a pronounced vinegar element, as well. The pieces were soft, tender, and juicy, falling apart like small chunks of kalua pig. It wasn't my favorite, but still, not bad when thrown in a tortilla shell along with some salsa fresco and other veggies on the plate.
Our final dish presented today is a combination platter of chili relleno and chicken enchilada. Both are always favorites in Mexican cuisine, and I'd be perfectly content and happy, taste-wise, in ordering either at every single Mexican restaurant we visit! Site or no site, however, I'd never be quite experientially fulfilled ordering the same dishes every time, even though the restaurant changes each time as well.
The plate was pretty much what I expected, which was not bad at all. Nothing much out-of-the-ordinary or extra-ordinary to report, though, just a decent chili relleno and a decent enchilada, is all.
There's quite a few interesting choices here to go along with your more normal items like taco salads, burrito's, quesadilla's, fajita's, enchilada's, and this-and-such. I wouldn't mind trying their chilaquiles, machaca's, or huevos rancheros one day (all egg-based, breakfast-type dishes), or their real crab meat enchilada's, carne arriera (sliced steak w/spicy salsa, bells, tomatoes, and onions), or Acapulco pescado (grilled mahimahi with papaya avocado salsa).
All in all, though, I think starters are actually the strongest points here at Mexico Restaurant in Kalihi, as well as Mexico Lindo in Kailua. Come with a large group and for drinks, besides, and you're sure to have a great time in the busy, fun-filled atmosphere. It's not as far Mex-American as Compadre's was, but I don't think it's suited for totally traditional, purist tastes, either. I believe it still leans closer to the traditional side than to the completely Americanized, though, and with tasty dishes like the ones we've had, I don't really always care if it's Mexican with hints of American, Chinese, Japanese, or Filipino! When it's good, it's good, right?
Hey, I'm still not done on the subject, and I've still got a few more Mexican eateries in mind. We may take a break with some other type of cuisine, however, depending on the direction of our tummies. We'll see...
Finally, after a couple of windy, cloud-filled, sometimes rainy days, how gorgeous was it yesterday? Blue skies and not a cloud in sight! Well, at least in the morning. Still, lucky we live Hawaii! Gotta have some rains once in a while!
Hope you're all having a wonderful weeked!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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