Mexicali

This month, we said hola to the Mexican restaurant, Mexicali, located off of Cortez Road in Bradenton.

For our first review of the new year, the ladies and I pulled up a few extra chairs to welcome our guest reviews, Elizabeth and Sherrie.  I arrived (late as usual) and was happy to see all the girls chatting amongst themselves, excitedly perusing the colorful menus.

Rachel had been here before so she helped us sift through the numerous options.  Elizabeth, being a Brit, was a newbie to Mexican fare, so we all guided her towards something to try.  After I had sat down, I noticed chips and salsa had already been brought out to the table.

"The chips and salsa here is amazing.  So fresh tasting and very addicting," Rach said.  I tried a little bit, but it wasn't to my liking.  It did look fresh, but I prefer a thinner, watery salsa (which is probably not a good thing).  The chips were light and crispy, though.

Our server, Daniela, patiently waited as we all settled on what to order.  We all agreed that the menu was hefty with options, which was both good and bad.  It's nice to have the variety but it also seemed overwhelming.  

"It's a bit chaotic and hard to follow," Elizabeth noted.

I could see what she meant, as I had a hard time choosing something to order.  I decided to enlist Daniela's help to steer me in the right direction.

"What is the most popular dish, would you say?" I asked.  

"The burritos.  Especially 'The Wet Burrito'," she said.

So, Rach went for the Pick Two- Beef and Cheese Enchiladas, Sherrie ordered chicken soft tacos, Kim opted for the traditional taco salad, and Elizabeth and I chose the burritos.

After we ordered, we all began making observations about the decor.  It is a brightly colored space with knickknacks and pictures on the walls.

"I like the open layout, authentic decorations, and music," Rach said.

Within a few minutes, our orders arrived.  Before we all dug in, we made our observations about the presentation.  While it is unreasonable to expect a dazzling plate from a casual restaurant, it would've been nice to see the fiesta atmosphere included even in the dinnerware.  As it was, only Rach's and Sherrie's food was plated on a colorful blue plate, while the rest of us were handed generic beige plates.

Still, it's what's on the plate that really matters, so we turned out attention to your taste buds.

Right away, Kim, who appreciates good quality greens in a salad, was disappointed to see so much iceberg lettuce.  

"I was really hoping to see more nutritious and various greens," she said of her taco salad.

Rach, however, enjoyed her beef enchilada.

"The cheese enchilada was VERY cheesy, but the beef, with its green peppers, was more flavorful than I expected.  I enjoyed it very much."  She also noted that the rice was flavorful, if just a little too dry.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and I tore into our mammoth-sized burritos.  I was expecting a mouthful of veggies soaked in savory and spicy sauces and meat that tasted like it had been simmering for hours.  Instead, I gummed down a mouthful of refried beans and cheese.  It took a few more bites before I finally got to the meat, which was good, but not nearly present enough.

 Elizabeth agreed with several of my points.

"The food is filling but that's because it was filled- with beans.  It seemed to be trying to compensate for the lack of meat."

Sherrie, however, seemed to have ordered a good option as well.  Her soft chicken tacos looked uncomplicated and light next to our gluttonous burritos.  

"It's hard to screw up something simple like chicken tacos, so they were pretty average," Sherrie said.

After we had picked away at the last of our beans and rice, we figured if we were going to put this place through its paces, we might as well try a few desserts.  For the table, we chose fried ice cream (Sherrie's pick), key lime pie (Kim's pick) and the triple cappuccino cake (which was unanimously chosen).

First we tasted the fried ice cream.  There was so much whipped cream, it was difficult to even find the ice cream.  Then we tried the key lime pie and we all shook our heads at the lack of anything tasting remotely like real key lime pie.  The table favorite was definitely the triple cappuccino cake, which was nicely dense without being too rich.

At last we had had our fill of Mexicali, and here's what our combined points averaged out to be:

MENU                      
5

TASTE   
5                   

LOCATION        
5                 

PRESENTATION    
5.6

CLEANLINESS
6     

SERVICE
5

DECOR/ATMOSPHERE
6.8


Final Comments:

Kim-  "It was ok.  Not amazing, but good food.  Just sort of middle of the road.  I wouldn't crave it, but you do get a lot of food for your money."

Sherrie- "Only average.  Not something you'd recommend but you might swing by if you were in the area for a hankering for some Mexican."

Elizabeth- "Flavor was very bland.  Service was ok, but no smiles or charm.  Food came out quickly.  Waitress did not seem to be thrilled to be alive.  And the dessert was mass produced and tasted defrosted."

Kristen- "My food was just ok, but I think I would've enjoyed something else on the menu.  I appreciate the effort to make the place look festive, but wish it trickled down into attention to detail in the food."

Rachel- "I'm always happy to be in Bradenton!  I enjoyed the beef burrito and the chips and salsa.  I also really like the layout.  I just wish it was easier to use coupons here."