Portions play a factor, as does the “comfort-level” of the restaurant, which is grouped in the ambience category. Being crammed tightly into a space or learning that the gentleman next to you had a prostate exam that day would tend to lower this score. Lastly, the diversity of the dining patrons will be evaluated. In fairness, restaurants cannot control completely the diverse nature of its clientele. However, let’s face it, we are often more likely to dine at a place in an environment befitting our cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Thus, this criteria will be evaluated as well. Additionally, I will note if there are vegetarian options and also whether choices are available for the lactose intolerant.
NUEVO LAREDO CANTINA
Hopefully, all of you enjoyed my special “Best Of Atlanta” restaurants recently released after much painstaking consideration.
As you may recall, “Best Mexican” was penned as “INCOMPLETE” because I had not sampled the immensely popular, West Midtown neighborhood favorite, Nuevo Laredo Cantina.
This past Saturday, I decided it was time to see what all the hubbub was about and ventured out close to 6PM to meet several friends.
The first shocker of the evening was the proclamation of a 35 minute wait!! At 6PM??? Oh, hell to the no!!!! Much to my consternation, I decided to forgo my ubiquitous impatience and sit it out. My friends arrived a few minutes after I did, and we chit-chatted over some margaritas in the blazing summer sun in my jeans and buttoned down black shirt!!! Think I was a happy camper at this point?
So far, I was none too impressed at this celebrated establishment. Not only were we waiting despite our early arrival time, but the place looked like a roadside dive on the inside. How did such profusive praise adorn the walls of this shanty of a restaurant? (I beheld several “Best Mexican” awards courtesy of the readers of “Creative Loafing.”) Clearly, ambience was not going to be its strong suit.
It was at this point I decided that I was going to try my best to dislike this place intensely just so I could be the one dissenting voice in all of the hoopla. Based on its location, I figured I could continue my diatribe by denigrating the diversity of the restaurant, which as you all know is one of my important criteria. Alas, however, I found a melting pot of folks---young, old, black, white, and Hispanic. Well, I was foiled in this area.
Finally, our name was called, and we made our way to our table. The first order of business? Fire up the guacamole and the salsa! After all, the key, in my mind, to a really good Mexican restaurant is the guac!! It was at this point that I put the moratorium on disliking the place, as the guacamole was stupendous. Though not spicy, it had just the right amount of zest that was most pleasing. The salsa, too, was a success, and while you might not think so, believe me, it is possible to mess up salsa. We were off to an excellent start!
I opted for the Chicken Diablo---shredded chicken in a red chili sauce that was served with rice, beans, and tortillas. This dish was definitely piquant to the taste buds and absolutely terrific. The portions thoroughly covered the plate, which must be lauded, especially from folks like me with a hearty appetite.
One of my friends orders the beef chimichanga, which is also muy bien!!!!! Again, it’s a heaping of food as well and an excellent choice if you’ve gotten this dish before somewhere else.
My friend, Tre’, (who you may recall from previous write-ups as the pseudo-President Emeritus of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce) opted for the bean burrito, which I thoroughly enjoyed sampling as well, even though usually I’m not a fan of what I would consider to be a pretty insipid type of burrito. This one, however, was in stark contrast to that.
Before I knew it, my gluttonous pilfering of my friends’ entrees was over, and I was fuller than a tick on a dog. Dessert wasn’t going to be feasible on this night, but had you been interested, there were scanty options---flan and sopapilla. That’s it. However, I wasn’t about to complain about that since I was going to have to be seemingly fork-lifted out of the restaurant anyway.
And suddenly, I knew exactly what all the fuss was about, despite my best attempts to lend a disparaging utterance or two. This was the best Mexican restaurant I’d eaten at in Atlanta, even if it did demand a 35 minute wait to indulge.
Service was consistent and congenial, and the price was definitely right for those on a budget.
My best advice to you is to act like your grandparents and eat at 4PM if you don’t want to wait. Or just show up when you want and prepare to guzzle down a margarita---or two or three or four---depending on when you arrive!
Food: A
Service: A
Portions: A+
Ambience/Comfort: D (But you’re aren’t going here for that anyway!)
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Good
Vegetarian Options: Limited
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes. Just order things without cheese!
OVERALL GRADE: A
FINAL COMMENT: Yes, I was living up to my name and being a “Doubting Thomas”, but this place made a believer out of a curmudgeon like me!
As you may recall, “Best Mexican” was penned as “INCOMPLETE” because I had not sampled the immensely popular, West Midtown neighborhood favorite, Nuevo Laredo Cantina.
This past Saturday, I decided it was time to see what all the hubbub was about and ventured out close to 6PM to meet several friends.
The first shocker of the evening was the proclamation of a 35 minute wait!! At 6PM??? Oh, hell to the no!!!! Much to my consternation, I decided to forgo my ubiquitous impatience and sit it out. My friends arrived a few minutes after I did, and we chit-chatted over some margaritas in the blazing summer sun in my jeans and buttoned down black shirt!!! Think I was a happy camper at this point?
So far, I was none too impressed at this celebrated establishment. Not only were we waiting despite our early arrival time, but the place looked like a roadside dive on the inside. How did such profusive praise adorn the walls of this shanty of a restaurant? (I beheld several “Best Mexican” awards courtesy of the readers of “Creative Loafing.”) Clearly, ambience was not going to be its strong suit.
It was at this point I decided that I was going to try my best to dislike this place intensely just so I could be the one dissenting voice in all of the hoopla. Based on its location, I figured I could continue my diatribe by denigrating the diversity of the restaurant, which as you all know is one of my important criteria. Alas, however, I found a melting pot of folks---young, old, black, white, and Hispanic. Well, I was foiled in this area.
Finally, our name was called, and we made our way to our table. The first order of business? Fire up the guacamole and the salsa! After all, the key, in my mind, to a really good Mexican restaurant is the guac!! It was at this point that I put the moratorium on disliking the place, as the guacamole was stupendous. Though not spicy, it had just the right amount of zest that was most pleasing. The salsa, too, was a success, and while you might not think so, believe me, it is possible to mess up salsa. We were off to an excellent start!
I opted for the Chicken Diablo---shredded chicken in a red chili sauce that was served with rice, beans, and tortillas. This dish was definitely piquant to the taste buds and absolutely terrific. The portions thoroughly covered the plate, which must be lauded, especially from folks like me with a hearty appetite.
One of my friends orders the beef chimichanga, which is also muy bien!!!!! Again, it’s a heaping of food as well and an excellent choice if you’ve gotten this dish before somewhere else.
My friend, Tre’, (who you may recall from previous write-ups as the pseudo-President Emeritus of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce) opted for the bean burrito, which I thoroughly enjoyed sampling as well, even though usually I’m not a fan of what I would consider to be a pretty insipid type of burrito. This one, however, was in stark contrast to that.
Before I knew it, my gluttonous pilfering of my friends’ entrees was over, and I was fuller than a tick on a dog. Dessert wasn’t going to be feasible on this night, but had you been interested, there were scanty options---flan and sopapilla. That’s it. However, I wasn’t about to complain about that since I was going to have to be seemingly fork-lifted out of the restaurant anyway.
And suddenly, I knew exactly what all the fuss was about, despite my best attempts to lend a disparaging utterance or two. This was the best Mexican restaurant I’d eaten at in Atlanta, even if it did demand a 35 minute wait to indulge.
Service was consistent and congenial, and the price was definitely right for those on a budget.
My best advice to you is to act like your grandparents and eat at 4PM if you don’t want to wait. Or just show up when you want and prepare to guzzle down a margarita---or two or three or four---depending on when you arrive!
Food: A
Service: A
Portions: A+
Ambience/Comfort: D (But you’re aren’t going here for that anyway!)
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Good
Vegetarian Options: Limited
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes. Just order things without cheese!
OVERALL GRADE: A
FINAL COMMENT: Yes, I was living up to my name and being a “Doubting Thomas”, but this place made a believer out of a curmudgeon like me!
posted by Thomas | 8:23 PM
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