taste of the city | Alejandro’s Mexican Grill

Picture walking into your best friend’s mom’s kitchen. Smiles wide, gestures wider, warmth beaming from faces. That is the welcome we received at Alejandro’s Mexican Grill on Campbell Avenue one very busy February night. The hustle, the bustle and the flow of salsa—an entire bar of dipping dangers from tomatillo to verde—somehow worked in our favor as we were seated within ten minutes and served chips to go with that salsa in another five.

This is not your “let’s smear everything with enchilada sauce and call it Mexican” restaurant. Refried beans and gloppy melted cheese had been checked at the door. And while the atmosphere, some complain, lacks a certain sophistication, the verve and vivacity and the fishbowl-sized margarita make up for it in strong measure.

Since I’ve dipped my toe in the water, I’ll go the whole way with this margarita business: It was the real deal, on ice, and a pair of guppies would have had plenty of swim space. It came in quite handy after a short, hot battle with my tomatillo salsa.

Alejandro’s menu is extensive and needs to be perused with leisure. After all, the variations are many and can be customized, so stretch that neck back and gaze at the extensive chalkboard running along one wall, which invites lovely combinations of the real deal. Meanwhile, order fresh, creamy and mild guacamole to counteract the salsa.

For dinner, I had one fish taco, a chicken tamale (because I think a good tamale is a true test) and a shredded pork burrito. The fish taco, my first one ever, was made with grilled tilapia, onions and cilantro. The burrito could have been stuffed with one of nine different meats, from steak or grilled chicken to steamed beef or Mexican sausage. The tamale was delicious and consumed all too quickly.

My date ordered steak fajita. Normally he has a good appetite, but this plate, loaded with gorgeous marinated and grilled thin strips of steak, required a goodie box at the end of the evening. He declared it terrific.

The menu includes all the usual suspects, but the taste is not suspect or usual. It is authentic, and I can be backed up by the testimony of many fervent fans who have enjoyed this newbie on the block. The seafood on the menu includes a seafood tostada, a spicy shrimp dish, and a Camarones Cancun, which is grilled shrimp, red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, green onions, sesame seeds with rice and guacamole salad.

Lunch specials run from a hefty $4.75 (one taco, one enchilada and rice or beans) to a whopping $6.99 for the steak or chicken fajitas. Dinners can be mixed and matched single choices, as I did, to platters—platos —the most expensive of which is $12.99. One in that category is Alejandro’s Special, a selection of chicken breast, beef steak and pork steak topped with onions, mushrooms and cheese sauce, served with either rice or beans.
I have one last thing to say about Alejandro’s: Ole!

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under Taste of the City.

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