Reviews

Classy Mexican at Border Grill

July 29th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit Comment
Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!

Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!

It’s pretty rare, but sometimes it’s good to break free of Mexican fast-food and slow, yet still greasy Mexican food.  To make this jump, I went to the Border Grill in Santa Monica and attempted to class-up my Mexican repertoire.

They actually had a surprisingly welcome selection of unvegan options and I was torn between a few of the dishes.  The steep prices may have ended up playing a role in my final selection, which was still pretty pricey at $15.  This was one of their specials, the Chicken Adobo Quesadilla.  Adobo is a great seasoning, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong.  It came with manchego, panela and cotija cheeses inside, and mizuna salad, salsa fresca, guacamole and sour cream on the outside.  I ordered mine without the mizuna salad and although I’m not entirely sure what “mizuna” means, I know it involved vegetables I didn’t want to eat.

When my quesadilla arrived, I was perturbed by the dilapidated greens resting upon my meal.  Usually I can kind of understand that garnishings make foods look prettier, but whatever greens were laying atop my quesadilla made it look wholly unappetizing.  I scraped these miscreants from my food and tried to forget about them as I ate my meal.

The quesadilla was quite good, especially topped with guacamole.  There was also a nice selection of salsas on the table that I was able to taste with the quesadilla.  Unfortunately, it was unable to live up to the $15 price tag.  Maybe ten bucks would be doable, but considering all the cheap Mexican food LA has to offer, I won’t be dropping $15 on a quesadilla again anytime soon.


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Unvegan Top 20 for 2011

‘Tis the season for “Best of the Year” lists, so I thought I would join the party and put in my top 20 new restaurants from 2011.  By the way, this means the restaurants were new to me, not new to LA.  Please note that I am only including meals in the Los Angeles area.  As much as I loved the food on my travels, you can check any of those places out pretty quickly by clicking here.  So, without further caveat, here’s the best that 2011 had to offer for the unvegan:

20.  Cobras and Matadors

This tapas place in Mid-City is everything tapas should be.  From bacon-wrapped dates to a variety of cheeses, there is really something for anyone looking for a delicious meal.  Just beware, while tapas can be kept to a moderate price, when you throw a big group in with small plates, there are bound to be some people who don’t get their money’s worth.  But keep the group small and Cobras and Matadors will send you home full and happy.

19.  Steingarten

Dishing out delicious sausages, including a few of the exotic variety, Steingarten also offers up a pretty stellar beer selection.  If you’ve ever wanted to eat alligator in sausage form, Steingarten won’t disappoint, but they also serve a wider range of foods, including some pretty delicious burgers.  Their sausage execution, though, could use a bit of improvement, which pushed another sausage joint further up on the list. Continue Reading»