Cuisine Review

There were no mirrors on the ceiling, no champagne on ice. I had choosen to be a prisoner here of my own device when I entered San Miguel’s House of Tequila, on Schillinger Road in WeMo.

The outside is commanding and impressive, especially for a Mexican restaurant. The inside is full of expensive fixtures and soaring ceilings. High quality tile, great paint colors, fountains, nice lighting and a fancy bar. In fact, liquor bottles are displayed to the ceiling on lighted bases. You come in with high expectations.

The menu uses a nice font and is not encased in plastic, but in a cushy folder. Like so many Mexican establishments, was lengthy. There is everything from tacos to steaks and seafood. But do not be fooled, this is really just another Mexican restaurant, disguised to appear like its overpriced offerings are worth it.

First, we drove and drove forever to reach San Miquel’s House of “Illusions” from MiMo. My son complained the entire way, even though I told him we have reviewed almost all of the restaurants in our immediate vicinity. I am now finding myself seeking out places in the hinterlands.

People were filing into the parking lot on a Tuesday night, which is not typically the best night for restaurants. We were greeted warmly and immediately seated. I cannot express how enormous the place is. There is no partition between the bar and the dining area — just iron work.

At first we were seated in a booth on the other side of the bar area. Despite asking to be in non-smoking, there were some heavy smokers pouring their exhaust into our booth. We moved to a table at this point. The tables have chairs that seem to be made from corn husks, and while not uncomfortable, they are a bit flimsy.

The appetizers, of course, have all combinations of cheese dip, but there are some strange items as well. BBQ, hot and chipotle wings ($6.75), cheese sticks ($6.75) are in amongst the nachos and an enticing sampler platter. The sampler platter ($9.95) has a chicken quesadilla, steak nachos and chicken flautas.

Of course, they have the whole listing of a la carte items. Everything is either a number or a letter on the menu. Here is what knocks you down; the items are the same as all of the other Mexican places in town, only more expensive.

The combination platters, say one beef taco, one enchilada, Mexican rice and cheese is almost the cheapest selection, and it is $8. The chicken platters do have some creations not seen in the typical local Mexican restaurant. There is a mole poblano ($10.25), which is a chicken breast topped with dark brown Mexican sauce made with dry chiles, nuts and spices, served with rice and tortillas. On the vegetarian side, I saw mushroom fajitas ($8.75) where hot mushrooms are combined with onions tomatoes and bell peppers.

The chile rellenos and poblanos are authentic, not just bell peppers with cheese. I had a poblano that was very good. The menu becomes quite ambitious at this point.

There are steaks and seafood all in the $12-$13 range. I understand that the ceviche is very nice — red snapper cut into pieces, marinated in lime juice and cooked with pico de gallo and served with avocado, tostadas and lime. However, it comes in a rather small, martini styled glass, which is pretty chintzy for $12.50.

An inventive item is the Camerones al Chiptole ($13.95) and not likely a bad deal. One dozen shrimp are cooked in olive oil then covered with chipotle sauce. Other variations of this recipe are also present.

Six steaks are also on the menu, a T-bone, sirloins and rib-eyes. Why you would want to eat a grilled steak at a Mexican restaurant… ? All of them are in the $14 range.

The kids ordered cheese quesadillas and beef enchiladas. Pretty basic, but the cigar-rolled enchilada was crispy, although not very large. The beef and chicken are of better quality, but in my opinion not enough to justify the higher prices. On the positive side, neither meats are dry or mealy like so many numbered places.

My wife chose the Burrito Loco ($9.95) a 10-inch rolled flour tortilla filled with chicken or steak (she choose steak), black beans Mexican rice and pico de gallo, served with guacamole. There was no mention that it was going to be covered in cheese sauce, which was rather lukewarm to almost cold. It was large and alright tasting — like all of our food. We agreed that none were essentially any better tasting than the Los Rancheros of the world.

I had examined a menu someone provided me beforehand and already picked out what I wanted. The Hacienda Platter ($12.95) contained either a chile relleno or poblano, one chicken flauta, one beef enchilada, one burrito and one beef taco. A large hot platter of items smothered in red sauce along with separate plates for the poblano and taco were brought to my table.

The poblano was excellent, the taco was a taco. The red sauce they use to smother is slightly creamy and mild, yet adds a well-rounded flavor to the items underneath. I especially liked the burrito with the guacamole that I had spread atop. The enchilada was crunchy like my son’s, yet mine was a bit dry. The other two I could not tell which was which.

Now, does this seem to you worthy of $44? Not to me. Don’t be fooled into dancing with the tart. If you desire down and dirty, not really authentic Mexican food, hook up instead with the slightly shabby place with no make-up.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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