This is another business nurtured by La Cocina that recently opened a permanent location on Mission between 30th and Cortland. I stopped in for lunch on Thursday. It’s a nice space with large windows, not overdesigned like so many restaurants seem to be these days.
The menu is small with a focus on a rotation of guisados (stews). I ordered the albondigas.
The food was decent, but not exceptional, and there wasn’t much of it. The photo doesn’t show the handmade tortillas, two of them, about four inches round. Again, decent, though a bit thick and chewy - I think I did better at home with fresh masa from La Palma. It surprised me that Tacos Cala is actually better value for the same type of food, though there I have to stand at a metal counter and bus my own dishes.
I want to support businesses like this, but I am uncertain about going back given my general disappointment. Has anyone else been?
The dinner menu offers more guisados in multiple sizes at price points around $16/$30/$42, plus a $40/person “we cook a full meal for you” option. It was packed the first time I attempted to walk in for dinner (we didn’t want to wait an hour) so I wonder if the portions/quality are better at dinner.
Yeah, it’s so close to home, I’ve been a couple of times. I like that it’s possible to get a smaller meal (a couple of sopes). The guac and chips are really good, and a small is fine for a family of three like us. I like the tortillas. I’ve had a calabacita guisado that was just unrelenting zucchini and I didn’t think it was very interesting at all. Overall, I think the food is pretty good, if a little on the dry side and probably a little shy on the spicing. I want to go during the day for chilaquiles and whenever they decide to have a mole negro dish (which I keep missing). If the place is really busy, the service suffers dramatically. They are pretty stingy with a wine pour. These are my disorganized thoughts.
We started with a guava Agua Fresca, and transitioned to the nopales salad with a side of chips, still warm from the fryer but greaseless, thick, and nice toasted corn flavor.
Great chilaquiles. The salsa verde was very fresh, and its tart tomatillos helped lighten the dish and give it a fruity edge without being sweet. Each tortilla chip was soft on the outside but held its crunch until we finished the dish.
The red mole enchiladas were also great. The mole had some loft to it and a few tiny streaks of red oil. Mole and very rounded and complex in flavor-- no component umped out.
I came after 1pm, so they were busy but not too busy. The service could be quicker.
Weekend special is a delicious Posole verde (calling @grayelf), more acidic than spicy, flavorful shredded chicken, white hominy in abundance and barely bursting.
Chile relleno very fresh, slight heat. Good quality beans. Tortillas are made from fresh masa and are thick, a bit coarse, with good corny flavor and pliability.
We had Buen Comer recco’d to us but by someone I wasn’t 100% sure of on Mexireccs. On the list for next time! ETA not sure about the lettuce with the pozole, as I prefer cabbage!
I haven’t been to the recently opened B&M of El Pipila (another La Cocina product) but always liked their vey cabbage-y pozole verde at Off the GRid, Fort Mason Center.
