La Mex

Much to my delight, there appear to be a plethora of Mexican restaurants to sample in Anchorage. This means a long search to identify a worthy successor to our long time favorite back in Cleveland, La Fiesta. I am up to the task.

Our first entrant in the contest was a local three restaurant chain, La Mex. Tim and I went to the branch on Spenard, it being closest to our apartment. Now, I have to admit I had a little bias against the place to start – I’m leary of chains, even itty-bitty ones. And, the main downtown La Mex advertises ribs and steaks as well as Mexican – a branching out that could cause them to let their Mexican roots lapse? Hmm. I tried not to let those thoughts get in the way of my evaluation (after all, Luchita’s in Cleveland has several locations, and it is definitely yummy). La Mex is evidentally a somewhat popular place – our apartment manager recommended it, so we decided to try it.

The building on Spenard was a basic clay adobe type building, not too fancy. A good first start. Inside, the restaurant was quite large; many rooms that seemed to go on for a good distance, and roomy, well-laid out booths and tables. Typical Mexican restaurant interior ambience with appropriately subdued lighting.

Our waitress was dressed in typical Mexican restaurant attire, and may actually have had some Mexican heritage. She was pleasant, but a bit flaky. At one time, she asked if we wanted to place our order, we said, ‘yes,’ and she immediately turned to walk away saying, "Ok, I’ll be back." A half second later she sheepishly realized her mistake. She also messed up my order (gave me a chicken enchilada instead of a chicken chimchanga), and accidentally ran our credit card through on another customer’s order. In her defense, she told us the credit card got run through and that she had immediately voided it (not sure she needed to confess that), and, as I mentioned, she was certainly pleasant as well as attentive.

Chips and salsa are a key part of the Mexican restaurant experience. The chips were unremarkable – I know they were crispy and tasty, I don’t recall if they were warm. They were certainly acceptable, maybe acceptable plus. Two types of salsa were delivered, a mild and a hot. The hot was definitely hot. Both were tasty, but not up to La Fiesta salsa standards. I was a bit disappointed in the small quantity of salsa delivered with the chips, however. Refills were free, but I thought the original amount served was a bit stingy.

The margaritas were large and insanely strong. They were so strong, some of my impressions may be a bit muddled, as it took less than one of these babies to get my head spinning. The drinks were delivered in the typical cheesy margarita glasses, liberally salted. Perhaps they were a bit on the large size, and that is why I was so affected by them. Or maybe they were just too darn strong. Anyway, the margaritas would rate very highly on the taste scale. However, I have become a fan of delivery in a more basic glass, and I don’t think one drink should be that strong/large.

The food itself was good, but not great. I was delighted to see spinach enchiladas on the menu; I had one and found it very good, if perhaps a bit mild. I wanted to try a chicken chimichanga, but was delivered a chicken enchilada instead. Having had mixed success in sending items back in Mexican restaurants, I accepted the enchilada. Now, chicken enchiladas aren’t my favorite to start with, and I found this one to have a slightly soggy corn tortilla shell and a rather bland flavor; it was also not topped with any cheese or sauce, which probably contributed to its mediocrity. The beans and rice were typical of most Mexican restaurants; simple, tasty, unremarkable. The platter also included a tiny side of shredded lettuce and tomato, which I always find to be a nice touch.

Tim also had a chicken enchilada; I think he enjoyed his more than I did mine, but I think he likes chicken enchiladas better than I do to start with. He also had a pork tamale, which he found to be just "fine." Basically, he felt, as I did, that the food was just average.

I would also mention that I noted a lack of mole sauce on the menu. While I am hoping to find a new favorite restaurant with spinach enchiladas, I’d hate to have to give up mole sauce for that, so that was a negative.

Certainly acceptable Mexican, but nothing to go back for. An unremarkable place.

Overall rating for La Mex: 3+

(Ratings are 1-5; 1=ick, 3=average, 5=yumyumyum!)

Ambiance: 4

Waitress: 3

Chips and salsa: 4 (for 2 types of salsa and overall tastiness)

Menu options: 3

Food tastiness: 3-

Margaritas: 4