Mexico in Alaska

I had been looking forward to Mexico in Alaska, as an old Fodors guidebook I have gives it a special Fodors star and describes it as "authentic.: Memorial Day, as Tim and I were driving around, we spontaneously decided to make Monday our dining out night for the week and started looking for Mexican restaurants. As they are all over here in Anchorage, we didn’t have to look long – "Turn right, there’s Mexico in Alaska, and it’s open," I screamed about 37 seconds after our decision to find a restaurant.

Mexico in Alaska has the type of almost divey adobe exterior and slightly darkened interior that signals ‘good Mexican restaurant!’ to me. The interior wasn’t huge – nice booths by the windows, interior tables with those tacky padded stackable chairs, and it looked like they have some patio dining during appropriate weather as well. What I’m trying to say is, the interior was just perfect for an authentic Mexican restaurant. Oh, they also had their menus permanently in view on each table under glass; very convenient actually, and probably more sanitary. Aren’t all traditional Mexican restaurants constantly having to wipe stray salsa off the menus, and don’t you just hate getting one where they missed wiping it up?

Chips and salsa were yummy and distinctive. The chips were thicker than most chips and more of a skinny triangle shape than your standard equilateral triangle. Tim pointed out this made them fit in your mouth better. The sauce was spicy and distinctive; we both liked it very much, but people who don’t like hot/spicy might find it a bit overpowering. Perhaps they have a milder alternative, but we are hot and spicy people, so we did not inquire about tamer options. I presume refills were free; we didn’t ask for more than was initially delivered, so I could be mistaken.

Margaritas were "wine margaritas" as Mexico in Alaska does not have a full liquor license. Quite frankly, I really couldn’t tell the difference. They were quite yummy and large and delivered in a liberally salted typical tacky margarita glasses. So, unless you want to do shots of tequila, or are somehow more of a connoisseur than I am, Mexico in Alaska can satisfy your margarita fix.

The menu options were varied and enticing. I wasn’t that bold, but there were lamb tacos, beef tongue dishes, cactus dishes, meatball dishes, interesting dishes with more mainstream beef/pork/chicken. It was hard to decide what to try. Tim and I went fairly traditional. Tim tried a pork dish with onions and japapenos in a tomato based sauce. It was good; could have been spicer and they could have used a better cut of pork, but Tim did enjoy it. I tried a combination plate to allow me to sample a few different items. I had a pork tamale, bean burrito, and chicken taco. Of the three items, the chicken taco was the best, although maybe a bit on the dry side. I was impressed that the taco shell really seemed homemade by the way it looked (ok, that’s silly, but it impressed me!). The tamale was just fine; it was topped with mole sauce, which was a nice touch. However, Mexico in Alaska seems to have the mildest mole sauce I have ever tasted; they must be trying not to offend anyone, but it really didn’t have much zing or personality. I was a bit disappointed in the burrito, as the shell was fried. I understand it can be ordered soft as well, which is probably how I would order it in the future (my mistake, I did not specify). Both of our dinners came with a very nice plate of beans, rice, and a small salad topped with an avocado slice. Beans and rice were typical yummy Mexican restaurant fare. The salad had a vinaigrette /Italian type dressing similar to what our old favorite La Fiesta served. We had wanted to try the flan for dessert, but by the end of the meal our otherwise attentive and friendly server had completely abandoned us, so we eventually gave up waiting for him to return and went up the cashier and paid the bill….this was really the only service snafu in an otherwise wonderful experience.

I can’t say that I was totally wowed by the food, but the experience was very pleasant and the menu so intriguing, that I know I will find myself sampling Mexico in Alaska a few more times.

Overall rating for Mexico in Alaska: 4-

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

Ambiance: 4+

Waiter: 3

Chips and salsa: 4+

Menu options: 4

Food tastiness: 3+

Margaritas: 3+