Dinner with the 'Brits' tonight at Rojo Mexican Grill in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park.
The Shops at West End are a
retail developers dream...lots of stores and restaurants and parking
ramps...but like all developments, some space that still isn't
'developed'. What are real estate developers developing
now as retail declines in favor of on-line shopping and as retailers
continue to close their doors? Oh, I forgot - senior buildings. Maybe
they can turn parts of this development into senior housing, too.
But there's a bustling scene at the Rojo Mexican Grill tonight.
Lots of people sitting outside soaking up late summer on a night when
the humidity has finally dropped out of the oppressive range. Lots of
people inside,
too, but the 'Brits' arrived on time (sorry, car crash on one route and
Twins Game on another...no way from Shoreview to St. Louis Park tonight) and snared a table near the kitchen.
Chips and salsa already on the
table...the salsa bit back a little more than expected and the chips
were warm and flowing as the waiter brought more baskets and tubs of
salsa for us.
Amid the menu of tacos,
enchiladas, and chimi's, I scoured the choices for something less heavy
and more veggie-centric.
Tomatillo salad - sounds like the choice (boy,
I remember selling tomatillos at local farmers markets
15 years ago to an audience staring blankly at them and asking what
that papery brown stuff was on the green tomatoes---times are
changing). John and the 'Brits' selected tacos, enchiladas, and a
chimi----so as a group we covered the bases.
The service from Nash, our
server, was prompt and hysterically entertaining. Put John together
with someone who will play along, and the conversation veers into never
before seen territory. Just note that if a candidate
for governor offers free sweet corn and a free pony for all MN residents that this is where that
fabulous campaign platform was launched.
We were chatting, thinking the
meals might be a little slow to arrive based on crowd size, but within
minutes a team of servers arrived with plates of our goodies.
My tomatillo salad with fresh
roasted sweet corn (yup, pieces of 4-6 kernels as big tasty and sweet
chunks), red onion, mixed greens and romaine lettuce, asadero and
manchego cheese, tomatoes, and cotija cheese with
a tomatillo dressing. Wonderful flavor....maybe not so great on the
texture....a little mushy quality to the whole thing. I passed it to
John without comment and he said the same thing. So if they could have
kept the crispness in the greens, paired with
the great sweet corn, rich cheese, and great dressing, it would have
been a 10.
John's chicken enchiladas at
first looked skimpy, but the wonderful serving bowl was full of tasty
goodness. The asadero and manchego cheeses used here, too with shredded
chicken. What made this dish was the roasted
poblano cream sauce...way beyond luxurious. Refried beans on the
side (these were pretty average) and sweet rice. John found the rice
off-putting in sweetness. I found it a summery contrast to the delish,
but rich, sauce on the enchiladas. I found that
adding a dollop of the great spicy salsa to the beans upped the flavor
and texture components.
The 'Brits' enjoyed their
choices, too. The tacos were topped with pico de gallo, cotija cheese,
and chipotle sour cream. The chicken chimi included green chili
sauce, the asadero and manchego cheeses, and Mexican
sour cream, accompanied by the sweet rice and beans. Interestingly,
we chatted with a woman in the parking elevator carrying half of her
chicken enchiladas...so John asked her about the rice. She declared
it 'surprising' but delicious. I think I'd concur.
Great service (yes, Nash, you
can ride on the horse at our farm), reasonable pricing, generous
portions with some interesting twists on traditional Mexican American
food. We vote to keep it on the list of places for
a future visit.
[John: "Rojo Mexican Grill is built right on top of the old Lincoln Del, where Linda and I went on one of first dates...way back when. Good memories.]
[John: The 'Brits' are our son and daughter-in-law who live in London where you find wonderful food from across the globe...except Mexican food. I predicted that would be the 'Brits' first dining suggestion for this visit.]
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