Then, we learned that Mexican Café was re-opening on May 5th. You see, J is a Texan, so the allure of true Mexican food was strong for her. We had to try. What food lover could resist a restaurant opening on a major food holiday? When we arrived, however, a long line and an hour wait turned us away and sent us right back to Plan A: avoid the obvious destinations.
We arrived at Gordon Biersch right around dinnertime and were seating right away. In no time, our food was ordered and there was a margarita in my hand.
The Patrón margarita comes 'up' in a martini glass, which looks a little funny at first. But the presentation has nothing to do with the taste. The drink was well-mixed and balanced, without the strong, sour bite of tequila that is sometimes glaring in margaritas. J said the same of her mojito, a good balance of flavors that was neither too sweet nor too strong.
We split an order of the Southwest Egg Rolls, a fusion dish that is much more Southwest than Asian. The fried wonton shell is filled with pulled chicken, pepper jack cheese, black beans, corn, and roasted red peppers and served with a fiery roasted jalapeño ranch dipping sauce on the side. At a little over ten bucks, this appetizer might seem steep, but the taste is worth shelling out a little extra. Said J: "I thought it would be dry, but it wasn't." The filling is moist and cheesy. "And it was surprisingly spicy." Even without the dipping sauce, the rolls pack a punch.
After spicing things up with the Southwestern appetizer, we were looking for something sweet to soothe our taste buds, so we hopped over to Lures Bar & Grille in Crownsville.
Lure's latin-inspired dessert is called a XanGo, flaky pastry tortilla filled with cheesecake and real banana, topped with buttery caramel and whipped cream. A banana sweet may sound light, but the sweet and creamy cheesecake filling makes this dessert rich. J and I split the order and were still satisfied.
I still can't wait to experience the re-launch of the Mexican Café right in our backyard, but I'm glad we didn't spend Cinco de Mayo in line. While we got creative with the restaurants and did a little traveling to complete our fiesta mexicana, it was worth the distance to avoid the wait. Tex-Mex inspired dishes appear where you least expect, so pay attention the next time you visit your favorite Naptown restaurant and you might be surprised. Fusion is in.
Next time, maybe we'll look for Asian-inspired surprises, too! :)
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