Mercadito

We went to a new restaurant called Mercadito on only the third day that they were open. I was a bit cranky because I'd called to get a reservation to be told that I could eat before 6 pm and after 10 pm. Apparently they were only starting with a few diners at a time because the place was only 1/3 full. And I was cranky because I didn't see why they couldn't squeeze 3 more people in.

The drink menu was a bit of a problem. Once again a Mexican place that doesn't do strawberry daiquiris and has an entire drink list of drinks made with tequila. Just like the restaurant in San Francisco I talked about a few weeks ago. I don't do tequila at all. So once again I had the waitress tell the bartender to substitute rum or vodka into one of their pretty drinks. I ended up with a good drink in the end, but I'm getting tired of tequila only drink menus.

Luckily the food redeemed the restaurant for me. We started with a hot salsa that my dining companions said was good but I didn't try because it was mouth-on-fire hot. Make sure to get the salsa with the crispy corn bites instead of just the chips. We also had 2 guacamoles - the tradicional and the mango. Both were excellent although the tradicional was a little too spicy for my mouth.

My dining companions had 3 orders of tacos total. They had the carne, pollo, and pastor. The pastor were good but the carne and the pollo were amazing! Seriously the most tender and flavorful meat I've ever had. The pastor come with chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa. The pollo are herb marinated chicken, chipotle pickled sweet potato, chipotle salsa, and crispy manchego. And the carne were maggi marinated organic skirt steak, grilled cactus pico, warm queso fresco, and crispy red onions.

I chose the ostiones - baked oysters, manchego cheese, chorizo, and chipotle aioli. Very good. They came presented on three very large cakes of salt which looked like mashed potatoes to me. So don't try to eat them. These had a great flavor. The only downside was there was not nearly enough to fill me up in the least bit.

This place was delicious but the edge might go to De Cero. First De Cero has a killer raspberry basil daiquiri which I could drink about 8 of them. I also liked the guacamole slightly better at De Cero. Finally, I like that you can mix and match your tacos instead of getting a plate of 4 of them same ones at Mercadito. At De Cero you can order your tacos individually for $3.15 to $4.75 a taco or get a combination plate of 8 tacos and 3 salsas for $30.50. At Mercadito 4 tacos of all the same variety are $12.50.