La Mexicana

    La Mexicana is a small, unassuming brick building across from a gas station on the corner of Bryant and Portage. This humble building houses three distinct areas. Upon entering, customers are greeted with the first section of the market, fresh produce and rows upon rows of Hispanic food staples. Horchata, Mole, hot sauces, a whole section of bagged spices and a whole deli counter filled with meats are some of the bountiful selections to be explored here.

     Straight back into the market is the second area, the ice cream coolers. La Mexicana offers homemade ice cream and ice cream bars in plenty of interesting flavors. Guava, avocado, chocolate, and egg nog are just a few of the diverse selection. Diners looking for a frozen treat in the cold months are out of luck. The ice cream section is closed during the winter.

     Secluded in the back of La Mexicana is the venue's true treat; the restaurant. The cash register and the grill sit behind a glass sneeze guard in full view of the seating area. Diners looking to sit down and eat have their choice of heavy wooden tables with a few chairs around each, or three plastic booths lining the walls.

The Spanish and English menu posted on the wall is sparse: burritos, fajitas, tortas, tacos, with your choice of steak, pork, chicken, or chorizo. The prices at La Mexicana are very low and reasonable: no more than $7 for any of the main dishes. Drinks from the refrigerator are $1.50 and can be opened at the bottle opener attached to the wall.

     The burrito is perhaps the most filling item on the menu. It's At least four inches in diameter and absolutely packed with whatever meat you order, beans, sour cream, rice, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. The soft tortilla is wrapped in tin foil and thin paper to make the nonetheless messy process of eating the burrito easier. But don't take these for granted, they still have a habit of dribbling lettuce and beans down your arm or up your sleeve if you aren't careful. The chicken Burrito is a good starting point. No extraordinary flavors but all the different fillings work well together and create a well-textured meal and a half. The only negative in the burrito is the beans. It's hard to get beans to taste like anything but beans, but La Mexicana doesn't seem to want to push their refried beans beyond just mediocre. I'd expect more attention to be given to this staple but the restaurant dissapoints.

     Consider Tortas for a smaller but no less interesting meal. Tortas are a “Mexican Sub” according to the menu. They are avocado, lettuce, tomato, onions, sour cream, and the meat of your coice pressed together between two halves of what looks like a Mexican kaiser roll. Pork works well in these. The smoky and fatty chunks of pork, cut from the cooking leg right in front of you, compliment the crunchy lettuce and the crispy roll extremely well. Again, these come wrapped in foil and paper to aid in clean eating but like the burritos, messiness is unavoidable.

     The steak in the fajitas is some of the best I've had. Beautifully marinated and chewy to the point of ecstasy, their juices release in the mouth with a burst of flavor. The fajita plate comes with lettuce, rice, steak, avocado, grilled peppers and onions, and corn tortillas to wrap everything up in. Make sure to eat these fast as the corn tortillas become grainy and dry as they cool.

An easily overlooked aspect of the restaurant are the sauce trays. Four different sauces, each spicier than the last provide the kick and punch to the entrees. The four sauces are red, vibrant orange, chunky green and smoother green and are increasingly spicy in that order. Make sure to ask for some small cups to spoon the sauces into.

     The drinks at La Mexicana also deserve a special mention of their own. There are no soda fountains or aluminum cans of Coke to be found here. The restaurant's refrigerator is stocked with glass bottles of Squirt, Sprite, and some more eclectic Hispanic specialties. There's “Boing,” an uncarbonated mango beverage that's a little watery, and “Schin Guarana,” a carbonated canned beverage with an unidentifiable pseudo-fruit flavor. Finally, there are a multitude of flavors of “Jarritos,” a very popular Mexican soft drink. I'd recommend the orange Jarritos. It's refreshing and tangy without being too overwhelming. There's no corn syrup to be found in any of La Mexicana's drinks.

     Vegetarians looking for a delicious Mexican meal may find themselves out of luck at La Mexicana. Most of the menu items are only offered with meat. Non meat eaters may find themselves having to settle for a burrito with extra beans instead of any hardier or more complex meal.

     The atmosphere at La Mexicana is a familiar, humble one. The dining room is ringed with painted frescos of Mexican pueblos. Two TVs are tuned in to Spanish soap operas or the news. The sizzling of the meat on the grill mixes with the Spanish from the television for an energetic and vibrant dining experience. The eating area isn't very attractive in the way one might expect from a more upscale restaurant. There are few decorations apart from the painted walls. But the unassuming decor works. One doesn't come to the back of a Hispanic market looking for the atmosphere and decor of Food Dance.

     This atmosphere might be off-putting for some however. Besides the noise and the humble appearance, Spanish is above all the language of conversation throughout the entire market. The person taking orders speaks English, as do many of the employees and the menus are all in both English and Spanish, but the overall feeling of the market and clientele is Hispanic and might be alienating for some.

    La Mexicana feels very truthful. They don't try to hide their culinary skill under paint and reservations. They let their affordably priced, hearty fare stand for what it is, lovingly cooked, “traditional”, and above all else, delicious Mexican food.