Mexicana Mama

On the surface, Mexicana Mama seems more like Muchacha Pequeña. This small "Mexican" restaurant in the west village is about The size of a small coffee shop or news stand, where the kitchen takes up more room than the seating area. Once you take a bite of the food, you understand why a such a large kitchen is necessary. The food has BIG flavor!

So today was just Dave and I. JJ just had a baby last week (I know, "excuses excuses") and Rajesh is in New Orleans. This actually works well for Dave and I as we both work on the west side and the West Village is perfectly located between Dave's job on Canal & Varick and my job on 15th and 8th. JJ works in the East Village and Rajesh works in midtown, so picking a spot was easy for us today.

It was a nice enough day to walk down to 525 Hudson st so I gave myself a 10 minute head start to get there. After a few blocks, I forgot the address but I wasn't too worried. I just had to pay attention. I knew I was close when I heard someone scream what sounded like "Granny Dicksucker". Not that "Granny Dicksucker" has anything to do with Latino cuisine, but I knew it was Dave (long story) and if Dave was close by, so was the restaurant.

We were the first ones in the place @ 12:30 so we had no problems getting a seat and two beers. By 1:00 the place was full which is standard for the west village really. Anyway, the menu is relatively small but was difficult as everything looked good. The price seemed a little high for a Mexican place but I soon found out why.

The chips and hot salsa was awesome. The chips were not greasy and the salsa was hot. Hot, but not scalding. Dave ordered the hanger steak and we were very impressed when it came out. The pieces of steak were thoughtful arranged with a bouquet of garnish. It came with what appeared to be a little bowl of rice, but upon investigation, there was a surprising layer of black beans in the bottom of it. Dave looked really excited about that. The steak was perfectly prepared. Delicious. I had the veggie burritos. They were plated beautifully but that would soon change, as I devoured everything. The flavors of the burrito bounced all around compared to most burritos where each bite kinda tastes the same. I tasted light and sweet corn in one bite, flakey tortilla in the next, then creamy but not heavy cheese, followed by the earthy flavor of the phenomenal chipolte potatoes. La bomba!

In summary, Mexicana Mama was a little pricey, but lived up to the cost. And I don’t mind paying for a good meal. The portions were not overwhelming and the food was obviously prepared with a big helping of the most important ingredient, TLC. Definitely recommended.