Steve
11-05-2005, 02:54 PM
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Viva Mercado's
By Heidi Knapp Rinella
what: Viva Mercado's
where: 6182 W. Flamingo Road
phone: 871-8826
overall: B+
food: A-
atmosphere: A-
service: B
pluses: Well-varied menu that's reasonably authentic but not intimidating.
minuses: A bartender with poor judgment.
I hear now and again from readers who lament the shortage of what they consider authentic Mexican (and it's always Mexican, not Chinese or Italian or Lithuanian, for that matter) restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley.
It strikes me that the search for authenticity is fraught with peril, at least when it comes to dining out. We Americans, it seems, don't want our restaurants of various ethnicities to be too authentic; as a rule and as a society, we'd just as soon they didn't serve dog or horse or french-fried fish eyes. And then there's the fact that authenticity can be relative; I'm thinking of the quite good and very authentic (and now defunct) Mexican restaurant whose Mexican-born owner was frequently assailed by customers who complained that her cuisine wasn't the real deal because it lacked the gringo dilutions that they'd failed to identify as such -- Velveeta cheese, among them.
So we see that, as in many walks of life, the owners of Mexican restaurants must be mindful of toeing the proverbial fine line. And at that, Viva Mercado's is quite successful. There are nopales on this menu; there also are nachos that would be right at home in any sports bar.
There are tortilla chips on the table (the source of enduring debate vis-a-vis their authenticity) with medium-heat salsa with lots of cilantro, a just-thick-enough bean dip and -- a nice touch -- roasted onion and pepper strips. All of which were filling the bill quite nicely. but we chose to augment them with some guacamole ($5.25, or $3.25 as a side) that turned out to be a big bowl, coarsely mashed and wonderfully flavored -- mellow and nutty, with flavor spikes from the onion and chiles. It also was served promptly (without waiting for our other starter) so that we could enjoy it with our chips as a preamble to dinner. Attaboy.
We thought about going with a garden-variety combination plate just to see what they'd do with it, but there were far too many interesting things on this huge menu to be capricious. One of them was mulitas ($12.95), billed as "Mexico's latest craze" and sounding like something from the local Mexican fast-food place. Which it was sort of like, only ... good. A soft-fried corn tortilla had been spread with a thin layer of refried beans and a thin layer of melted cheese, then topped with another tortilla. Then it was a choice of pollo asada, carnitas or carne asada, the lightly seasoned grilled beef on which we settled. The pile of beef was topped with shredded cabbage, plus guacamole and queso fresco, and it was very good. And very filling. While the promised refried beans had somehow been left off the plate, the mountain of nicely seasoned rice and two heaping tortillas more than made up for them.
Carnitas ($13.95) unadorned was our other choice. This version of the classic marinated pork loin had been served in big slices, simply accompanied by beans and rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. The meat was downright succulent and the combination of flavors and textures the sort of palate-awakening experience that has made Mexican (or at least, Mexican-American) food so popular in this country.
Our dinners also included sopa de fideos, the requisite tomato-tinged broth with finely cut noodles, which was pretty average.
And back to the beginning for our other starter, the aforementioned nopales en ceballados ($3.50), strips of prickly-pear cactus pads, grilled just until they'd begun to color and served with a cilantro-tomato-onion triumvirate and tortillas in which to roll them. Again, a huge portion; we couldn't even think about dessert.
Service throughout dinner was excellent. Our servers, runners and busser were a coordinated team and overall efficient and pleasant.
This was not the case with the bartender. When we arrived and were told there was a 20-minute wait, we decamped to the bar, secure in the knowledge that a margarita could make the wait much shorter. But there we waited, and waited, and waited for service from a guy who didn't seem all that busy. I sat and watched as he scrutinized the ID of a female customer as though she were on the terrorist alert list. He asked for a second form of ID, which she supplied. Imagine my surprise when she turned around at long last and appeared to be at least 35. And no, he wasn't hitting on her.
I, on the other hand, was merely invisible. When he finally approached and I said, "I'd like a margarita, please," he gruffly responded that it would be a few moments -- and then went to a couple at the bar who had just sat down. They appeared to be regulars; he served their margaritas and shots without asking what they wanted. Not until after he had served them did he return to me and say, "Can I help you?"
Another restaurateur (and bartender) challenge: One must, yes, take care of the regulars, but one must also take care not to insult those who might be potential regulars.
Or restaurant critics.
reviewjournal.com -- Neon - RESTAURANT REVIEW: Viva Mercado's
By Heidi Knapp Rinella
what: Viva Mercado's
where: 6182 W. Flamingo Road
phone: 871-8826
overall: B+
food: A-
atmosphere: A-
service: B
pluses: Well-varied menu that's reasonably authentic but not intimidating.
minuses: A bartender with poor judgment.
I hear now and again from readers who lament the shortage of what they consider authentic Mexican (and it's always Mexican, not Chinese or Italian or Lithuanian, for that matter) restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley.
It strikes me that the search for authenticity is fraught with peril, at least when it comes to dining out. We Americans, it seems, don't want our restaurants of various ethnicities to be too authentic; as a rule and as a society, we'd just as soon they didn't serve dog or horse or french-fried fish eyes. And then there's the fact that authenticity can be relative; I'm thinking of the quite good and very authentic (and now defunct) Mexican restaurant whose Mexican-born owner was frequently assailed by customers who complained that her cuisine wasn't the real deal because it lacked the gringo dilutions that they'd failed to identify as such -- Velveeta cheese, among them.
So we see that, as in many walks of life, the owners of Mexican restaurants must be mindful of toeing the proverbial fine line. And at that, Viva Mercado's is quite successful. There are nopales on this menu; there also are nachos that would be right at home in any sports bar.
There are tortilla chips on the table (the source of enduring debate vis-a-vis their authenticity) with medium-heat salsa with lots of cilantro, a just-thick-enough bean dip and -- a nice touch -- roasted onion and pepper strips. All of which were filling the bill quite nicely. but we chose to augment them with some guacamole ($5.25, or $3.25 as a side) that turned out to be a big bowl, coarsely mashed and wonderfully flavored -- mellow and nutty, with flavor spikes from the onion and chiles. It also was served promptly (without waiting for our other starter) so that we could enjoy it with our chips as a preamble to dinner. Attaboy.
We thought about going with a garden-variety combination plate just to see what they'd do with it, but there were far too many interesting things on this huge menu to be capricious. One of them was mulitas ($12.95), billed as "Mexico's latest craze" and sounding like something from the local Mexican fast-food place. Which it was sort of like, only ... good. A soft-fried corn tortilla had been spread with a thin layer of refried beans and a thin layer of melted cheese, then topped with another tortilla. Then it was a choice of pollo asada, carnitas or carne asada, the lightly seasoned grilled beef on which we settled. The pile of beef was topped with shredded cabbage, plus guacamole and queso fresco, and it was very good. And very filling. While the promised refried beans had somehow been left off the plate, the mountain of nicely seasoned rice and two heaping tortillas more than made up for them.
Carnitas ($13.95) unadorned was our other choice. This version of the classic marinated pork loin had been served in big slices, simply accompanied by beans and rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. The meat was downright succulent and the combination of flavors and textures the sort of palate-awakening experience that has made Mexican (or at least, Mexican-American) food so popular in this country.
Our dinners also included sopa de fideos, the requisite tomato-tinged broth with finely cut noodles, which was pretty average.
And back to the beginning for our other starter, the aforementioned nopales en ceballados ($3.50), strips of prickly-pear cactus pads, grilled just until they'd begun to color and served with a cilantro-tomato-onion triumvirate and tortillas in which to roll them. Again, a huge portion; we couldn't even think about dessert.
Service throughout dinner was excellent. Our servers, runners and busser were a coordinated team and overall efficient and pleasant.
This was not the case with the bartender. When we arrived and were told there was a 20-minute wait, we decamped to the bar, secure in the knowledge that a margarita could make the wait much shorter. But there we waited, and waited, and waited for service from a guy who didn't seem all that busy. I sat and watched as he scrutinized the ID of a female customer as though she were on the terrorist alert list. He asked for a second form of ID, which she supplied. Imagine my surprise when she turned around at long last and appeared to be at least 35. And no, he wasn't hitting on her.
I, on the other hand, was merely invisible. When he finally approached and I said, "I'd like a margarita, please," he gruffly responded that it would be a few moments -- and then went to a couple at the bar who had just sat down. They appeared to be regulars; he served their margaritas and shots without asking what they wanted. Not until after he had served them did he return to me and say, "Can I help you?"
Another restaurateur (and bartender) challenge: One must, yes, take care of the regulars, but one must also take care not to insult those who might be potential regulars.
Or restaurant critics.
reviewjournal.com -- Neon - RESTAURANT REVIEW: Viva Mercado's