Mestizo

Let me preface this review with saying that I so badly want to write a nice, glowing review for Mestizo...but I can't. Mestizo is located on S. Acadian and is a Louisiana-Mexican restaurant, meaning they offer Mexican dishes with Louisiana flair. Chris and I were immediately interested and, admittedly, our expectations were high.

We were greeted by some of the most interesting sculptures at the entrance of the building which only fueled my excitement. When we walked in the vibe was cool, trendy and modern. The lighting was a little dark for my taste but that is really minor. It seems to me that their rush is the happy hour crowd. We walked in around 6:30pm and there was only a few tables occupied. Our server was nice but not overly helpful...again, minor.

The chips and salsa that started our culinary experience were amazing. The salsa was typical but the chips were warm and perfect...we went through two baskets! We also ordered the bean dip and it was very tasty. They tossed in a few green onions and a touch of queso...yum!

To kick things up a notch, I ordered a frozen sangria. I had maybe two sips before I passed it on to Chris. I typically love sangria but this didn't tickle my taste buds. I can't put my finger on it but it just wasn't my favorite.

When grazing the menu during our love affair with the chips and dips, I noticed that there was only one vegetarian option. Chris and I don't like ordering the same entree when we eat out so this was an issue. I ordered the Vegetarian Quasadillas and Chris ended up getting nachos, minus the meat.

The Vegetarian Quasadillas were flour tortillas stuffed with grilled squash, zucchini, portobello mushrooms and spinach with their queso mixed in. It was also served with a dollop of sour cream, guacamole and shredded lettuce with grated cheese, tomatoes, and chives. They were tasty....my issue was that they were $12 and not worth the price.

Chris enjoyed eight individual nachos topped with tomatoes, chives and jalapenos with quacamole and sour cream served on the side. When I asked him how they were...he shrugged. The nachos seemed to be taco shells just snapped in half...not impressive.

The atmosphere was great, the people were nice and the food was tasty...but we just cannot justify spending what we did on it. In my opinion, we could have easily gotten the same food with actually more options at an Izzo's or Moe's. I've heard through the grapevine that they have great happy hour specials...so who knows, we might try once more but...