In the past, if we stumbled upon a restaurant that meshed 2 different cuisines, we would run far away. Fast forward to the present and with the proliferation of successful fusion cuisine, it has become more commonplace. Hey, some of the most viral and delicious dishes have been the result of chefs experimenting with different flavors, sauces and cooking techniques. Hence, we visited Mexicuban out in Renton with a completely open mind. Upon entering the place, we were greeted with a rustic, yet modern decor. Loved the inviting bar and also the beautiful mural on a wall at the side of the restaurant.
To start things off, we had some drinks first (that really got us in a good mood!). We had the Margarita Flight with Burnt Orange, Mango Habanero, Mexican Mule and Coconut. This was super refreshing with the mango being my favourite. The heat of the habanero was nicely tempered by the mango and sweet syrups. Coconut was aromatic and a bit creamy. Again nice use of syrups here. Burnt orange was the most refreshing with balanced sweetness and of course the taste of tequila. Mexican mule naturally had Moscow Mule vibes with ginger beer and mint.
So we also got the Mojito Flight consisting of 4 different concoctions. The first was the Cubano with its classic fizzy lime and mint infused flavors. Next one was the Mango with the same elements but adding in some fruitiness and tang. Being a bit smoother and having aromatic vibes, the Coconut was very tropical. Lastly, the Passionfruit was similar to the mango except with the unmistakable floral and tart notes.
Onto the food, we were served the Pineapple Shrimp Fluffy Tacos first. These deep fried tortillas were indeed airy and light. Nice crispy exterior giving way to a soft and warm interior. This made it extremely easy to eat and had a good mouth feel. I liked how they weren't greasy either. As for the topping, the shrimp had a buttery snap with sweetness from the ripe pineapple. The side of hot sauce was smoky, sweet and mildly spicy. Really nice compliment to the mild shrimp and sweetness of the pineapple.
Sticking with pineapple, we had the Jalapeno Pork Belly Toasts. These were delicious with a crunchy toast base topped by a slice of tender and buttery pork belly, roasted pineapple, grilled jalapeno, cilantro and chipotle BBQ sauce. This had everything including contrasting textures in the toast and soft pork belly and then complimentary sweetness from the pineapple with the spice from the BBQ sauce. Great little 2 or 3 biters to start the meal.
We didn't stop there with some small handhelds as we moved onto the smaller version of El Yucateco. These little sliders consisted of soft rolls encasing slow cooked pork, chipotle aioli and peppers. These were rather messy and dripping with braising liquid, just the way I like it! That meat the meat was super moist and the bread was also soft. Sure, that is not much in the way of textural contrast, but it had nice mouth feel and the natural meatiness of the pork came through.
Let's continue with things served on slate with the Street Corn. This happens to be one of my most favourite things to eat in the whole wide world. Yes, cobs of corn on a stick. The version here was really good with charred corn that was smoky and caramelized. It was sweet and had pops of extra sweetness from the niblets. On the outside, they were generously coated with chipotle aioli, lime, tajin, cotija and cilantro. Lots of creaminess to go with acidity and some spice. Delicious.
Okay, moving off of slate tile plates, we went to an actual deep dish with the Croquetas con Mole. These crunchy pinko-breaded balls were filled with deep fried plantain and mozzarella. These were on the denser side due to the all the plantain crammed into them. I felt these were a little like Mofongo where the fried plantains are mashed, except formed into balls and deep fried some more. The star of the dish was the mole as it was rich and smoky. It had earthy notes as well as sweetness, tanginess and slight bitterness. It hit all the flavors and went great with the plantain.
We moved onto bigger dishes from here starting with Cuban favorite being the Ropa Vieja. This featured tender shredded beef in a light tomato sauce with the sweetness of onions, tanginess of green olives and the spice of jalapenos. It was served on fluffy yellow rice with a base of black bean puree. This was a comforting and home-style dish that was hearty. To make it even more robust, we found fried plantain and yuca al mojo on the side.
More often than not, when I have a salmon dish at a non-seafood restaurant, it will be overcooked. However, this was not the case here with the Huatulco Salmon. It was flaky and moist while topped with a mole. This one was somewhat similar to the one in the Coqueta dish except a bit sweeter and less spice. I felt that the salmon was able to stand up to the sauce and when combined with the poblano rice, it helped balance out the bold flavors.
The most out-of-left-field dish was the Lasagna Alteca. This was comprised of corn tortillas layered with shredded chicken and mozzarella topped with Mexican crema, cilantro and red onions.. It sat in a poblano pepper sauce with charred corn. So in spirit it was a lasagna, but it ate very differently. I found it more similar to a taco bake, but more sophisticated and definitely not Tex-Mex. The chicken was moist and the tortillas were tender. The thing that made the dish was the charred corn and the poblano sauce. It was sweet from the corn but had a tanginess to it. Kept things bright and light despite the heaviness of the dish.
For our desserts, we were serve the Cajeta-Filled Churros with ice cream on the side. These were crunchy with a soft interior and just sweet enough. The other dish was the Gorditas Dulces, which is a traditional dessert from Veracruz. They weren't very sweet and had a certain appealing chew. On the outside, it was crispy and the slight drizzle of chocolate was all that it needed. Overall, the food at Mexicuban was presented nicely and was equally tasty. Loved that they had some fusion going on, but not so much it went too far. Flavors were still familiar and so were the textures. Nice spot to get some friends together since they have plenty of drinks and live music at certain times.
*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:- Nice spot that is great for both groups and families
- Lots of choice on the menu
- Generous portions
The Bad:
- I did enjoy the flavors, but some dishes could use just a touch more impact