Formerly just a Latin grocery store, Mi Tierra expanded in November to become a combination restaurant-store, and if our dinner on Monday night was any indication, Mi Tierra has quickly established itself as the best Mexican restaurant in the area. The food is fresh and flavorful, and the prices are very reasonable. And while the décor's more Thai Corner than Silk Road Café, Mi Tierra is much more comfortable than La Veracruzana or Bueno, which was key since we dined this evening with what can only be described as a pack of Sarah's roommates (a party of eight in all).
We don't like using the word "authentic" to describe cuisine-Nick's an anthropology major, after all-but there is something comforting about a menu on which we can't identify a good third of the items and whose English translations are spotty at best ("All this plates come with …"). That can work both ways, though: Our waitress had some difficulties with the order we placed (although in fairness, some of us-Margaret and Emily, cough cough-placed more finicky orders than others). However, there was no excuse for simply forgetting Lyn's chicken burrito.
But the service really wasn't much of a problem, and a nearby table for two was served almost immediately. When we arrived, our waitress greeted us with tall glasses of water and pitchers for refills along with two baskets of homemade tortilla chips. It feels strange to call tortilla chips "pillowy," but these were just that-hollow on the inside and looked like actual pieces of tortilla that had been deep fried.
We quickly ordered guacamole ($2.99, unbelievable!), which came out in bowls garnished with cilantro. It tasted even better than it looked. Chunky, piquant and creamy, with bits of tomato and, crucially, onions, the guacamole was as good as any Nick has had. Sarah agreed that it was superior even to versions she's had made at the table, but maintained that her boyfriend Dan's version is better.
We decided to split our orders. Sarah commandeered the pork tacos (three for $4.99), while Nick ordered three chicken enchiladas topped with salsa verde ($8.50). The tacos were sensational. Despite being paper thin, the corn tortillas were almost doughy; we know it doesn't make sense, but just trust us (or better yet, see for yourself). The pork was abundant, tender and spicy. The enchiladas were good, not great: not too much cheese and plenty of chicken, but a little bland even with the salsa verde. The Spanish rice was moist, unlike at most restaurants, where it is dried out and hard. The pinto beans pleased us equally.
The sleeper hit was Margaret's taco dorado with cheese ($7.50 for four). More mozzarella stick (though, presumably not with mozzarella) than taco, it was deep fried-the cheese and the tortilla. The chicken sopes (three for $6.50) contained the same fresh ingredients as the tacos and enchiladas and Miya, who just returned from Mexico, proclaimed them good but not as good as the Mexican ones.
Alicia called her fried yucca ($2.50) the best she's ever had, and we concurred. Her horchata ($1.50)-Mexican rice milk-was refreshing, although Sarah felt like it could've used a little more cinnamon spicing. The fried plantains that Emily ordered were crispy, not soggy, and sweet, too, but Sarah was hardly enamored of the sour cream-based dipping sauce that accompanied them.
It's been a while since we reviewed a restaurant, and even longer since we recommended one unequivocally. But what little we found wrong at Mi Tierra isn't worth quibbling over, not when the food is this good and this inexpensive. Like Ah-nold, we'll be back.