Twin Cities Restaurant Blog

Acapulco Restaurante Mexicano ~ Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, Woodbury & Maplewood, MN

Cuisine: Mexican
Restaurant Features: Bar,  On-Site Parking

Locations: Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, Woodbury, Maplewood
Addresses & Maps:

Blaine- 9360 Baltimore St. Blaine, MN 55449 (763) 795-0347

Coon Rapids- 12759 Riverdale Blvd. Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763) 323-8772

Maplewood- 3069 White Bear Ave. Maplewood, MN 55109 (651) 748-0316

Stillwater-240 West Frontage Rd. Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 351-9462

Woodbury-1795 Radio Drive Suite A Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 739-6360

Links: Acapulco website

Atmosphere: Festive, with the walls painted with murals and is somewhat made to resemble a  Mexican courtyard. 

The Woodbury location also has a large bar area with several large-screen TV's playing different sporting events.
There were also several round tables for their weekly Texas Hold 'Em tournaments.  Seemed like a quite  a popular place!

Menu: Appetizers include Acapulco's famous Cheese Dip, Guacamole, 5 Layer Dip, Taquitos, and Nachos.  Burritos include the Acapulco Burrito (steak), the Burrito National (smothered with cheese sauce), Creamed Burritos, Fajita Burrito, Wet Burrito (covered in enchilada sauce), and Chile Relleno Burrito.  Tacos include ground beef, grilled chicken, grilled beef, shrimp, mahi-mahi, and carnitas (pork).  Quesadilla include Queso (cheese), mushroom/onion/tomato, Relleno (stewed chicken or beef), or the Fajita Quesadilla.

Entree specials include Grilled Beef or Chicken Fajitas, Carne Asada, Chile Colorado, Carnitas, Chimichanga (with stewed chicken or beef), Seafood Chimichanga, Grilled Chicken, Taquitos, Pollo Dulce (Marinated chicken with sweet salsa), Chilaquiles Pollo (Stewed chicken casserole), Green Chili Pork, Poblano Chili, and Chicken with Rice. 

If you're in the mood to try a few different items, Acapulco has 10 menu combination plates.  They also offer a build-your-own combo where you can pick-two or three or four items (tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chili rellenos, tostadas or tamales). 

Price guide: Appetizers $4-8  Burritos $7-8  Tacos 2 for $5-6  Quesadilla $5-8  Entrees $8-14  Combos $8-10
What we ordered: To start off, we had complimentary chips and salsa.  The chips were hot and crispy and the salsa was good for standard mild tomato salsa.

My companion and I ordered several plates to share. We ordered a four-combo platter with a beef taco (for me), a chill relleno (for her), and two enchiladas.

The beef taco was pretty good.  The crispy corn shell was filled with beef.  The chile relleno was also pretty good, with a nice crispy batter and delicious spicy pepper.  The enchiladas....um, how can I say this diplomatically?....were not to my liking. I did not care at all for the soggy stewed chicken mixture and the enchilada sauce itself did not seem to be the kind of homemade origins.  The beans and rice were served separately...the refried beans were thick but good.  The rice was not the custom Spanish rice, but rather a mild flavored rice with mixed vegetables.

The fajitas were pretty good. The chicken and steak were marinated and grilled and served with a ton of peppers and onions.  Our server happily brought us an extra side of tortillas and never charged us for them.

Service: Pretty friendly and fast.  Drinks were served frequently.
Overall Impression:   The restaurant had a fun atmosphere, especially with the crowd that was in the bar area playing poker... I know that at least the Woodbury location offers Texas Hold 'Em tournaments a few nights per week, not sure about the others.  The food however, was nothing to rave about. Mediocre.  My suggestion is to stick with grilled meats rather than the stewed. 

Masa ~ Minneapolis, MN

Cuisine: Gourmet Mexican
Location: Downtown Minneapolis
Address: 1070 Nicollet Avenue (Target Plaza) Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.338.6272
Links: Masa Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: Located on Nicollet Mall at 11th Avenue, Masa is a bright restaurant with large windows overlooking the Mall.  The white table clothes and wine glasses and lack of traditional Mexican artwork might make you wonder if you're truly at a Mexican restaurant! Rest assured you are, and it is different than any other Mexican restaurant in the Cities.

Menu: Lunch menu includes Gucamole, Sauteed Mushroom Quesadilla, Green salad, Jalapeno Relleno stuffed with cheese, Beet & Cactus salad, Pork Torta (sandwich), Steak Torta, Chicken Torta, Tacos (al carbon, pescado, al pastor, tinga, carnitas), Shrimp Tamal, Chicken Enchilkadas, Beef Enchilada, Tortilla Soup, Huevos Rancheros, Grilled Mahi-Mahi, Grilled Chicken Breast.

The dinner menu carries all of the items on the lunch menu, plus the following entrees: Pollo con Mole, Pollo en Racado de Chilomole, Pollo con Naranja, Puerco Veracruzana, Callos de Hacha Marinados, Costillas de Carne de Res en Barbocoa, Bistek co Chipotle Ancho Marinado, and Chicken or Crab Enchiladas.

Price guide: Appetizers $7-$9  Lunch Menu $9-17  Dinner Menu $9-27
What I ordered: To start with, we tried the guacamole appetizer. The guacamole was fresh and the chips were home-made, thick and crunchy. It was good, but a little expensive at $8-9.

I had planned to try the taco platter so that I could try each of the different meats, but the server successfully talked me into ordering the  Puerco Veracruzana (Roasted pork shoulder marinated with lime, garlic and chile ancho, cooked in a banana leaf and served with broiled pineapple in adobo and black bean puree on the side.  I thought the pork was magnificent, so tender and juicy and had really great flavor.  As delicious as it was, I was disappointed that over half of my pork shoulder was fatty, making the proportion much smaller.  I was givena  basket of fresh corn tortillas on the side to make my own tacos.  The amount of beans I was given was also disappointing, but the pineapple made up for it in flavor! I had never had pineapple served spicy or hot like this other than on pizza, but I loved the combination of sweet and juicy with the spice.

My companion ordered the Tamal Costeno con Camaron (Shrimp tamale steamed in a banana leaf, red molito sauce, crema; served with cilantro-lime rice and refried beans.

Service: Our server was very attentive and really pushed the sale.
Overall Impression: Pretty fancy for a Mexican restaurant.  The food was good, definitely different than what you'd fine at other Mexican places.  Food was priced high for what you got.

Washington Square Bar & Grill ~ White Bear Lake, MN

Cuisine: American,  Mexican, Breakfast

Restaurant Features: Bar, Patio Dining

Location: White Bear Lake

Address: 4736 Washington Square  White Bear Lake, MN 55110  651.407.7162

Links: Washington Square Website Google Map

Atmosphere: There are pretty much two "halves" to the restaurant, both offering tables and seating at the bar.  One side allows smoking, the other does not.  One awesome feature of Washington Square that I was not able to take a picture of at the time of my visit is the gigantic patio area that accommodates a good hundred people or so.

Menu: Breakfast is served WED - FRI : 8:00AM - 11:00AM
SAT - SUN : 8:00AM - 1:00PM

Starters include mozzarella sticks, walleye strips, chicken wings, bruschetta, spinach artichoke dip, quesadillas or nachos, and sausage platter. Sandwich offerings include tuna or Philly melt, Reuben or Rachel, club, BBQ pulled pork, po' boy, portabella melt, walleye sandwich, Cajun shrimp BLT, turkey wrap and several grilled chicken specialty sandwiches and hamburgers.  Also  selection of premium salads.  Dinner entrees are served with either steamed veggies or salad and choice of potato and include the walleye, salmon or catfish platters, BBQ pork ribs, Angus sirloin, spicy chipotle shrimp and pesto pasta. Mexican entrees include steak, chicken or shrimp fajitas, three tacos, two tostadas, burrito (choice of shredded chicken, beef, chorizo, or black bean), mole enchiladas or the spinach cream chicken enchiladas.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-9  Salads $7-10 Sandwiches $8-9 Mexican $10-13 Dinner entrees $16-19 Breakfast $3-12

What we ordered: My companions and I ordered a couple of appetizers before our entrees.  This is the veggie quesadilla....it was loaded with perfectly sauteed peppers and onions.

I was in the mood for Mexican food and the waiter highly recommended the spinach cream chicken enchiladas, so I went with his suggestion and I wasn't disappointed.  I wasn't sure what "spinach cream" meant, but discovered that it was a unique sauce that was a blend of both without tasting too creamy or of spinach.

One of my companions ordered the black bean tostadas. Rather than layering loose black beans across the tostada, Washington Square makes a flavorful black bean paste. There are actually two tostada shells with a layer of sour cream between them. This dish is wonderful! Best black bean tostadas I've ever tried:)

Another of my companions ordered the pecan-crusted walleye, with an extra fillet for an additional $4 (great deal!).  The filet's were very long and heavily coated with the pecan crust, pan fried to a nice nutty crunch with great texture.  It was served with a side of non-traditional tartar sauce that was unexpectedly sweet.  Some people may enjoy this version of the tartar, but my companion preferred the fish without it.

Another companion ordered the southwest chicken salad ( topped with blackened chicken breast, corn, peppers, black beans, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and tortilla chips topped with salsa ranch dressing.)  I did not have the pleasure of trying this salad, but it looked really good and my companion thought it was awesome!

Another companion ordered the club sandwich.  Pretty standard for a club!

Service: It is almost always packed at Washington Square and it isn't always easy to have someone seat you immediately, but you'll usually be greeted by one of the friendly bartenders.  Servers are knowledgeable of the menu and are willing to give suggestions. 

Overall Impression: One of the more expensive places to eat in White Bear Lake, but the food is really good.  Best place to go for patio seating!

Taqueria Los Paisanos ~ St Paul, MN

Cuisine: Authentic Mexican

Restaurant Features: Counter-Service, On-Site Parking

Location: St Paul

Address: 825 East 7th Street St Paul, MN 55106  651-778-8062

Links: Google Map

Atmosphere: Nothing fancy since you order at a counter, but there are quite a few small stationary tables for those who choose to eat-in.  Carry-out also available.

Menu: At first the menu might seem confusing for those not familiar with Mexican cuisine, but it is pretty easy since most orders are a la carte.  Taco choices include Asada (Steak), Adobada (pork), Birria (shredded beef), Pollo (chicken), Cabeza (beef cheek), Carnitas (deep fried pork), Buche (pork stomach), Tripa (tripe) and Lengua (beef tongue).  You may also order quesadillas, tortas, burritos, enchiladas, nachos or soup (pozole, caldo de camaron, menudo).  Rice and beans also come a la carte.

Price guide: Tacos are $1.75.  Other entrees, combos and soups $4-7. 

What I ordered: Carne asada taco, chicken enchilada, rice and beans.  The steak taco was divine, very much like tacos I have had in Mexico. I love those tiny corn tortillas, this taco came with two. The meat had excellent flavor and was surprisingly tender.  Topped with fresh cilantro and onions (light on mine).  The chicken enchilada was decent...the meat was very good, but I prefer my enchiladas smothered in enchilada sauce, and on this one the sauce was almost non-existent, or was already absorbed into the tortilla.  The rice had great flavor, but the beans were too runny.

Service: Very fast and cooked to order.

Overall Impression: Authentic Mexican tacos at a very reasonable price.  Great place to have an inexpensive meal.

La Casita Mexican Restaurant ~ Roseville, MN

Cuisine: Mexican

Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Location: Roseville

Address: 1925 Perimeter Road Roseville, MN 55113  651-287-4055

**Additional location in Columbia Heights

Links: La Casita Website  Google Map

Atmosphere: From the moment you step through the door, La Casita is decorated to give you the feel of being in a romantic Mexican Villa; with murals painted on many of the walls, lush live plants, and this authentic-looking fountain. 

There are several sections to this giant restaurant, room enough to accommodate a couple of hundred.  Everything is decorated so perfectly! I love the natural light that shines down from the large skylight into this room.

Menu: Start off with complimentary chips & salsa or order a qesadilla, cheese crisp, chile con queso, or Mexi-skins.  If you're looking for a tradional Mexican plate, La Casita offers a grande burrito, fajita burrito, chimichanga, pollo fundido or shredded beef burrito.  Grilled items include fajitas, carne asada, or grilled chicken breast.  Individual tacos and tamales are sold a la carte.  There are also several combination dinners if you're looking to try a few different items.

*Several specialty margaritas also available 

Price guide: Appetizers $4-8  Burritos $9-10  Combos $8-12

What I ordered:

Started with a Presidente Margarita to go along with the complimentary chips and salsa.  Loved that they use fresh lime juice to make their margaritas, tart but sweet at the same time.  I also like the salsa...not too spicy (3 out of 10), flavored with a spice I couldn't quite put my finger on...chipotle, possibly?

I tend to order combination platters at every Mexican restaurant I go to, so that I can try several different things.  This visit I ordered the Macho Platter...mini grilled fajita chicken burrito, shredded beef enchilada, cheese enchilada, a hard shell ground beef taco, refried beans and rice.  Everything was delicious, but my favorite was the shredded beef enchilada.  The beef had great flavor and was so tender!  I couldn't believe I got all this food for less than $12!

My companion ordered the three enchiladas combination: cheese, shredded chicken and ground beef with beans and rice.

 

Service:

Friendly and prompt...we were visiting before the Cinco de Mayo dinner rush, but we literally in and out of the restaurant in less than 35 minutes (although there is never an urgency for customers to leave).

Overall Impression: Great atmosphere and awesome food!

El Patio Mexican Grill- St Paul, MN

Update as of 2/09 ***** This restaurant is no longer in business*****

Cuisine: Mexican

Location: St Paul

Address: 242 West 7th Street  St. Paul, MN 55102  (651) 209-9210

*In the location formerly known as Chico Chica Restaurant

Links: Google Map

Atmosphere: El Patio is a festive and brightly colored authentic Mexican restaurant located just blocks from the Xcel Energy Center.  There are booths along one side, a large impressive bar stocked full of various types of tequila and other well-known liquors on the other.  Several tall bar tables are placed closely together throughout the middle of the restaurant, taking advantage of every space they have to pack Xcel Center go-ers in before events. There is an additional dining area that is separate from the main restaurant/bar area.  The open kitchen is located at in the rear of the building.  As the name suggests, there is also a patio area where you can take in the lovely views of W. 7th St.

Menu: Besides the complimentary chips & pico, you may want to start off with shrimp cocktail or a quesadilla.  Open for breakfast, El Patio serves a variety of huevos (eggs).

There are literally almost 100 items on the menu including Mexican favorites such as: tacos, tortas, tamales, enchiladas,and chimichangas.  Meat choices include the following meats prepared in a variety of dishes: carnitas (pork), chicken, steak and shrimp. 

Price guide: Breakfast $8-11  Entrees $13-20 

What I ordered: There were so many choices on the menu that it took me a good twenty minutes to look them over and decide what to try.  Fortunately tortilla chips,  fresh pico de gallo and some other type of spicy sauce were served while I tried to make up my mind.

I went with a combination dinner so that I would be able to try a few different items... Carnitas taco, chicken and cheese enchilada with ranchero sauce, and a chile relleno with steak.  Rice and beans were served on the side.  The carnitas were wonderful, my favorite item of the three.  The meat was really tender and moist , mildly flavored....I dressed mine up with pico and cilantro to add a little kick.  The chicken and cheese enchilada was okay, but kind of boring.  The sauce had a nice flavor, but there wasn't much of it.  There wasn't much cheese in the enchilada either, but I enjoyed the large pieces of grilled chicken.  The chile relleno was packed with flavor and much spicier than I anticipated.  The battered, deep-fried chile was stuffed full of large chunks of steak and fresco cheese and topped with a tangy sauce.  The beans and rice that came with the meal were pretty standard.  Not bad, but nothing special.   

My companion ordered the steak fajitas and had this to say, "They were good.  I liked the seasoning of the steak but there was not much steak in comparison of how much peppers and onions there were.  There wasn’t enough cheese to put on the fajitas.  The beans and rice were very good.  And that salsa was hot but excellent." 

Service: Great! I had called in advance to make a reservation since I was anticipating a large crowd (there was a concert happening at the Xcel Center that night), and they were happy to accommodate.  The hostess also explained that parking might be hard to find that night, but that they would validate it. Our server was friendly, pleasant, and patient while I gazed over the menu.

Overall Impression: Decent food, but higher than most other restaurants of the same caliber.  Fun place to go before an event at the X.

A La Salsa Mexican Grill ~ Minneapolis, MN

Cuisine:  Authentic Mexican

Restaurant Features: Bar

Location: Minneapolis

Address: Midtown Global Market

Lake Street & Chicago Ave.  Stall # 155  612-872-4140

Hours: 11am to 10pm Mon - Sat;  11am to 9pm Sun

Links: Google Map  A La salsa Website

Other location: 1420 Nicollet Ave Minneapolis, MN 55403 612-813-1970

Atmosphere: Located within the culturally-diverse Midtown Global Market (to the right of the mall entrance) , A La Salsa is one of the only vendors that offers sit-down dining.  I would say the restaurant can accommodate about 40-50 people in the dining room, which has several wooden tables.  Large windows make the restaurant much brighter during the day than most Mexican restaurants, but the brightly colored glass pendants hanging over every table provide a more intimate feel after dark.  The brightly colored bar area can seat another eight people.  I did not notice any Mexican music playing during my visit, but there were touches of Mexican art painted on the walls.

Menu:  Full bar, including a variety of Margarita choices.

Complimentary tortilla chips and fresh pico de gallo are served along with salsa verde.  Other appetizers include quesadillas, nachos, spicy shrimp and spicy chicken wings.

Entrees include a variety of tacos and tortas (spicy shredded chicken, carne asada, carnitas, and fish), enchiladas, flautas, tamales and chile rellenos.  There are also several dishes that are mostly meat-based ( shrimp, salmon and carne asada prepared a variety of ways).  A great choice for those of you carb-watchers!

Full A La Salsa Menu

Price Guide: 

Appetizers: $6-8; Entrees: $8-13 Desserts: $4-6  A la carte menu items: $2-5

What I ordered:

House Margarita, 2-for-1 happy hour before 6pm.  Tasty, but light on the tequila and strong on the lime juice; still a good deal.  Loved the complimentary chips and fresh pico de gallo (which had just the right combo of onion, tomato and cilantro)

Combination platter with carne asada taco, chicken flauta, cheese enchilada and side of beans and rice.  For $11.50, I was kind of disappointed with the size of each item.  This is a regular sized plate; the beans and rice amount to more food than these three.  For good measure, I also orded a carnitas taco a la carte.  The carne asada taco was excellent, served with finely chopped steak and topped with cilantro and onions.  Served on a tiny corn tortilla.  Fondly reminded me of the tacos I have had in Mexico.  The cheese enchilada was also very good- I am not sure what type of cheese was used, but it was mild and melted to a nice consistency- topped with mole sauce and white Mexican cheese.  I didn't care for the chicken flauta (but then again, I don't care for them at many restaurants so it is probably just me). The chicken was dry and boring and the tortilla had been fried too long.  The carnitas taco I ordered was pretty good; the pork was tender and moist.  Nothing special about the beans or rice.   If I order tacos next time, I will get them a la carte, which seems like a much better value.

My companion ordered chicken fajitas.  They looked and smelled delicious! There was quite a bit of meat for the three tortillas that was served with it.  We asked for a couple of additional tortillas, but were informed they would charge us for them.

Service: Although it was before 5pm when we arrived, there was only one person working and he doubled as host/server/bartender.  As the restaurant started getting busier, an additional server was added.  Although they forgot to bring us more chips and salsa when we asked, I would say that service was generally good.

Boca Chica Restaurante Mexicano- St. Paul, MN

Cuisine: Authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex, Sunday Brunch,

Restaurant Features: Bar, Patio Dining, Lunch Buffet, Happy Hour

Location: St Paul, MN

Address: 11 Cesar Chavez St. St Paul, MN 55107 (651) 222-8499

Hours: Mon 11am to 9pm, Tues-Thurs 11am - 10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 10am-9pm

Links: Google Map  Boca Chica

Atmosphere: Boca Chica is one of the original restaurants to boast authentic Mexican dining in the Twin Cities. It is located on St Paul's west side, in the District Del Sol.  It was a busy Saturday night when my party and I visited, but we had no problem getting reservations for a large group with just a few days advance notice. There are three dining rooms, with plenty of table space. Several fireplaces around the restaurant kept the room on the warm side. On thing that I enjoy about Boca Chica is that they have house musicians that perform for each table if you would like to be serenaded.  There is also a 6-piece mariachi band who performs from 8-11pm on the fourth Saturday of every month.

There is also a nice patio area available during the warmer months.

Menu: Chips and salsa are complimentary. Salsa is on the spicy side!! Infused with a variety of chili peppers, I'd rate it a 6 on a spiciness scale of 1-10.  Make sure you have a cold drink available before trying it, seriously! In additon to chips and salsa, I recommend the guacamole at Boca Chica, it is excellent! Made with very fresh avocados, the guacamole is mildy seasoned with fresh tomato and onion.  Comes in a big bowl and is a great way to cool down from the spicy salsa!

Authentic dishes range from a variety of seafood dishes to huevos, flautas, enchiladas, chile rellenos, and tamales. Many of them topped with traditonal Mexican spices or sauces. Carne, pollo, barbacoa, pescados and carnitas authentically prepared. Tex-Mex dishes include tacos, chimichangas, enchiladas, etc. Boca Chica also boasts a variety of combination dinners and a long ala carte menu. See full menu here.

Lunch Buffet served M-F 11am-1:30pm

Sunday Brunch served 10am-1:30pm

Price Guide: Entrees range from $8-14.

What I ordered:  Plato Plazero....make your own tacos! I had both steak and chicken, which came with peppers and onions. Corn and flour tortillas came on the side, along with black beans, fresh pico de gallo and fresh guacamole. I also couldn't help but order a cheese enchilada ala carte. Everything was delicious! The portion was so big, I was able to make approximately 5 tacos.

Service: Our group had a reservation and we were promptly seated 10 minutes before the set time. Our waiter, Michael, was very nice and made sure everyone had what they wanted. It was a little slow getting our drinks, but the restaurant was very busy that night.

Overall Impresion: Boca Chica has a large menu offering with excellent authentic Mexican food, as well as Tex-Mex dishes.