Superica Avalon — Restaurant in Alpharetta

UPDATE: After re-reading my first review and trying them out again, I conclude they were having an off night the first time I went. The dining experience was the same -- great service, very friendly, and knowledgeable about their food... but I don't wanna get too into that or David Chang will call me out.

Let me start by saying, if you're reading this during the holidays, get yourself a Christmas Cactus. It's really good. That sprig of rosemary pulls it all together. The chips were appropriately salted; the salsa was appropriately hot. It went really well with chile con queso.

The tampiquena (skirt steak) was really good, coated with some kind of chile spice that's fantastic -- almost as good as how I make it at home. The cheese enchiladas and fried egg that goes over top are awesome flavor bombs when you eat it all in the same bite.

I was hoping for more with the chile relleno, but it fell flat, unfortunately. The pepper itself and its flavor are good, but the chicken hash thing over top didn't do it for me. Stick with the tampiquena.

Going against the grain here because I know Superica is kind of a favorite for folks in this area. I found it to be mediocre. Let me start with the positives from my dining experience.

First, the service was great. The rice and beans are endless so we asked for some to go with our leftovers. The server brought out a bag of chips complete with salsa as well as rice and beans. Awesome. Never had that before. Also, there was a wait for indoor seating, despite it being chilly outside, the outdoor seating with the myriad heating lamps turned out quite nice!

Second, the staples are really good. The chips albeit a bit salty come out hot. The salsa is excellent. The rice is really flavorful and the beans are on point.

The not-so-great? Everything else. Someone with a penchant for spice was running the kitchen that night. The chips, as I mentioned were over-salted. The sopa de tortilla was over-spiced to the point it looked like enchilada sauce. The mole enchiladas were too sweet and too spicy. I hate to say it, but this theme trickled all the way down my adult drink -- way too sweet.

Misfires happen; I get it. Just not sure I'm...

Superica is the BEST, in being accommodating to their customers and in their offerings of delicious food and cocktails. Knowing that my sister’s favorite cuisine is Mexican food, her boyfriend decided to surprise her with a marriage proposal, as the family planned to gather there for dinner. He’d had the ring whole but hadn’t figured out how to propose. He’d asked for assistance in putting it together, and I thought of the idea of a specialty dessert menu insert. It would be beautifully written, to explain a few of the specific aspects of marriage, but would be written as if it were describing four desserts, each $25. At the bottom, would be the final dessert, $100, as the Will You Marry Me dessert, with Yes or No boxes. From my first call to the Manager, who was fully willing to make an exception, for a reservation for this special moment. I was then allowed to speak with the Hostess who would be on duty at that time, to explain what I was doing. My daughter designed the dessert menu, I had it printed on specialty paper and gave it to the Hostess when we arrived. Our family enjoyed our dinner, as everything we ate and drank was delicious, and we experienced great service by our server. Once the table was cleared, our server handed out our menus again. My sister began reading the “dessert menu” confused as to why the desserts cost so much! When she finally got to the bottom, she realized what was happening, as her boyfriend had gotten down on one knee and had a ring box open! Several of us were videoing, as were patrons at the bar and other tables in the restaurant. By this time my sister was in complete tears and so surprised! He asked, she said yes, and we all started clapping. This was truly a special moment for her. This would not have been possible without the kind, considerate, thoughtful staff at Superica. We appreciate everyone’s willing support and...

Birthday dinner for 4 En route to Avalon, we joined the online waitlist prior to arrival. We were seated pretty quickly, but it was in an outside area that felt more like a dark alley, not the sunny spot we preferred. I asked if there were any available tables in the sunny section, but the host said there would be a long wait for that area. We decided to stay where we were. Our server brought over complimentary chips and salsa, and we added a large queso. She took our drink orders: my oldest got her favorite sweet tea, my youngest ordered a lemonade, I went for a Creature Comforts Tropicalia IPA, and Wifey chose a Gate City Pretty Bird Hazy IPA. When the large queso arrived, we started to regret it because it was HUGE and no one wanted to fill up on chips before our main entrees. We reviewed the menu and made our choices. My oldest and Wifey both ordered the Catfish Tacos, my youngest got the Barbacoa Tacos, and I opted for the Pollo Con Mole enchiladas.The food was slow coming out, but we were busy talking, so it wasn’t too bad. When everything finally arrived, we all had the same sentiment: the food was very good but had an unexpected kick of spicy heat. I wasn’t complaining though—I appreciated the heat. Everyone agreed it wasn’t overwhelming, just unexpected. We were celebrating Wifey’s birthday, so our server let us know the dessert would be complimentary. We decided to share a Tres Leches. The dessert also took a while to come out, but when it arrived, we sang “Happy Happy Birthday” and started to dig in. I guess it was a busy afternoon, so the service was slow, but everything was...