El Itacate Mexican Food LLC — Restaurant in Maplewood

As a native Texan that was visiting for work I was excited to find a Mexican restaurant down from my hotel. The ladies are nice but I definitely did not pay attention to the menu prices. I paid $54 to dine for one and had asked if they had carne guisada which should have been my first red flag as they said no but had asada. Being hungry and eager to have a meal like back home I didn’t see the price and said sure, I then added a Mangonada, 2 Mexican cokes, and a chips with salsa appetizer. The chips were unsalted and the salsa was cold and very bland. They didn’t have pepper on the table but had salt and that really didn’t help much. Then my food came out about 10 min later and I barely had enough beans for 2 tacos and the rice was moist but kinda dry and very plain. The asada was hot and perfect to eat right away but man was it lacking flavor! Then I realized a Mexican coke was nearly $5! I know in Texas they went up to about $2.30 but man come on $5 for a bottled coke! My mangonada was more like cut up fruit with chamoy than it was a blended drink. Unfortunately I hate knocking small businesses but this definitely is not a place Hispanics, Mexicans, or Latinos in general would ever go back to. Just overall plain, and extremely expensive for a small spot. I don’t even spend $50 back home and that’s for a family of 4! I was left hungry as I couldn’t force myself to keep eating such a plain meal and was very upset this is what my experience was for $50+. Also the door was broken half way through my meal by someone and it was very chilly and a draft kept blowing right towards my table and that was another reason for just getting up and leaving. Wish them success but definitely not worth the price...

Very high level of hospitality, they are welcoming and glad to have you as a customer. Easy to see how it has become popular quickly. Flavors near the top of authentic national flavors, and they don't skim on quantity. A couple of know-before-you-go things are your shrimp dish may include shells on, so be sure to ask before ordering if that's a no for you. And some dishes (and selection of meats) may be served in a hyper-ground state, with nodules of meat not larger than a peppercorn size [and usually with ham bits mixed in, no matter your meat selection.] So be on the lookout if you don't eat pork. Minor gripes are the dishes are served very hot [and that's great] but the current supply of plastic forks and knives deform quickly under such heat trying to use them to eat the hot food. Maybe better supply can fix this. No resason not to try this place if you are wanting a quality fix of food from south...

Honestly, it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. Ordered the caldo de res, a beef stew that is usually delicious. Not here. my stomach hurt after this, and I was sick. Started eating, and it tasted horrible. Stopped after a couple of bites, it had hardly any meat, about half compared to other places, and most of that was fat. The vegetables were so hard they were practicly raw, It included a piece of corn on the cob and thought well you can't go wrong with that right? Wrong, when I pulled the corn out of the broth, part of the under side was rotten, yes rotten. I now understand why no one stops at this place, and it's always empty. II will never come back to this place again after getting to my stomach from...