Calexico — Restaurant in New York

Had heard great things about Calexico so we decided to stop in for lunch.

Started off with guacamole which was a great portion size, but didn't have much flavor. Would have loved a tomatillo or similar sauce without too much spice to add on, but unfortunately while there were a ton of sauces on the table, all were hot sauces. Was definitely fresh though which was nice!

Then I got the elote which was fantastic! Corn with cotija cheese, mayo, chile powder, sour cream, and cilantro. It was pretty heavily topped and so messy but so worth it! Just don't order this one on a date!

As my entree I got the rolled quesadilla with chicken, which I thought would be more like a flouta (an actual little roll), but instead was like a grilled wrap). Was a little disappointed...didn't have much flavor and the chicken was kind of slimy. I think part of my disappointment was just that it wasn't what I was picturing. However, I would have LOVED for some of the ingredients from the side salad to come inside the quesadilla! They should offer that as an option. This came with their signature crack sauce on the side that is SPICY. Good thing it didn't come on it!

My brother got a burrito bowl I believe which was HUGE and tasty, but extremely spicy. Might be because of the crack sauce that was in there too. Was surprised that the cheese that was listed as an ingredient wasn't sprinkled on top as I expected but was a legitimate layer of cheese...made it a pretty heavy dish! But pretty good either way. Ended up using the chips from the guac in there to help with the spiciness of it!

Overall it was pretty good, but I think I'd go for a different entree next time. It seems like the tacos are their stronger dishes and might be more enjoyable.

One thing I heard that I do want to point out is that the prices on the menu at this location are more expensive than their Greenpoint location....REALLY disappointed to hear that. I don't think that's acceptable and I for that reason alone I took off a star and to be honest, will probably not be...

Please note that this review is of one night only: Cinco de Mayo 2020. Normally, this place is five stars. The food is delicious and the bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable. (I’ve never sat at a table but the servers seem nice and the hosts have been gracious). But now it’s Pandemic Times and we can’t go inside. Last night (5/5) we were looking forward to a Mexican meal all day. But for some reason they were not opening on the holiday until 7:45pm. We wanted to order directly through their website and not Seamless because we want to be supportive. We ordered exactly at 7:47pm. We knew it would take a while and we were ok with that. We ordered Nachos with ground beef. A fish burrito, 2 fish tacos and 1 pollo asada taco plus chips and margaritas. At 10:30pm we get an email saying our order would be ready at 10:44pm. Three hours is a long time but we knew the place would be busy and we were cool with the wait. But then we arrive to pick up our food at 10:46 and we were told that they are out of everything. They hadn’t even started our order. They said no fish anything no nachos. But if we still wanted the chicken taco they would make it and it would take another 15min. We were never notified of any of the 86’d items. It would not be a big deal except that we then had to make other plans for our dinner at ELEVEN OCLOCK. Most places are closed. So we went home and ate cereal. I’m so upset by how it was handled. It is totally ok to run out on the busiest day of the year but totally NOT ok to fail to communicate to customers. We were refunded for the fish products but as of now we still had to pay for the margarita and chips. And frankly, I think we should have be offered a wee bit more of a discount or maybe a coupon to come back. Again, I don’t mind that you ran out of stuff or that you were overwhelmed. I mind that you didn’t tell us until we arrived. And that you seemed not to care. It’s just a 180 from what we are used to from this restaurant. And it isn’t right. I’m really bummed about how we...

Fair warning: I'm going to be a pill, here.

In short, for what it is, it's perfectly acceptable: the food is pretty good and the traditional margaritas are strong and they taste pretty good (I've not had any other kind, so I can't speak about them).

Minor gripes:

They don't put enough salt on the rims of their glasses, which is odd because salt is cheap and abundant.

Their nachos (the chips) are too airy; they feel insubstantial relative to totopes I've had in Mexico, and even compared to something as banal as Tostitos. In fact, insubstantial is the word I would use for all of their food. I can't quite discern why, but every item I've eaten seems like essential mass and substance has somehow been extracted from it, leaving behind something less nourishing, and less satisfying.

Major gripe:

Four margaritas and a plate of nachos cost $37, before tax and tip, and it was only that "inexpensive" because it was happy hour. Regular price would have been $61.

Of course, this is New York City. It's the land of ridiculous prices for things that are not worth that price, no matter how "nice" it is relative to something "less nice" in the city. And those "nice" things are often totally pedestrian compared to what you can get for much cheaper and at much higher quality at any other world city in any other country.

That is the case with Calexico. For $37 in London or Paris, I've eaten much better, and those locales aren't known for being cheap cities. For $61, I could feast and drink in either place. I spent less than $61 for a week's worth of groceries in Paris. Not outside of Paris, either, I'm talking dans la cité.

There are much better deals in New York itself, of course. So this begs the question: "Why did you go to Calexico, then, you crank?"

Because my co-workers chose the venue and I was trying to be sociable.

I enjoyed their company, so let's...