New Mecca Cafe — Restaurant in Pittsburg

6/10/13

FINALLY!

I've been hearing about this place from my Pittsburg (and other) friends for a long time. So when I was called to do a notary and the lady asked me to meet her here, I happily agreed. Husband and I were starving so we left home and arrived an hour before she was due to be there. Perfect!

We were seating right away, but it wasn't long before there was a big line forming in the hostess area. We did noticed a man (manager perhaps?) bring out a quesadilla to a family with little kids. So sweet!

It took forever to get our waitress to come take our order, and all she took was drinks. Then she brought them but had to drop other drinks off. THEN she came back and took our food orders. We each ordered two a la carte crunchy tacos (one potato and one carnitas for me).

It was forty (yes, 40) minutes before we received our food. We had some great chips while we waited. Our waters were never refilled for the hour we were seated. I spotted some hot sauce that I added to the really watery, mild salsa and that went great with the chips, but I was surprised the salsa wasn't as good as the rest of the food. Husband ate complimentary bean dip but I think he was mostly interested in the cheesy top layer. The hot sauce wasn't bad. When the tacos did come they were terrific. Most notably, the shells were really crunchy and had fresh, amazing flavor! It was a great dinner. BUT.... it took an hour to get two tacos. It was $18.63 for 4 tacos and one soda. And it was all the way out in Pittsburg. When I'm back in Pittsburg, I'd love to eat here again - but not if...

This restaurant has a good reputation for serving good food. On this day, however, it was not a good day for me and my choices on the menu. First I ordered Huevos Rancheros. It came in two separate plates; one was a platter with two eggs that appeared to be poached, soaked in a red watery liquid that looked like a tomato broth. The other plate was small with rice and beans. The tortillas were wrapped in paper. I didn't know what to make of this dish. I conveyed my concern to the waitress/server who, as I could see really wanted to agree with me. She offered to remove the plate and allowed me to order another dish. I ordered Steak and eggs, playing it safe. The steak turned out to be a very thin tasteless small piece of meat. The plate was loaded with fries. The eggs were prepared as ordered. Again, I voiced my concern at the quality of the dish and the waitress looked genuinely concerned as well. My wife ordered a salad with boiled chicken and although she said the chicken was OK, there was nothing to this dish. Our server went on to say that 'this place isn't really good for lunch." Yet, there were plenty of people eating during lunch time. Pictures were not taken except for the steak and eggs. In the end the waitress was helpful and sympathized with us. She did what she could to alleviate the tasteless moment. As a precaution, I would suggest before ordering a dish there, ask how it's prepared and presented. At this restaurant pictures would really...

Hard. Pass.

The service was great, a liitte slow but friendly. This is NOT authentic Mexican food. A kitchen of LatnX people cooking food is NOT a Mexican Restaurant. As a LatinX person, I think they have tailored the food -over the years- for the surrounding community as there several reviews about how delicious the food was.

The meats are bland and unseasoned, not marinated and have no spices. The salsa is canned stewed tomatoes with green onions and cilantro, which is not a salsa, a dip maybe but not a salsa. The bean salsa/dip with 'mole' (not a real mole sauce) and monterey jack cheese was tasty. Tacos - one shredded chicken and one Grilled Steak - were not good. So much so that I up chucked them. The Chile relleno was horrible, soggy, previously fried.

I was not given the small red salsa to try even after I requested when leaving. When I was served my meal, I was not provided a fork which was interesting so I used the knife to taste the rice and beans which were good. I did immediately request a to-go box and tasted the tacos which have powered parmesan cheese. Once again, not Mexican food.

The three stars are what tey do for the community and the customer service ONLY. The food does not go down well if you are a healthy eater. Use a probiotic if you plan on...