Vida Cantina — Restaurant in Portsmouth

This is not your typical strip mall Mexican restaurant with strip mall prices. There is a time for those meals and there is a time to enjoy elevated Mexican cuisine. We came on a Friday night. It was crowded, but fortunately, there weren't any kids running around screaming or big bowl frozen margaritas for two. We did enjoy a show, but more on that later. This is all about the food, the quality of the ingredients, the way it's prepared and the taste. This is not cheap Mexican food but it is so tasty and different. I had carnitas and carne asada tacos while my husband had fried avocado and the mushroom chorizo tacos. We had chips and salsa, each had rice and beans. We each had a margarita and my husband had a Modelo with dinner. Next time, we're going to still order our own meals, explore the menu, but we'll skip the house made chips and order an appetizer to split - or order their fresh guacamole. (BTW, this is not the watered down version that comes already mashed in a cryo-vac bag. This is legit.) As for the show, two older couples came in. First couple, woman orders Birria. If you've never had it before, ask. The server was knowledgable and patient. (It's a lamb stew with chilies and a broth served with tortillas. You can't find it everywhere because it takes time to make.) She didn't like it, complained quietly, sent it back and the server and manager came out and apologized. They even brought her some plain tacos. OK fine, nice to see how Vida Cantina handled it. Second couple was so typical. They give 60+ year olds a bad name. They sit down. Server comes to get their drink order. "We love this place! Love the food," the woman says. "We know what we want....Yada, yada, yada and pork belly tacos." Food comes, woman freaks out. "I thought it said pork tenderloin. We're very conscious of eating the right fats in our diet, you know what I mean?" Man is adding his own side bar, "Yeah, wasn't expecting so much fat. Can't eat that." Server and manager come over apologize, take it off their bill and table and order tostadas. Here's the thing, if you're such a foodie and you love the restaurant's food you should know what pork belly is (BTW, delicious). But, if you rush, don't suddenly make a scene, although they were entertaining. Good food is hard to find. Restaurants that support the local farms are hard to find. Vida Cantina is worth it. Their food is...

Since the moment I stuck a pin into Portsmouth, NH on the map, I knew I wanted to try Vida Cantina at least once as I settled into my new place. Lucky for me its literally across the street from my new abode. So after April's surprise snow storm, I did just that. My family and I were seated promptly and ordered food and drinks. The first to come out was my Agua Fresca, Horchata. Let me tell you, I had to quickly ask the waiter to cancel my kids drinks since I knew they wouldn't like it from the first sip. It was unsweetened and needs to be strained better. From there I ordered 3 tacos. I started with the Picadillo. It was basically hamburger meat with some homemade pickled jalapeños that again lack flavor. The meat could be seasoned more and Picadillo traditionally has potatoes and carrots. Second was the seared fish taco. That one was better! However the Guacamole on it looked like it's been sitting out all day. Last was my personal favorite wherever I go, the Carnitas. The meat was cooked to perfection! However when I asked the waiter for a side of salsa, because it's not a Taco without salsa, he brought out fresh diced tomato. Not even a hint of lime, cilantro or jalapeño to make it a zesty Pico de Gallo at least. I was very disappointed and my husband and I kept saying, "All it needs is some lime and salsa and it would make it better." My kids had the Pollo Enchiladas Verdes... the word enchilada literally means to be spicy. They took the opposite of that word and made the green sauce SWEET. Look, I get it, you're trying to work with the demographic but I think I shed tears when I took a taste test from my kids plate. Lastly I tasted the rice and beans. Which by the way you get charged extra for. The rice was your typical restaurant style rice and the black beans where OK. For being a Mexican restaurant I expected Pinto beans. Would I go back? Probably not. My final thought on Vida Cantina is that it's serving watered down Mexican food to a majority of people who don't know what authentic Mexican food is but I do give them credit for being inventive.But inventive doesn't mean you have to take out what makes it Mexican in the first place. I know the restaurant claims 'Modern Mexican' but I would call it a Fusion...

The first time I came here, I was so excited to find a place in the Northeast that even attempted to have real Mexican dishes (tortas, mole, horchata, menudo) that I might have overlooked some ... details. On my second visit I was able to look past the cheerful decor and pretty plating to realize that everything is bland.

For the record, I'm not usually a too-cool-for-school person, I really hate feeling like I'm pretentious... BUT GOOD MEXICAN FOOD IS SO SIMPLE! It really just takes two things: TIME and ACTUAL SPICES. Well, three things: LEARN TO MAKE A TORTILLA. Though they have all the bells and whistles of a hip modern Mexican joint, Vida Cantina really fails on the basics.

A few specific gripes from my second visit: the chips, though they seem to be made in house, are served cold and greasy... leading to that oh-so-fun Chili's heartburn. Guacamole was strike two. Again, it's freshly made in house. Yay! Start with some fresh avocados, some onions... oh no! But why did you stop there? Is there any lime or lemon juice in there? There's cilantro on top... did you put any inside? Avocados are magical fruits but they won't turn into guacamole on their own. You have to serenade them with flavor, not just squash them in a pretty bowl. The rest of the meal was the same disappointments over and over: a lack of spice, a lack of time to marinade. The rice was dry and flavorless, the beans were cooked well... but also flavorless. The meat! Carnitas, asada, and fish... all of it, barely spiced, barely marinated. It almost makes me cry.

In all fairness, the salad I got on my first visit was awesome... but it wasn't trying to be Mexican food. It was just good fresh veggies, some nice sauce, and delicious roasted carrots. Too bad it was just a daily special. Maybe the more creative fusion-y food is the way to go here. Just please don't come here expecting authentic Mexican flavors. (If you're reading this and you have never left the Northeast, please just do it once for the Mexican food. Go to Colorado. Go to Texas. Heck, go to Mexico! Your life will never...