Maíz Cocina Mexicana — Restaurant in San Antonio

Maiz, as the name implies, is corn centric on various levels, from the chips to the tortillas to the chilaquiles. I was excited to come as I heard how true to corn the restaurant is; that and Chef Maricela Rangel Trujillo was bringing down three generations of recipes from Central Mexico, specifically Zacatecas.

The initial chips served with salsa and refried beans were the best I've ever had. Even fried, the aroma of the masa filled my senses. The extra corn tortillas I ordered with the good queso fundido were just as delicious. The discada we included with the queso was the right move; the salty delicious mix with the soft nixtamalized tortilla was perfect. For entrees, we ordered the flautas, the tacos al pastor, the puerco en salsa verde, and I had the Maiz milanesa. The flautas were good; again, the maiz stood out.

Unfortunately, this was where everything else not maiz based was lackluster, underseasoned, or even uneatable. I say that with great sadness but without reservation; the best of the plates were the flautas but the chicken was underwhelming. The puerco was also ok, with the salsa verde providing some heat. The tacos al pastor were absolutely terrible; Monterrey style but mostly just seasoned with adobo, a dull flavor that was extended by the large and numerous cubed pineapple. Typical tacos al pastor are served sliced from the trompo (not the case here) but also served with a thin slice of pineapple for contrast and to add a texture of sweetness to the pork. This cubed version certainly seemed from a can but I couldn't tell definitively. Regardless, my friend coudl not finish two of the five tacos.

The milanesa maiz was the most interesting plate but this too would eventually strike out. A dish consisting of a thin sliced beef meat, coated with breadcrumbs and egg, fried, and then covered in a special housemade salsa maiz, melted queso Oaxaca, corn, and chile poblano, it had a very unique but nearly Tex Mex queso taste. The queso Oaxaza and chile poblano added nothing to the plate. I have to admit it was a strange concoction that definitely did not exude Zacatecas but maybe I am wrong. Either way, it was not a plate I would order again.

The entrees do not include beans or rice for the most part, which is unusual for San Antonio. I ordered both and the sides were good, with the charro beans being just a bit above average. I do think folks will scoff at the prices which as a plate would be high but then needing to add two sides will not only raise the bill but eyebrows. I personally don't mind it but will definitely test expectations and wallets in San Antonio.

Service is good, attentive and quick. Servers were knowledgeable and willing to help with the menu. Beverages are standard non alcoholic options that add little consequence to the menu. The decor is pleasant and upscale, if not a little tight. Like always, aesthetics and enviorment matter little to me as I eat food not walls.

I went with three friends to make sure I could taste several plates and share our thoughts. Everyone agreed that the corn based items were delicious. The best of the food was the queso fundido but outside of that, all other items were flawed on some level, even the avocado tasting bland. I was very disappointed, as were my guests. Not to humblebrag, but I invoted my friend, the current poet laureate of San Antonio and his wife, along with a friend who also knows Mexican food, and no one was impressed with hardly any of the food besides the maiz.

Chef Maricela Rangel Trujillo obviously has a way with maiz and can successfully transform the ingredient as she needs; there is no question at her genius on that level. However, the rest of the plates left much to be desired. Maiz has a long way to go before it can be considered worthy. I will go for a repeat visit but it would take a drastic change for me to recommend Maiz. I hope that is the case because if the food can match the maiz, it will be an amazing experience. Until...

The moment we walked in. We were not greeted or seated. No hostess or clear indication of a particular person seating anyone, or in charge of running the restaurant. Two servers for the whole restaurant, one bus boy on a Friday night. They refused to seat us, because a table of 8 was ahead and a table of 2. There were 3 open tables, made no sense and they claimed it was because of their first come first serve basis. My husband explained this then he somehow realized and sat us down. The appetizer was ok but the menu has no specific list of ingredients for people with allergies or meat preference. In our case my husband does not eat pork. We weren’t told and it didn’t say but the waiter offered it to us without specifying. We dealt with that but when our main course came out it was a turn for the worse. We order the Milanesa maiz and it was burned and dried out. Covered and smothered with a sauce, in an attempt to hide the lack of basic culinary experience like seasoning with salt. Then when brought to the attention of our waiter he didn’t even apologize or say anything but rushed to the back to my assumption to speak to someone, came back and asked if we wanted something else and I mentioned the tempicana plate and he said I couldn’t get that plate since it was of higher value. Complete disregard of service manner and instead of simply explaining we can order it and pay the difference. At this point we decided to leave to prevent our food being tampered with. A waste of time and they still didn’t apologize or try and correct anything just said to have a good night. Will...

First of all, before giving my unsatisfied review about the service I want to say the food at Maiz is absolutely delicious! I was very impressed with their Agua de Cajeta and the Arrachera plate. In general all of our food was delicious and wonderful!. Now the service…. We had tried getting in the restaurant a few weeks back but unfortunately it was a Sunday at noon so we expected to be a long wait time. The place is small with 10+ tables and some outside sitting. We had other errands to run so we decided to go elsewhere knowing we would be back in the area in the future and can try again then. We were there this Sunday and the wait time was as expected but, we were gonna wait. First they took a long time to acknowledge us because they were accommodating tables for big group. After we were acknowledged they told us to wait four minutes while they got the table ready. Once table was ready no one told us to sit eventhoe the table was ready. Waiters just walking up and down and some others cleaning glasses and not doing anything else. Once we finally took out table, no one gave us a menu we had to ask for one. Our waiter took a long time to take our drink order, they gave priority to the big group that was actually seated AFTER we were seated. After the drinks, again they big group was prioritized with their food order which took probably another 20min after coming to us and get our food order. Unfortunately we will not be coming back regardless of the...