Restaurant Review: Red Mesa

On Sunday, the gang decided to head over to Red Mesa (4912 4th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33703, (727) 527-8728), an upscale Mexican cuisine at a lower end price point. On Sundays, they offer a special brunch menu featuring both traditional south of the border favorites and egg-based takes on classic Mexican breakfast foods.

Red Mesa, much like Algusto that I reviewed before, offers an a la carte approach to the menu. Chips and salsa are available, but they charge you for them. This is actually a nice option, as it keeps the other items prices down while giving you the option to have as much or as little as you’d like to eat.

The restaurant itself is clean and colorful, but not overpowering. The subdued dark red woods, shades of green and toned down traditional colors make for a comfortable place to dine. The dining room is divided into two pieces, one front area (where we sat) and a much larger dining room in the back. This restaurant looks to seat about 200 people, and it was busy for a brunch. Even with being busy, our drinks were topped off regularly, the waiter brought back chips as we asked for them and our meals were out within 25 minutes.

We started with the chips and salsa, which were pretty good. Usually I find when they mix the chip colors (golden and black), there’s a good mix between them. These chips only featured a few dark ones, which Kara immediately coveted as her own. There’s no difference in the taste, mind you, but it’s something I always notice.

The salsa was a thin and runny sauce, slightly spicy but no reason substance to it. The taste was good and fresh, but I found myself dripping it all over as it was hard to scoop without chunks to hold it together.

The entrees came out and everyone dug in. Kara ordered the Mesquite Chicken Quesadilla, a shell filled with grilled chicken, chihuahua and gouda cheese, poblano chile and onion with this absolutely delicious honey chipotle vinaigrette and black bean corn salsa. Of all the sauces I’ve had in all the tex-mex joints I’ve been in through my life, this was one of the better. It’s sweet, it’s a bit spicy and it works so well with the rest of the dish. When I go back, I’m going to order one of my own so I can eat it all and bath in it’s awesomeness.

For my entree, I got a combination plate of tamale, tostada and chicken enchilada served with refried beans. All in all, it was a good dish. The cream and cheese covered enchilada was piping hot all the way through and a good mix of flavors, using just enough meat and just enough shell to find a good balance in the red sauce. The tostada was piled high and had plenty of vegetables while still being substantial enough to stand on it’s own. The tamale was the short sell of the dish, being a bit too dry for it’s own good. I’ve said it before, but I’m really spoiled by the Taco Bus tamales and it’s hard to find anything that will compare. The beans were a little stiffer and starchier than I expected, but the taste was good. Presentation on this dish is top notch, especially at the $8 price point.

Dereck and Dustan both has the burritos, which they claim were good. The portions were a good size and they were eaten pretty quickly, so I’ll trust their judgement on the review.

When we finished our meal, we felt full and satisfied but not busting-at-the-seams as we do after some meals. Also, this meal stuck with me. I wasn’t hungry after 2 hours. In fact, it was almost 6 hours later before I found myself at my next restaurant, doing a review.

Related posts:

1. Restaurant Review: Los Tucanes Mexican Food
2. Restaurant Review: Estela’s Mexican Restaurant
3. Restaurant Review: Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant
4. Restaurant Review: Caramba’s Mexican Restaurante
5. Restaurant Review: Cinco De Mayo
6. Restaurant Review: Streetcar Charlies
7. Restaurant Review: Algusto Tortilla and Salsa
8. Restaurant Review: Sushi Rock Grill
9. Restaurant Review: Monserrate Bar & Grill
10. Restaurant Review: Taqueria Mi Mexico