Papagayos Grill & Cantina (Formerly known
as “Alejandro’s)
Address: 2220 Otay Lakes Rd Suite 505, Chula Vista,
California
Hello everyone. I apologize for my long overdue reviews.
I have been occupied with school. I went to Papagayos on October 18th,
and I realized that the restaurant was formerly known as “Alejandro’s”. The
only difference is the name change; everything else stayed the same including
the food and service. There was a slight Halloween décor transition which does
not make this restaurant appear Mexican themed at all. However, what makes
Papagayos exceptional? It’s just a local Mexican restaurant that specializes in
seafood, specialty handmade tortillas, and Happy Hour drinking bar specials.
[Just a fun fact, my friend is a native to Mexican cuisine, so I factored some of their opinions into my blog as well.]
Appetizer:
“Queso fundido” served with handmade flour tortillas and corn
tortilla chips-
Think of a Mexican version of a chili cheese. There’s a
generous amount of Oaxaca cheese with a dollop of pork chorizo. As the plating
appears, it is indeed oily and fatty, but it was also a literal hands-on meal. The
cheese kept stretching and you need to use a spoon to break the cheese apart.
Using your fingers, knife or fork would leave you hopeless for your hungry
appetite. Despite the mess, it is actually delicious. Like mozzarella cheese, Oaxaca
cheese has a subtle and mildly salted cheese flavor which is popular with
children, has a texture to Monterey Jack cheese, and very flexible to work with[1].
The corn tortillas were store bought, unfortunately.
Luckily, there were some handmade flour tortillas where they make on site which
pairs well with this interactive appetizer. I just wished that the flour
tortillas were cooked a bit longer to give more of that tenderness when you eat
it.
Entrées:
“Carnitas” with beans, guac, and pico de gallo-
The typical carnitas are derived from pork’s shoulders.
It is usually braised or roasted for several hours to as long as a few days
depending how tender you want it[2]. Living in San Diego for
over a decade, there are different variations of cooking carnitas and flavoring
them. So, you can see there is a major competition of who makes the best
carnitas. It is quite disappointing if you’re a Mexican restaurant that is
struggling with making carnitas taste like home. That’s the exact case where my
friend and I bumped into in the positions of the restaurant quality here.
Carnitas are usually tender, flavorful with usage of lard, moderate amount of chiles
and spices, and quality of the meat. Furthermore, we were saddened with the
refried beans, guacamole, rice, and pico de gallo.
Do the refried beans look appetizing to you? Not really.
It reminded me of how my high school cafeteria served them to the students.
These refried beans do not taste fresh, I was better off not eating it at first
sight. The guacamole felt like it was either store bought or has been sitting around
for days. I felt like eating a browned avocado with a bunch of wilted tomatoes
and overpowering amount of raw onions. The Mexican-style rice is usually mixed
with tomato based sauce and a few add-ons like corn, cilantro, green beans, or carrots
for extra color, flavor, and texture; however, at this restaurant, it is
tasteless. Finally the pico de gallo, a side salad of chopped tomatoes, diced
onions, cilantro, jalapeño or serrano peppers, pinch of salt and a squeeze of
lime over it. This Mexican salad at this restaurant does not taste garden-fresh;
you cannot taste the dominant balance of sour, salty or crunch, but bland and semi-liquid
vegetables.
“Lengua en salsa verde” served with rice and beans-
Lengua is Spanish for beef tongue. Now, I know what you
are thinking…”That’s gross!” I’ve tried it in a Vietnamese crock pot cooking
dinner. If it is prepared correctly, it should be very tender, moist, and the
meat should fall right off the bone. Papagayos did exactly what I described.
The salsa verde was truly unnecessary. I felt like the mild spicy salsa masked
the succulent, delicate beef tongue and seasonings. The dish felt like more of
a stew than a pile of cow tongue in a small stack. As for my rice and beans –
you already got my point. I received a “side salad” which was a sliced of
tomato on top of chopped iceberg lettuce. I guess you can throw anything in and
call it a “salad” at Papagayos.
I adore the true Mexican cuisine flare as it offers a
unique style of cooking which differs from Asian, Italian, Greek, American,
etc. Mexican food is known for using fresh ingredients, tasting the soul and
love placed into the cookery, spice distinctions, and varying techniques.
Nonetheless, Papagayos Grill & Cantina did not make the cut for authentic
Mexican with its lack of quality, freshness, and for my palate. I cannot be
selective with my choices. Any Mexican would agree that the food in Mexico is
ten times better because of the local and seasonal ingredients that their
families are accustomed to create for many centuries.
As for the service, it was alright. My servers were
attentive at first, and then gradually slowed down, but when it came to the
bill—they were quick on it. Don’t you love that attention at the end? For these
reasons, my friend and I agreed our overall experience here were 2 ½ stars.
Thank you for taking your time. I know it's been a while, but I am going to get on track!
By the way, I caught something that would make your wallets happy. Everything on the kid's menu is $.699. (It's a typo, but I still find it funny.)
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