Photograph by Kevin A.Roberts
35 N. Gore
314-968-3256
Lunch and dinner daily
Average Main Course: $8
Dress: We suggest your "salsa might end up on this" shirt.
Reservations: Desafortunadamente, no.
Chef: Robert Trevino.
Think about it: There are four kinds of Mexican restaurants. (Well, five if you insist on including fast food.) To count, begin with the small, authentic two tortillas–meat–onion–cilantro–lime taco shacks. Then come the platos-with-rice-and-beans houses. St. Louis is now starting to acquire what I think of as midlevel Mexican restaurants, which have been a little hard for some to get used to. (“Sixteen dollars for enchiladas with no meat?”) The high bar—in the Midwest, anyway—was set long ago by Chicago’s Frontera Grill.
A new midlevel Mexican place has arrived in Webster Groves. La Cantina, the sibling of Amigos Cantina in Kirkwood, sports a bar beneath a canopy of pastel shingles, a three-level dining area, and attractive outside tables, about 10 paces from Webster’s timeworn train tracks. The menu is centered around botanas, or Mexican tapas, if you will—you could call them placas pequeñas.
As at Amigos, this cantina knows its way around a bottle of tequila. The basic margarita, styled “traditional,” is excellent, smooth and strong and not for the faint of liver. And while the chips might be commercial, they arrive hot and crisp. Salsa runs toward the chunky style, with a moderate hit of spiciness.
All of that’s encouraging, but the guacamole gives one pause. It seems whipped, with a few proper chunks thrown in for effect. And the flavor is inconsistent: On one occasion, it was sour and hot-spicy; on another, sour but with no heat at all.
From a menu section labeled parrilladas—that is, grilled meat platters—come hunks of seriously succulent roasted pork, moist and tasty with or without the accompanying salsa verde. A few bits of tomato and queso fresco don’t detract, and the sizzling, fajita-style pan it all rides in on has onion and peppers snapping and popping as well. The rice surprises: It’s white rice, fluffy with bits of pepper, corn, and cilantro.
A quesadilla with portobello and roasted sweet red peppers works well, a garlic marinade on the mushroom providing a pleasing aroma. A combination of cheeses keeps the contents in check, and the red, white, and green garnish (pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole) elicits a smile.
Smallish sea scallops came sautéed to crispness on their nethers, leaving them mostly overdone, and their jade-green poblano cream sauce was extremely mild. Still, the crispiness is appreciated, and more of that rice serves as a fine carrier for the sauce.
Portions at La Cantina are neither large nor small. We prefer the term “judicious,” but under any guise, our surprise at the size of the sopaipilla was considerable. Three large rectangles of fried flour tortilla arrived zebra-striped with agave syrup and lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. The consistency is like a pita chip, rather than the usual chewiness. Three scoops of rich, creamy cinnamon ice cream were heavy on a hot summer day—this is a dessert for the table.
Forgoing dessert on a return trip, we opted for a frozen mango margarita. It was almost as good as the traditional one we tasted on our first visit. Aside from a little giddiness at the hostess station, service was excellent, attentive, and pleasant—ideal for young families, after-work socializers, or police officers on lunch break.
The Bottom Line: La Cantina’s menu of botanas takes Mexican cuisine in the right direction.
