Restaurant Find: Fiesta Cancun

View from our booth

Some of the best Mexican food I've found hides in unexpected corners, such as the food stand in the back of a supermercado tucked behind a tattoo parlor. I tend to avoid chains, or restaurants that advertise "Authentic Mexican Restaurant." But this weekend I found good food also can hide behind generic neon palm trees. 

Fiesta Cancun: Authentic Mexican Restaurant is not exactly a hole-in-the-wall taqueria. According to the menu, there are seven Fiesta Cancuns across Wisconsin and Illinois. The Madison branch, which opened earlier this year, occupies the space formerly known as Delitalia in Oakbridge Commons on Mineral Point Road. The bare-bones deli has been transformed into a cozy Mexican villa, with brick-lined window arches, tile awnings and colorful scenes painted above the booths. 

We were drawn in by a coupon for two dinners and two drinks for $20, which seemed like an incredible deal until we saw the menu prices. Most entrees were around $7-$8, with no single platter more than $12. We ordered two Lime Margaritas on the rocks (reg. $3.75 a piece), one Carne Asada ($9.75) and one Camarones Al Mojo de Ajo ($10.75). 

Carne Asada with chips and Margarita

The Carne Asada consisted of two cuts of rib eye steak, served with a sliced avocado salad, corn tortillas, rice and beans. The Camarones were shrimp and onions sauteed in garlic butter and served with the same sides. The steak was cooked well through, but still flavorful and tender. The shrimp were large and plentiful. What impressed me most was how pure the presentation was of these dishes - they didn't rely on excessive seasoning or loads of queso sauce. And they were anything but bland. The Margaritas also were tasty, well-mixed and served with a fresh slice of lime.    

Service was equally polished. The hostess was friendly, the server was attentive and the food was prompt. My only complaint of the entire experience was that the booth seats remained as squishy as they were during Delitalia's tenure. 

I will be back. Maybe to try the Flan, baked fresh daily, or the Banana Burrito. And definitely for $2 Margarita Mondays. 

RNA

David Gray & Ray LaMontagne @ The Greek Theater, Berkeley CA, Sept. 10

Thanks to KFOG, I was able to see my 3rd favorite solo artist of all time (at the current moment) in concert, David Gray! (For those who are wondering, right behind Peter Gabriel & Josh Joplin, although Josh Joplin is debatable as he goes in & out of groups.  So D. Gray could be my second favorite!)

To win tickets, I had to be the first caller to answer the question, "What is the name of David Gray's latest album?"  Piece of cake for me, but not the first six or so people who called!  Obviously I deserved the tickets more than them. :P

The concert was billed as David Gray & Ray LaMontagne, with Tift Merritt as the opener.

At 7:00 sharp Tift Merritt came on.  She looked & sounded like pretty generic Americana.  She wasn't bad but I couldn't get into her music.  She only stayed on for about 20 minutes, though.

 

Next up was Ray LaMontagne.  I've never been a fan of him, but I must say no complaints about his performance!  I thought his band (the Pariah Dogs) had very good chemistry & he did make singing and playing the guitar seem effortless.  I did appreciate the music more seeing him live.  The songwriting on the other hand...I still could not get into his stream of consciousness, half-baked lyrics.  It's as if they're incomplete (and, to a degree, so's his music).  I can see how that can be appealing, though & do see why many seem to like him.  Still not a fan, though.

David Gray was a rock star.  Band of 6 dudes wearing fancy suits, playing cool-looking instruments, well done lighting, and jumping all over the place.  (He did try too hard to rock out to the first few songs though, esp. 'Sail Away'   ) Still sounded great, though.  In fact, he didn't play a lot of his recent stuff, or anything off of the new B-sides release "Foundling" which was fine with me.  It seemed to be more of a greatest-hits type gig, saving the best three for last (pre-encore): Be Mine, Babylon, & Please Forgive Me.  "Be Mine" was spectacular and confirmed my thoughts that, while not my favorite single by him (I'd rank it middle-of-the-pack) it really should have been his biggest hit; unfortunately ATO totally bungled the order of release of singles with from "A New Day at Midnight" (which, to my disappointment, was underrepresented at this show) He did the same thing with "Babylon" as last time I saw him, which was make the audience yell "if you want it, come & get it" before playing.  He ended the show (pre-encore) with "Please Forgive Me" & an additional (and much appropriately-placed) spotlight was on the drummer.

Set list: (Didn't write down & look up Tift Merritt's, hope nobody's too disappointed about that )

Ray LaMontagne:
1. For the Summer
2. New York City's Killing Me
3. Forever My Friend
4. Let It Be Me
5. Beg Steal or Borrow
6. Repo Man
7. Jolene
8. Old Before Your Time
9. Hold You In My Arms
10. God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise
11. Like Rock N Roll
12. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame)
Encore:
13. Trouble
14. You Are the Best Thing

(This was actually the one thing that bothered me about his set - he has 5 singles, he played 4 of them, but two were the two encore songs.  IMO it's not good form to play your songs that everyone knows as the encore songs, unless you have enough to fill your set pre-encore with them. )

David Gray:
1. Draw the Line
2. Fugitive
3. Sail Away
4. The One I Love
5. Now and Always
6. Say Hello Wave Goodbye
7. This Year's Love
8. Jackdaw
9. Be Mine
10. Babylon
11. Please Forgive Me
Encore:
12. Shine
13. Nemesis
14. All I Want is You (w/ Ray LaMontagne, U2 cover)

DNA

Brie and Pear Sandwich

Today I acquired couple pounds of Reny Picot Brie from work  (a positive start to the week), so naturally it was cheese for dinner!

When I was 11, my brother and I would melt cheese and eat it plain with a spoon until our mom, fed up with scrubbing the crusted remains from the bowl, put a permanent moratorium on this practice. While gooey melted oily shredded cheddar was really quite spectacular in fifth grade, the Brie I took home tonight deserved a slightly more grown-up, sophisticated treatment.

Brie, a soft French-style cheese with a tender white (and delicious) rind, works great with contrasting textures and flavors, but its delicate taste easily can be overpowered. So I paired this cheese with sweet and subtle pairs and raisins, both sauteed in a dash of cinnamon, and added some crunchy walnuts. I piled these atop baby greens and multi-grain toast, and for a bit of zest sprinkled it with a mixture of ginger and white wine vinegar. Voilà!

RNA