Folks, you wanted authentic regional Mexican food, but you aren’t eating it. So far you’ve dismissed Alma and Café San Miguel. Several other restaurants billed as regional Mexican are suffering and are reworking their menus to add more “familiar” items to attract the borderline adventurous eater. Chef Gabriel Leon lost his dream when he was forced to close Masayrk Modern Mexican Kitchen. When he was offered a chance to start again at Mi Dia, he smartly decided to divide the menu into Tex-Mex, Sante-Fe style, and regional Mexican. MesoMaya bills itself as regional Mexican but almost every table is eating enchiladas. Did the market overfill a bogus demand?
I bring this up because last night I ran across a post on Facebook written by Jaret Reyes. She is the daughter of Olga and Raul Reyes who own and operate Mesa in Oak Cliff. She wrote: “Business is horrible. Mesa will be closing pretty soon if our sells don’t go up 🙁 ” I contacted Jaret and she says:
“Yes, our sales went from being great to not even making enough to pay for bills and it is very depressing. We gave everything that we had to make it work and it’s not. My dad is working on the patio to see if that would bring it up, but its hard to come to work and not have anything. It sucks. We will do whatever it takes to save it.”
This is a gem of a restaurant. They serve some of the best food I’ve eaten in a long time. If you haven’t tried it, skip the urge to eat nachos one time and give their cochinita pibil a try. If you love Mesa, love it more.