Restaurant Review: La Comida

On a recent Sunday evening, my family and I pulled into three of the many empty spaces in front of La Comida. The festive patio, decorated with colorful lights and potted plants, was about half-full. There was only one table seated inside. The large plastic menu is a great read. There are three varieties of queso and a sizzling queso fundido, as well as soups, salads, interesting tortas, classic Tex-Mex combo plates, and platos elegantes such as a Mexican rib-eye for $22.99. It’s too bad the food doesn’t live up to the tantalizing menu. The dark mole that covered dried-out pieces of chicken was cold. The arrachera steak—a glorious-sounding flank steak folded over melted cheese, garlic butter, poblano peppers, and mushrooms and spiced with a Mexican chimichurri—was a magnificent-looking mess, but it was so salty that my tongue was burned after two bites. Salt also killed any other possible tastes to come through the gooey melted cheese poured over beef enchiladas. We found a few good bites. A small order of guacamole ($6.99) was two fists of chunky avocado goodness, and the chips and salsa were outstanding. Side dishes included a hefty portion of tasty elotes and zippy Mexican slaw. Service was friendly and attentive, but maybe that was because there were as many waiters as customers.