I had lunch at this Mexican restaurant across from Trader Joe's on 17-92/ N. Orlando today. I was less than pleased a few weeks back when I saw that this place (Carmel Kitchen) had switched over to yet another Mexican restaurant. One with presumptions to boot. After espying the $4 soda charge on the menu I became more so. Then the uninspired and limited menu really had them playing from behind. I ordered the reasonably priced (for here) taco plate at $15. It came with three tacos and beans and rice. I tried to over-sample (for you) and ended up with a chicken in a lettuce (romaine leaf) cup, a carne asada in a soft corn tortilla and a barbacoa in a soft wheat tortilla. They were all mediocre. The chicken was dry. The carne was cooked medium, but, the pickled onions clashed with the aged cotija. Same with the chipotle bbq sauce on the barbacoa. Plus a third of the "pull" was uneatable. This isn't the first time I've been perplexed by the flavor choices at "high priced" Mexican endeavors around town. They seem to be embarrassed by the pricing and compensate by piling add ons onto it. I know it was early on Christmas Eve day, but, I doubt the execution is ever noteworthy. And like I said, the recipes are suspect. And even if wise, all they seem to do is provide coverage for ham handedness with the principal elements of the dish. The rest of the menu is pricy. $30 salmon. $30 pork chops. $20+ for enchiladas and other Mexican staples. They seem more concerned with the booze. It is featured more broadly on the menu. Which falls apart while you are reading it. The chips were good. The salsa had no kick. Tasted like pureed tomatoes. I want to digress for a second to wonder how there is always one "razor blade" tortilla chip in every batch. Felons shouldn't ask for cakes with dangerous objects baked in. They should ask for tortilla chips. Back to the meal. It took a while to arrive. Thirty minutes. Only two other diners competing for the attention of the kitchen. I'll accept the possibility that they cook fresh to order. I do this because the rice and beans were fresh. And flavorful. The style seemed a bit more Latin than Mexican. Maybe that is why the main components seemed to suffer. Maybe the cook is Latin? The space is cute. They added a little flair to the outside. Two murals in the dining room. A cliché "skeleton painted" senorita and a tribal figure in an agave pina. The rest of the place is the same if I remember correctly. They have parking in the back. They were nice. They gave me a free margarita coupon on the back of the business card. I'm not sure if they would have extended that generosity unless I had asked for the card and they all have that printed on the back. In any case, I have one. Which is good because I think they start at $16. I'm pretty sure they had one on the menu at $29. The menu said they plan on opening in NYC. I think even Gotham-ites are familiar enough with Mexican cuisine at this point to think twice about the price to value ratio. They have been open for six months. It's odd that their name fits perfectly with what score I would assign them. They were less than necessary and even more so after sampling them. I wish I could have ended the year off on a more positive note. Hate to be Grichy. Not really. But, yes in this case.
*I was going to try out a new Italian pizza chain in Maitland, but, they said they won't open until January 20 something. It's called Midici.
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