Down Grand Street (on the other side of the BQE) is a Mexican restaurant. It has a blue front, lights in the windows, and a sign hanging out from the building proclaiming “Mexican Restaurant.” Founded by Leonides Crotez in 1993, El Maguey Y La Tuna is a family-run establishment and is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this April. It might not look like much from the outside, but the food waiting inside is delicious and real.
My first course was the sopa de frijoles negros (black bean soup) toped by chopped onions, cilantro, and avocado. The smell from the bowl was wonderful; the deep brown color accented by the green cilantro and avocado floating across the top made it beautiful. The soup was not as heavy as I expected, and was more a black bean broth. The spices, providing a nice counterbalance, highlighted its dark flavor. The soup left a hearty and nice taste in my mouth.
This was followed by camarones al ajilo (shrimp in garlic sauce). The shrimp were grilled in heavily garlic sauce. This provided a quick bite of flavor on your tongue before it melted into the familiar taste of shrimp. Rather than overwhelming the shrimp, it serves to adjust your mouth first. The sauce, while good (I love garlic), was a bit oily and the restaurant might want to think about lightening it up some.
The main course was mole ranchero (a spicy sauce of chile guajillo and consteno over chicken). The moist and flaky chicken was drenched in the deep red-of-the-earth sauce. The sauce tasted upon first bite like cayenne pepper. That is, until the sauce had time to saturate my mouth after multiple bites. It didn’t seem overly spicy at all, but I soon found myself incredibly glad it was served with rice on the side. The ingredients in the sauce are a bit undercover, and come back later on to get you. It was at this point I noticed a bottle of hot sauce on the table, so I suppose I’m just a lightweight norteamericano. (Apparently so, because Cortez told me nearly 80% of his customers ask for it hotter.)
The tiled tables, the sombreros on the wall, the colorful striped rugs hung around the restaurant, the maps of Mexico, and the jukebox full of Mexican music gave El Maguey the feel of an authentic Mexican cocinera—which in fact it absolutely is.
This is not dressed-up Taco Bell or Chi-Chi’s Mexican food for Americans. It’s the real deal, so if you’re looking for authenticity and good cooking, head over to El Maguey. And if you have the time, brush up on your Spanish just a bit, because while the menu might be in English, the staff might not be too fluent. But don’t let that bother you—they’ll make every attempt to make you happy. It means you’re getting the real thing.