|
Note: There are four La Carreta restaurants in New Hampshire, but according to the Web site, some are independently owned and operated, so this review pertains only to the Manchester location. Serving: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m./5-10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.- 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon-11 p.m.; Sunday, noon-10 p.m. Cuisine: Mexican Prices: $ Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
The Dining Companion: Unlucky with Mexican restaurants is an understatement. I hated to suggest to OG that we try another. We had been to La Carreta before, and I figured let’s try them for dinner and see if they hold up — and they did just that.
Ambiance
OG: The restaurant, which does a brisk business, expanded not too long ago, by adding 75 new seats and making the bar area bigger. They say the larger space should reduce the wait, which, on busy nights, can be quite long.
While the restaurant is bigger, it has retained its comfortable, local restaurant feel, which is one of the things I like best about La Carreta. Another is the Margaritas, which are very good. Score: 9
TDC: The restaurant is large and decorated in a pleasant Southwestern motif with comfortable seating either in booths or tables. It definitely can fit large groups and can handle the large volume of people that seem to love this and the other La Carreta found in Nashua. Score: 8
Appetizer
OG: My dining companion and I shared an order of guacamole, which was creamy and flavorful, but without much spice, so los gringos who don’t like hot food will enjoy it, too. It was a very small portion, so I would recommend one serving for each person. At $3.75, however, two servings are still a bargain. Score: 9
TDC: As OG said, we decided to split chips, salsa and guacamole as a starter. I too enjoyed the guacamole, but usually like mine a bit chunkier, with pieces of avocado that add texture. The salsa was a wonderful spicy with just the right amount of heat, which is the way I like it. The chips were warm and we believe freshly made which, is also always preferred to “bag-o-chips.” Score: 9
Entrée
OG: La Carreta has an extensive menu, so making a choice is not an easy thing. I opted for the taquitos, which consist of corn tortillas — in this case, two filled with chicken and two filled with beef — rolled and deep fried. They’re served with lettuce, guacamole, tomato, and sour cream ($9.50). The taquitos were fried crisp and not too heavy. Slathered with guacamole and sour cream, they were excellent and worth ordering again. Score: 9
TDC: What to get? I love a menu with lots of choices, and La Carreta’s menu offers just that. Scanning the menu, I came across enchiladas mole poblano, two chicken enchiladas topped with lettuce, sour cream and my favorite Mexican sauce — mole ($9.50). Mole is a complicated concoction with a long list of ingredients, one of which is chocolate. A fine mole is not always sure thing at a Mexican restaurant, but La Carreta’s was very tasty. Score: 9
Dessert
OG: This was my only real disappointment with the meal. I ordered the sopapillas ($3). Sopapillas are a deep-fried pastry that look like soft pillows. They are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and dipped in honey. They should be puffy – chewy on the outside and air-filled on the inside. What I got however, was a flat, fried tortilla topped with cinnamon sugar and honey. While it tasted OK, it was NOT a sopapilla. Score: 5
TDC: I decided to go with another traditional desert, the flan ($3.50). Flan is a Mexican version of custard and is usually served on top of a thick caramel sauce. This one was flavorful, but it was drowning in runny caramel sauce — it definitely could have been served with a little less. Score: 7
Service
OG: Our waiter offered somewhat indifferent but efficient service. The orders were correct and the food came at a reasonable pace, but he was not terribly friendly. He was very busy, however, so we attributed up his tableside manner — or lack of it — to that. Score: 8
TDC: I agree with OG’s description of the waiter. It wasn’t crowded when we first arrived and he wasn’t very busy, but when we asked for something, he seemed a bit put out by the request. As we dined, the restaurant filled up and he seemed to pick up a number of tables at once, so at that time we could understand the brusqueness, but less attitude next time, please? Score: 8
Total Score: 81 out of 100 points
Do you have a restaurant recommendation for Our Gourmet? Write to: gourmet@unionleader.com
