Mamasita

Does Mamasita live up to the hype?

I enjoy trying new places and this place has Melbourne abuzz with the prospect of authentic Mexican cuisine.

Close to work at the top end of Collins Street, it seemed like a good lunch option with a couple of work mates.

We ordered our dishes from the Comida para la familia (Food for the family) section of the menu.

Bill and I ordered the $16 Chili relleno (Bullhorn chiles stuffed with wild mushrooms, pepitas, epazote ; pumpkin sauce). And Dallas couldn't curb his penchant for pork and requested the Costillas de cerdo al chipotle $18.

The Chili relleno came attractively presented but I was disappointed in the flavour. I could barely discern any mushroom in the stuffing because of the volume of rice used to fill it out. The sprig of corriander, the pumpkin seeds, and the pumpkin puree were nice addition, but I had to use generous dollops of the jalepeno sauce to make the dish more interesting.

I asked Bill and Dallas to guest blog.

From Bill - "An interesting take on classic Mexican favourites. I had the chilli rellenos which were stuffed with mushrooms, herbs and rice and served with pumpkin puree, a tasty combination but some diners may have been surprised if they were expecting the traditional cheese-filled variety. Downsides are the absence of condiments and sides served in traditional Mexican eateries and slightly stale corn tortillas and salsa that remided me of the type that come out of the jar. If you want the full Mexican 'comida', the extra cost of pre-meal tortillas/salsa and refried beans and rice side dishes pushes this restaurant out of the value-for-money range."

One of my favourite recollections of our time in Mexico was the almost instantaneous presentation of a plate of hand-made tortilla chips and delicious salsa that appeared on the table moments after you were seated. So I have to agree with Bill on the sneaky sting of pricey side dishes. If you add some fairly standard sides like Ejotes beans, Tortillas and Guacamole, you add $18 to your bill. Perhaps this is a necessity for a resturaunt renting at the pricey end of Collins? But it seemed steep to me. We ordered the Tortillas with salsa which were only $5, but as Bill says, the salsa was pretty lame.

We wouldn't normally discuss pigs on this blog, but I didn't want Dallas feeling left out. After all, he's such a retiring wallflower.

From Dallas - "Pork ribs that rock....Sazonado carne de cerdo!!! tender meat that falls away from the bone in a tangy but slightly sweet broth. Ah....why is the meat on the bone always the tastiest?"

So there you have it. If the dishes were under $10, I might be more charitable, but for the prices here, I expect something a little more.