My first guest blogger is my step-mom, Becki. She started posting last year on her Facebook page reviews of the different restaurants that she went to and plans to start it back up this summer. Hope this helps anyone who lives in Central Kentucky or planning on visiting. Enjoy!
Becki’s
Blog: A
Foodie’s Guide to Restaurants in the Central KY Area
My friend Kim, who is a big movie buff,
started her own blog to rate movies currently playing at the local
theaters. I am not a movie goer, but I
am a big Foodie. Friends will typically ask
me for restaurant recommendations and I frequently find myself in disagreement
with the local restaurant reviews in the newspaper, so I got the idea that I
would start my own Restaurant Reviews –
Becki’s Blog.
So, here are the Review guidelines:
1 Fork = I would rather eat dog food.
2 Forks = I would eat there if I was
starving.
3 Forks = Not bad; someplace I
would occasionally consider eating.
4
Forks = A good place to eat; I will put it into my rotation of places I dine
frequently.
5 Forks = One of my all time
favorites!
One caveat to note – I am allergic to fish
and seafood, so if you are looking for those recommendations, you will have to
consult someone else.
Because I have a daughter-in-law with Celiac
and a really good friend who is Vegetarian, I will try to point out whether
those options are present when I review a restaurant. So…..let the dining begin!
Tuesday,
April 9, 2013 - Dinner
Coba Cocina
2041 Richmond Road
Lexington, KY 40502
(859) 523-8484
The occasion was my anniversary dinner with my
husband. Since Coba Cocina is new, we
had heard rumors of two hour waits, especially on weekends and during peak
dinner times. Thus, we opted to arrive a
little early (5:30) on a weeknight (it was our actual anniversary date). There was not a wait when we arrived, but it
did get very busy about 6 pm.
Part of
the attraction at Coba Cocina is the building. It is a very unique design with a “loft” like space for Tapas and bar
dining, a separate section with an outside entrance for their bakery/gelateria,
and the main dining space where the centerpiece is a two story tall aquarium
full of jellyfish – supposedly the largest private aquarium of its kind in the
world. To my dismay, even though the
restaurant was not crowded when we arrived, we were seated as far away from the
jellyfish tank as possible, with a view of the parking lot. Not a good start. Once seated, guests are served a basket of
tortilla chips and salsa – typical for most Mexican restaurants. Coba Cocina added a sampling of warm, black
bean dip to that offering. They also
provide you with a passport style menu of their salsas – including a listing of
ingredients and a heat/spicy scale. Coba
Cocina advertises itself as a blend of Latin American cuisine – Aztec, Maya,
Spanish, Baja Coast, and Mexican. They
have an extensive menu selection including: Dinner, Lunch/Brunch, Tapas, Drinks, Desserts, and Kids. The dinner menu offers all the traditional
Mexican dishes you would expect: tacos,
enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, as well as
steak, chicken, burgers, seafood etc. Some of the entrees seemed to have different flavors, ingredients, or
garnishes; giving the dishes an unexpected twist.
I chose the Brisket Tacos described as: “slow-roasted beef brisket, sliced poblano
peppers and sautéed onions.” I opted for
the flour tortillas. The dish was served
with ensalada avocado and cilantro rice. The ensalada was nothing more than a spoonful of shredded lettuce, one
tomato slice, two avocado slices and a drizzle of Italian?? dressing (which I
thought was very weird). It was more
like a garnish than a side dish. I would
not have paid money for it, but you can order it separately for $1.50. The cilantro rice, was a mound of very bland,
green rice. It does not compare to other
Mexican restaurants’ “Green Chile Rice.” My tacos, however, were very good. The brisket was well seasoned, had a little
drizzle of barbecue sauce, as well as grilled peppers and onions (fajita
style). The tacos were finished off with
some cole slaw which seemed to have a slightly Asian flavor (??) again, sort of
weird for a Latin restaurant. The tacos
were served with the chile de arbol salsa – which rates two stars on their
heat/spicy index. I am definitely a
fire-eater, but it was too hot for me. I
ended up asking for a sample size of their avocado ranch to put on my tacos…much
better!
My husband’s meal was much
less memorable. He ordered the Cheese
and Onion Enchilada Dinner. The
Enchiladas were served with a Chile Con Carne sauce which he said was very
good. The refried beans and rice were
not as good as some Mexican restaurants. The enchiladas were so hard, he could not cut them with a fork, and
could barely cut them with a knife. I am
not sure if the corn tortillas were overcooked or just stale, but this is a
pretty basic dish to get wrong. He also
ordered a cup of tortilla soup as an appetizer. It was so salty, I don’t know how he ate it – I would have sent it
back! Again, these are basic mistakes
that a renowned chef and his staff should not be making. On the plus side, our service was great! The server refilled our drinks and checked on
us many times during the meal. Dinner
was $30 without tip.
While the
bakery/gelateria as a separate space inside the restaurant seems intriguing,
guests cannot get dessert served at their table. They must exit to another part of the
building, order, and pay separately, then eat dessert at a café table or take
it home. This is a really bad idea. For one, the server will make less of a tip,
based on the total check amount. Second,
it forces diners to leave their table before they are really ready to go. Third, I suspect a lot of diners will not go
to that trouble and thus the restaurant is going to lose revenue. We opted to visit the bakery/gelateria and
see what they had to offer. My husband got
a free sample of the strawberry gelato and pronounced it “not very good.” He said it was bland and had a grainy
texture. Of course, since we had the
real thing in Italy, it is going to be a difficult comparison for future
gelatos to measure up! I chose a
mini-cannoli stuffed with chocolate gelato. You could not buy just one – they were priced at two for $1.50. We opted to take them home in a box, but
sadly, they melted before we got them home and so we did not get to eat them!
Coba Cocina is all
about the dining environment – cozy booths, the jellyfish tank, a cool tapas
bar etc. Understandably, they are still
new and working the kinks out of their operation. We will probably make a return visit in a few
months. Let’s hope some of the basics
see some improvement by then.
Gluten Free Options –
there are several choices and they are indicated on the menu.
Vegetarian
Options – there are several choices and they are indicated on the menu.
For
Coba Cocina’s complete menu and hours of operation, visit their website:
http://mintjuleprestaurants.com/
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