Restaurant Review: Encanto

We recently went to the new eatery, Encanto at 5225 N. Lombard St. This is what we thought: the food was ambitious, but horrid.

For starters, the restaurant seems unfinished. The building Encanto is in has been renovated, I believe, so we are willing to overlook the somewhat confused decoration (hello huge Antique sign, cut in two and placed in separate rooms). The exposed concrete walls and floors were actually kind of nice and the painted parts were tasteful, though a bit off theme. For a New Mexico restaurant, I was expecting something other than avocado-colored walls in the rear of the restaurant, but that's neither here nor there. The ambiance was sufficient for a restaurant, and even a bit chic for NoPo. If I were the owner, I wouldn't worry too much about the environment; it was more than adequate, despite the kitchen taking up half the dining area on one side of the restaurant, while the bar takes up another large portion on the other half. Help us, oh architectural design gods....

First off, the service was awesome. The waitress was subtle, yet friendly, and kept serving us water, which was much needed. It does beg the question, however: why not give us bigger water glasses? Those dinky things were nearly empty after every two drinks. I understand the desire to be sophisticated and chic, but come on! You're serving HOT Mexican food, for heaven's sake! Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't overcrowded and the waitresses were on the ball.

Don't get us wrong, we LOVE New Mexican cuisine. Hell, I grew up in Denver, so I miss some good Chile Colorado, some nice tamales, even a good chile relleno; unfortunately, I'm gonna have to wait to go back to Denver if I want decent New Mexican food.

Our appetizer was served promptly. We ordered Mussels with Chorizo (I don't know where you would find mussels in New Mexico, incidentally). It was okay, served with tiny, obviously farmed mussels (they had not even a grain of sand in the entire bowl), but the chorizo tasted a bit old and it was done up in these thick, solid cubes that just didn’t go so well with the mussels.

We also ordered the red chili bowl. You know, I love hot food, but this was just not good. It was like the cook took a jalapeno and some chilli powder and just poured it in with some stewed meat. There was no lemony flavor, no cilantro (and that's okay, since this was a New Mexican dish, but it just lacked any flavor at all) , not even an onion. There was a disturbing lack of potatoes to give it some heartiness. It was hot, but a bit bland. Still, the best dish of the night. They served it with one tortilla (obviously not homemade, probably Mission brand. Yes, we know our tortillas), even though it clearly deserved two at least. Cheapskates.

We also ordered a red chili sopapilla plate that came with rice and beans. The rice was okay, but a little flavorless, and it seemed to have been made with small-grain rice, which just didn't taste right; the beans tasted kind of chemically (canned?). The stewed meat was in a sort of chili reduction. It lacked flavor and even needed salt (and I never salt anything, unless it's french fries). There were no tortillas on this plate. Instead, it was served with Sopapillas drizzled with more of that lame chili paste. The Sopapillas (reminiscent of Navajo flatbread, no doubt) were flat in more ways than one. They too lacked flavor. For a moment, I thought I'd walked into a health-food restaurant, because everything was bland and overpriced.

Lastly, we had a couple cocktails. She had this Mr. something or other that was made with Kahlua, Brandy and coffee. It was tasty, but nothing incredible, considering the price ($7+, if I recall correctly). I, unfortunately, ordered something called a Tangerine shot. It was supposedly made with decent tequila, but tasted lame, like drinking cheap well tequila with orange juice. At $8 for a tiny glass of the stuff, I was sadly disappointed.

Speaking of disappointment, the price was just outlandish for North Portland. I would expect to pay this (or much more) at a downtown restaurant and for quality food. We ate and tipped 20% for a grand total of something sparse, like $50. Not bad, when the food is good, but not justifiable when the food is downright lame. I literally made a joke that I needed to stop off at Taco Bell on the way home. How gross is that?

I hate to say it, but this place is nothing more than a money pit to trap ignorant white folk into having a "New Mexico food experience." We're fine with that, if you want to take that philosophy to Tigard, or Tualatin. It doesn't, however, belong in NoPo, where people work hard for their money. When we go out, we want substance; especially in our local restaurants.

When I eat Mexican food, I tend to gauge it on how my father (a native Mexican from Jalisco) would like it. He's a stickler for rice. In fact, his philosophy is that you can tell how good a Mexican food restaurant is based on the quality of the rice and beans. Encanto fails miserably on both counts. I would be embarrassed to take him there.

If you want to impress someone with North Portland’s fooderies, don’t go to Encanto (or the lame-ass Christie's, for that matter). Go to the new Thai restaurant in downtown Kenton, or even Cup & Saucer. The Thai restaurant is really, really good, and I'm generally ambivalent about Thai food.

It seems the chef at Encanto needs to dispel with all the pretentiousness and get back to the basics. By that, we mean he needs to start making his own tortillas (and sopapillas as well), slow cooking his own beans, experimenting with fresh ingredients (thanks for the weeks old, solid chorizo), and stop trying to trick customers into thinking this is better than the common choke and puke you would find at restaurants like Acapulco or Mazatlan. In all fairness, we know good Mexican food. We grew up in Denver and have lived in places like El Paso and Los Angeles. Clearly, Encanto has a tall order to fill if it intends on impressing us. Unfortunately, the only tall thing about our night out was the tab.

Final quote of the evening: "Remind me never to come here again."