Mestizo offers lots of Tex-Mex seafood
Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Restaurant features lots of seafood dishes with a Tex-Mex spin. Seated in the narrow dining area of the restaurant looking out onto South Acadiana Thruway, the space reminded us of a diner from the ’50s, but the modern Spanish-style sculptures and flat-screen TV on the wall brought us back to the present.
Our waitress recommended we start with the shrimp and crab con queso ($9) appetizer and the generous portion of the slightly spicy cheesy dip was delicious and tasted more like crab than shrimp.
During our meal we tried a variety of entrees: The La Cena ($13), the Cancun ($16), the Vera Cruz ($17) and the fried fish tacos ($16).
The La Cena was the only one of the four without seafood. The traditional plate included a beef enchilada, a tamale and a beef taco and was served with refried beans and rice. While all were good, the dish lacked seasoning and was a little on the bland side.
The Cancun plate was all seafood and came with a shrimp and crab enchilada, a crawfish and spinach enchilada and a crawfish taco. It was served with guacamole. Though the plate was huge our guest had no trouble polishing it off and enjoyed it all (except for the taco shell), but liked the crawfish and spinach enchilada the best.
The Vera Cruz was a combination plate featuring a shrimp and crab enchilada, a chicken enchilada and a beef enchilada served with guacamole salad and sour cream. Our guest preferred the traditional dishes more than the seafood but also wished everything had a bit more spice. The guacamole was creamy instead of chunky and also needed a bit of seasoning.
Our waitress said the fish tacos are one of their best sellers so we decided to give them a try. The plate was loaded with three flour tortillas each full of perfectly fried strips of fish, but the sweetness of the sweet-potato batter mixed with the fish just wasn’t appealing to our taste buds.
We also sampled a cup of the black bean soup ($5) and the generous serving of warm smoky beans topped with thinly sliced green onions was very good and hit the spot on a cold day.
We split two dessert offerings and both were yummy. The tres leche ($5) is a dense, moist, sweet cake and was a wonderful conclusion to a meal — especially the whipped cream on top.
We also thoroughly enjoyed the bananas Foster ($6), a wonderful concoction — based on the traditional dessert — of sliced bananas, ice cream, cinnamon and whipped cream served in a giant taco shell bowl. It was as good as it was fun to eat.
Though a bit on the pricey side, we enjoyed our meal and the friendly service at Mestizo.