Mi Cocina

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In my kitchen I use fresh, seasonal ingredients. And that's the approach at Mi Cocina ("my kitchen" in Spanish) where the Tex-Mex menu features items that are made fresh daily using traditional Mexican cooking techniques.

Mi Cocina is new to Atlanta (the Midtown location opened November 12), but the restaurant chain has approximately 18 locations in theDallas-Fort Worth area.

Mi Cocina serves lunch and dinner daily. Signature dishes include sunset fajitas--which adds a spicy chile-cilantro cheese sauce to the traditional dish--tacos "de brisket," homemade salsa, enchiladas, and margaritas including the Mambo Taxi, which combines a classic frozen margarita featuring Sauza Blanco tequila with house-made sangria. (Though not readily apparent on the menu, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and low-fat options are available; ask your server.)

The contemporary décor of the place is simple and monochromatic, offset by the bright paintings by Mexican artist Luis Sottil that seem to say it's okay not to take life too seriously.

On the late December evening of our visit, we were whisked to a table at 6:30 p.m. Many tables were open at that time, but the dining room filled during our meal so I recommend making a reservation. Our service was excellent--when the manager visited our table to check in, he mentioned that our server was his best employee, and it would be hard to beat the server's enthusiasm let alone attentiveness.

We tried both the Mi Cocina classic margarita (on the rocks, no salt) which is priced at $8 and the Aniversario margarita which is $10 and made with 20-year Sauza Blue Reposado, Cointreau Noir, agave nectar and lime juice. Our verdict: It's totally worth the extra $2 to get the Aniversario version. What the server didn't warn us about was the size of the margaritas--they're huge! At least twice the size of average, but then again this restaurant company is based in Texas where by reputation everything is bigger.

I ordered Cocina Changa ($14.95), which includes two flour tortillas stuffed with picadillo beef or roasted shredded chicken,queso blanco, guacamole, rice, refried beans and a choice of side sauce. I tried Sunset since the server and just about everyone else in the place raved about it. My verdict: It's a tasty cheese sauce, but I personally prefer salsa. The tortillas are grilled, which I didn't expect and would have personally preferred not be the case.

Dean ordered Enchiladas de Pollo con Mole ($12.95) which are served with rice, refried beans and Mexican cole slaw. Between the two entrees, both of which were tasty, we both preferred this one.

While rice is a standard side at such restaurants, it is interesting to note that our two entrees featured different rice preparations. One green and one red, both flavorful and delicious.

Bottom Line: In Atlanta, where Mexican dining options abound, it will be interesting to see how this Tex-Mex import from Dallas fares.