Enjoy Mexican without compromise at MexA Steak Tacos

[Robin Garr]

Enjoy Mexican without compromise at MexA Steak Tacos

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

The Sonora Taco at MexA Steak Tacos


When we survey the delectable array of Mexican, Tex-Mex and other South-of-the-Border eateries that grace our town these days, it’s easy to forget that we haven’t always been so richly blessed.

I’m sure I’m not the only Baby Boomer who can still remember when “Mexican” in Louisville meant “chili,” with a canned tamale dropped in the bowl upon request.

It was only in the 1970s that we started to see a little more culinary diversity in the original Tumbleweed, the short-lived Por Que No on Bardstown, and Chico’s in Hikes Point. And it took until the 1990s before the Mexican and Central American diaspora started bringing us more of the real deal, ranging from authentic taquerias where it helps to know a few words of Spanish, to the more entrepreneurial Tex-Mex mini-chains, which thrive through quality fare tuned to Norteamericano tastes.

Recently, though, new-wave Mexican spots like El Mariachi in Lyndon, The Ville Taqueria in St. Matthews and Con Huevos in Clifton are setting a new standard, with inviting, bilingual restaurants that offer real Mexican food made by real Mexican people without compromises.

Let’s celebrate the latest arrival in this admirable genre: MexA Steak Tacos (yes, they do spell it like that) offers a short but interesting menu based almost entirely on grilled steak tacos made in the fashion of Monterrey, Mexico, MexA owner Lorena Casas’ home town.

Monterrey, a fair-size Mexican city, is located inland not too far south of Laredo, Texas, so it doesn’t surprise me that folks in this region are just about as gaga over beef as their neighbors to the north.

MexA makes stylish use of a storefront next door to Asahi Japanese, just in the road from Lotsa Pasta. It’s thoughtfully decorated with pretty dark-gray-and-white tiles and rough wood, crowded with wood tables and sturdy wooden chairs. But the main thing you’re likely to notice when you walk in is an oversize stainless grill about the size of a pool table, where a crew of chefs stays busy shredding and grilling strips of sirloin steak just about as fast as happy customers keep eating it up.

We looked around, tried a taco each and a dish of guac and chips, and gently moaned, “Whoa.” We went back up for more tacos. And then another round. And some frijoles and chips. I even thought about a Nutella-in-tortilla dessert taco, but just couldn’t. It’s good, seriously all good. I am not kidding about this. ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=5563

See this column also in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/2016/04/enjoy- ... eak-tacos/

MexA Steak Tacos
3701 Lexington Road
290-1334
facebook.com/mexatacos
Robin Garr's rating: 90 points

Can't wait to try this place -- sounds great. I need to go to as many "authentic" places as possible to atone for my years as a multitasking worker at Chi-Chi's. Still remember the birthday songs like it was yesterday....

[Robin Garr]

... I need to go to as many "authentic" places as possible to atone for my years as a multitasking worker at Chi-Chi's. Still remember the birthday songs like it was yesterday....

I remember reviewing Chi-Chi's somewhat favorably. In fairness, it was a different time ...

Coming from a city with a very large Mexican population (Detroit) and having worked in kitchens dominated by Latins for years I feel a sense of frustration every time a new place like this opens. Don't get me wrong, I love tacos. Tacos are probably the most perfect food anyone ever came up with, next to the tamal. It seems to me like Mexican food is getting the same treatment as Chinese food and Italian before it. These are the three most welcomed and accepted forms of "ethnic" food in America today but they've all been dumbed down to represent the smallest fraction possible of what each of these cuisines has to offer. Every Chinese restaurant carries the same 40 item menu and the only difference is the cover page. Every Italian restaurant has spaghetti and red sauce or something "parmesan" which is also usually drowned in red sauce or bechamel. Every Mexican restaurant you go to offers an enchilada platter along side tacos americanos served up on flour tortillas to make them more appealing to an American audience. While I understand this from a business sense, you have to appeal to a large market of course. It just seems that in a city like Louisville that's represented as and perceived by the outside world as a growing, food forward city that we could do a little better than to keep putting up taco and pizza places with very little variation in creativity or actual authenticity.

It takes a lot of cojones for an Anglo to complain that a new Mexican place, opened by a Mexican-American and deliberately intending to serve authentic food made in the style of her homeland, isn't authentic.

Bob, have you tried El Mocajete on fourth street? If not, you may be surprised. They are not just a taco joint.

El Molcajete is a stand out they're definitely my go to place for Mexican when I'm not making it myself. I wasn't calling anyone out for being inauthentic. I'm pointing out the fact that we've come to expect ethnic restaurants to cater to us by only offering the things we find safe and acceptable to spend our money on. Again, that's why you see the same things repeated time and time again. In the 2.5 years I've been in town I can count at least 6 places that have opened up that focus on tacos or burritos with some pretty safe entree options thrown in to break things up a bit.

Gotcha, and I can relate.

Coming from a city with a very large Mexican population (Detroit) and having worked in kitchens dominated by Latins for years I feel a sense of frustration every time a new place like this opens. Don't get me wrong, I love tacos. Tacos are probably the most perfect food anyone ever came up with, next to the tamal. It seems to me like Mexican food is getting the same treatment as Chinese food and Italian before it. These are the three most welcomed and accepted forms of "ethnic" food in America today but they've all been dumbed down to represent the smallest fraction possible of what each of these cuisines has to offer. Every Chinese restaurant carries the same 40 item menu and the only difference is the cover page. Every Italian restaurant has spaghetti and red sauce or something "parmesan" which is also usually drowned in red sauce or bechamel. Every Mexican restaurant you go to offers an enchilada platter along side tacos americanos served up on flour tortillas to make them more appealing to an American audience. While I understand this from a business sense, you have to appeal to a large market of course. It just seems that in a city like Louisville that's represented as and perceived by the outside world as a growing, food forward city that we could do a little better than to keep putting up taco and pizza places with very little variation in creativity or actual authenticity.

This analysis tells one side of the story, described by Robin as "Mexican, Tex-Mex and other South-of-the-Border . . ."
But the other side, "Tienda, Cantina, Carneceria, and Restaurante" may very well be the culinary story of change in the last decade in the Louisville area.

Once we exit the mainstream culinary trail and embark on the lesser known parts of town we spot dozens of family-run, no gringo to be found, restaurants and little stores serving just about any type of Mexican food one can imagine. We've all seen them around, but most of us have rarely gone in. I've been in a number of such places. It doesn't take long to realize that the "undeground" Mexican food scene is very robust.

To be fair, this scene has been pointed out in this forum over the years. But it tends to be dismissed for the most part.

I stopped by for a pair today and they were excellent. The menu is small and focused, didn't see anything tacked on to keep the Anglos happy. Again, after my years at Chi- Chi's (A Celebration of Food!), I'm happy to see places like this and Con Huevos creating very good dishes from those that once lived there, just as Bruce does at the Mayan Cafe. It's all good to me.

We stopped by last night, thanks to Robin's review. They had a nice crowd for such a small place. My son loved the crunchy cheese tacos and I have a new favorite in their fajita tacos. If this place was within walking distance to me I could see it becoming a daily thing, easily!

In addition to El Molcajete, I think of Guacamole. When they first opened, it was entirely "authentic" items; I remember a down-home guy at a next table once who was asking the waitress, "well, what do you have that's sort of like a burrito then?" I think they were forced by market pressure to add some tacos/burritos to the menu.

There also is Mayan Cafe, and - while there are some more accessible options - the menu at Doc's Cantina is supposed to copy the chef's mother-in-law's Cantina in Mexico.

And, BTW, while I agree about most Chinese restaurants, there are several threads here referencing others with much more authentic menus.

[Robin Garr]

And, BTW, while I agree about most Chinese restaurants, there are several threads here referencing others with much more authentic menus.

Peking City, Jasmine and Oriental House all have authentic menus available in English, and they seem to be receptive to non-Chinese who show interest. The chefs at all three are also said to have been chefs of some stature in the old country. (Those of us who knew Oriental House in the "old days" might find this particularly amusing, since they got their start by making Americans happy with chop suey and chow mein.)