The Shops at Riverside has become home to quite a few restaurants who take advantage of the location along Route 4 and the high heeled customers that visit the upscale mall. There's Cheesecake Factory, Houston's, Maggiano's Little ltaly, McCormick & Schmick's, Morton's Steakhouse, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Thai Chef, and now Rosa Mexicano.
All these are upscale chain restaurants, and we had heard good things about Rosa Mexicano via the Record (which now charges for access to its archives). So, we tried it a little while back (probably a week or two after it opened).
The restaurant was packed and there was definitely a modern upscale vibe going on. The space has a bar along one side, with seating on two levels along the other side. There is a tortilla station that cranks out fresh steaming hot tortillas.
There was a lengthy wait to get a table, so we sided up to the bar, where they had a good selection of tequilas, but I went with a beer while Mrs. Lawhawk had one of the signature margaritas.
You can choose your meal either with traditional appetizer/entrees, or you can go the route that Mrs. Lawhawk and I did; we sampled a whole host of items from their tapas.
This is a great way to sample much of the menu and find some interesting combinations.
You quickly realize that this isn't your typical Mexican restaurant.
Mrs. Lawhawk opened with a tortilla soup, in which the liquid was served almost as a sauce. The chicken and soup melded together quite well and wasn't overly spicy. I had the layered duck tortilla pie, and the duck was very well done and the spice and cream were excellent accompaniments.
The rest of the meal, including Mexican meatballs with a mint sauce, tamales, and other assorted items was quite good, but there was one minor mixup when Mrs. Lawhawk was served the wrong kind of tamale. The staff quickly produced the proper one, and said the wrong item was on them.
The meal was definitely quite good, but the biggest shortcoming has to be the noise level. It's very loud, so it might not exactly the place to go if you want a cozy conversation. Still, it's definitely a place to go with a group where you can sample everything from the menu and come away very satisfied.
Meanwhile, we visited Blue Moon Mexican Cafe in Wyckoff, New Jersey the other night. This restaurant, which is attempting to franchise itself, has a casual feel and is BYO. The menu provides the usual staples - tacos, burritos, chilis, and fajitas, but also provides some items with a twist, including Mexican pizzas. I had the Tacos Rancheros, which is steak with a spicy sauce, while Mrs. Lawhawk had Pollo de la Selva, chicken with mango and other fruit in a honey lime sauce.
The kitchen was quite busy, but we didn't particularly mind. At one point the manager came over to apologize and also asked us to move tables to accommodate a larger party that had been waiting for some time and was getting agitated over the fact that the girls who were handling the hostess duties had gotten the time wrong. The manager offered us free desserts for our trouble.
I didn't particularly mind this, figuring that we were doing them a favor and we'd be likely to get preferential treatment in the future (we've been semi-regulars to Blue Moon for a couple of years now).
Moments later, our meals appeared, and both were large portions. You definitely will get a good value eating there, as we both had leftovers.
Desserts include flan and Mexican ice cream, but we opted for the Lunar Crater, which is a warm chocolate cake-ice cream combination. The chocolate was a little granular, but the ice cream was quite delicious.
All in all, I would recommend both Rosa Mexicano and Blue Moon. Rosa Mexicano will titillate your wild side with some unique preparations and unusual dishes, and Blue Moon will appeal to folks who appreciate what we usually associate with Mexican food.
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