D's South of the Border

My BF and I decided to try a Mexican Restaurant in Newark last week.  He hails from CA and has been looking forever for an "authentic" Mexican restaurant here in NY.   And not having much luck.  His company shuts down for almost a month every July, so on his shutdown time, we decided to check out South of the Border for lunch.

We were seated very quickly, and the restaurant seemed nice, and appeared nice and clean.  We were promptly served chips and salsa.   That was a nice touch.  I think all Mexican restaurants should serve this complimentary, just like other restaurants serve bread or rolls.

We tried the chips & salsa.  The chips were freshly made - they were very warm.  And the salsa was delicious. I would have been happy just eating the chips & salsa as my meal.

It took a while for our waitress to come over and take our order.  But when she finally came over, I asked her if their chicken for the chicken tacos was seasoned.  (I didn't want the same bland chicken I received at Rio Tomatlan). She said there was no seasoning in it, so I opted to eat off their "American" menu instead of the Mexican food.  I ordered mozzarella sticks and a chicken sandwich.   I said "nothing on my chicken except mayo".   Chris ordered a Southern Cal Carne burrito and a cheese quesadillo.   And he specifically asked for cheese in his burrito.

When our food arrived, the size of the entrees were impressive.  Chris's burrito was huge, and his quesadillo was good sized too, and had a nice crisp to it.  He didn't think they put any cheese in the burrito like he asked, but he said it was still good.  He said the quesadillo was good too.  He said it still didn't taste "authentic" like he was used to in CA, but it was still good.  I asked him on a scale of 1 to 5, what he would rate it.. he said 2.5, maybe 3.

My chicken sandwich looked good, even though I ordered "nothing but mayo" and it came with shredded lettuce on it.  I really liked the bun it came on.  I think it was a kaiser roll. It was soft, and tasted very fresh.

When I lifted the top bun to remove some of that shredded lettuce, I noticed my chicken was TINY.   It was about the size of a $1 chicken sandwich from McDonald's.  It was also extremely dry and had no flavor to it. The fries were good.

We LOVE mozzarella sticks, and it's pretty hard to screw up a mozzarella stick.  The first one I ate was really good.  It had a crisp, light breading on it, and gooey mozzarella inside.  I took a bite from a 2nd one, and I almost gagged.  The cheese inside was very hard, and tasted NOTHING like mozzarella.  I am cheese-phoebic, and I ONLY like mozzarella.  So I was completely grossed out that there was some other type of cheese in this cheese stick.  I had my BF try it and he agreed - it was NOT mozzarella.   I'm not really blaming South of the Border on this error though, because I'm pretty sure they don't make these from scratch.  The company that made these somehow got a different cheese into these mozzarella sticks.

After serving our meals to our table, our waitress never came back.  In fact, BF had to hunt her down to request drink refills for us.

When we first sat down, there was a table of 8 right next to us that left shortly after we sat down.  Their dirty tables sat there during our entire meal.  Just as we were getting ready to leave, they started cleaning off those tables.

The waitress told us that South of the Border was originally owned by a company from CA, but it was just sold to the same owners who own Pontillo's.  And, we LOVE Pontillo's.   They make the BEST pizza!  So, hopefully, these are just growing pains, and will improve their service.  As of right now, it's not one of the first few places I would choose to eat when in Newark.

Grrrreat, very tasty Mexican food.  True comfort food, and I'm a caucasian (LOL).  

The place was founded by a couple from California, who only recently sold the business.  This lends great credibility to the taste and the menu - accurate Mexican food.  

Well worth it.

Straightforward Mexican food in the middle of Newark. No culinary twists here. You will get what you order and overall you will be satisfied. Free chips and salsa. Chips are fresh tasting. Salsa tastes like store bought. Save your money on the guacamole - it's bland and tasteless. They do a good job with the enchiladas, burritos, etc. They have a new tasting menu for the month of April which I haven't tasted yet but seems promising. Full bar. One of the better establishments in the area. I would return to eat here if I am in the area.