El Mariachi

Part of me thinks Taco Bell has more pizzazz than this place, though it's not horrible.

Riddle me this: why is it that (nearly) all of the local Mexican restaurants lack the "pizzazz" associated with Mexican food?  

The recently-opened El Mariachi, run by the same crew from Lynchburg's La Herradura, brings Mexican food to Amherst.  The restaurant occupies the former space of Pappy's, a grease-laden dive that had grown long in the tooth.  The owners have done a commendable job in renovating the building - the façade, now clad in red brick and dark green metal roofing, resembles the rest of the buildings in this shopping center, and the once-dark and dingy interior is now bright and clean.  Patrons can choose to sit in the bar area or among booths and tables in the main dining room.  There's even a small patio area for those who can tolerate steam room-like July weather.

Unfortunately, the restaurant's menu reads just like (insert any local area Mexican restaurant name here) and the kitchen turns out uninspired and bland-tasting food just like (insert any local area Mexican restaurant name here).  It's better than the horrible slop at La Carreta, but that's setting the bar pretty low.  

Chips are crisp, but don't have any perceptible texture or flavor.  The accompanying salsa has a nice jalapeño kick (there's a disclaimer that the restaurant sources those peppers from farmers in Georgia, so don't worry about salmonella - BTW, nice work FDA!) but the consistency of the stuff is like tomato paste.  Meat and vegetables in the fajitas are nicely caramelized, but there's little flavor.  Ditto the carne asada.  It would really behoove the kitchen to marinate the meat and/or season it with the appropriate spices and herbs.  And how about some pico de gallo (what are we to do with that slice of tomato?), fresh guacamole (not the chemical-tasting, runny and strange, green-hued glop from the Sysco truck) and house-made flour tortillas?  

As with most new restaurants, the kitchen and staff are still coming up to speed.  That means some long waits before the food arrives.  Also, the Commonwealth has not yet issued the license to sell beer, wine and booze, although we understand that the approval is days away.  Time, clearly, will soon fix these issues.  The staff at El Mariachi is very friendly and considerate, and seems genuinely grateful for the diners who have already patronized the restaurant since its soft-launch.    

Indeed, local taste buds have embraced the bold flavors and seasonings of certain ethnic food, as evidenced by the success of Thai Siam, Thai '99 and Machu Picchu.  Curiously, however, our Mexican restaurants are laggards, opting instead to play it safe with Taco Bell-esque selections (excepting for the now-defunct La Plaza Allegre and its sibling, Los Chipotles).    

We're not expecting Rick Bayless here.  And we don't care about Mexican / Tex-Mex / Southwest semantics.  Just start cooking Mexican with some umph!