Restaurant: Rosa Mexicano
Cuisine: Haute Mexican
Location: 9 E. 18th Street - NY, NY 10003

Since I was on my death bed suffering from a heinous case of food poisoning, I was unable to attend my friend Bill's birthday celebration last weekend. In an effort to make it up to him, we agreed to meet for drinks and appetizers at Rosa Mexicano in Union Square/Flatiron.

I'll make this short and sweet, folks. I was so under whelmed by my pomegranate margarita, our order of guacamole and the chicken flautas...it almost brings me to tears. Not only did I personally celebrate a successful birthday dinner at Rosa Mexicano, but I feel that I'm also their biggest cheerleader, constantly having to defend the place on Chowhound. "...but the atmosphere is lovely, that's why you pay more of a premium. Their guacamole rocks and they make the best green cheese enchiladas."

Growing up in a Mexican border town, I know what a cheap margarita tastes like. And that pomegranate nightmare I ordered was made with the crappiest tequila I think I've ever tasted. So bad, in fact, that it burned my throat with every sip! The damn drink tasted like a fruit Slushee spiked with Everclear. Blegh!!! Why the hell are they charging $10.00 a pop for such low quality ingredients? The location rocks...but still!!?

The guacamole and chicken flautas arrived simultaneously. The avocados used to make the dip weren't ripe, resulting in dense chunks of green flesh, not creamy and buttery like the guacamole I've previously adored at Rosa Mexicano. For $14.00 per bowl, I felt completely ripped off.

The chicken flautas were tasty, but made with all dark meat, which I find repulsive. I equate dark chicken meat with McDonald's Dollar Menu McNuggets. No thanks!
On a positive note, the chips, salsas and homemade tortillas were tasty. But for a grand total of $70.00, this meal was absolutely not worth the outrageous price. It saddens me to write such a negative review about a restaurant that I normally love. Hopefully, Bill and I went on an off-night and this subpar experience will never happen again, however, I'm highly critical and don't give many second chances.

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Until we eat again,

Lindsay, The Lunch Belle