OK, so I’m back at Cinco Mexican Cantina in Suwanee. I’ve written about Cinco before, but because of circumstances beyond my control, my previous review is no longer operative.
The Tequila Chipotle Shrimp ($15.99) featured shrimp and a chile relleno in a red chipotle sauce with peppers and onions and a jalapeño tequila masa cake (cornbread).
The first time I visited Cinco, it was for a quick dinner and drinks in the attached After Five bar before heading into Atlanta for a show at the Variety Playhouse. The second time, a few months later, was online for all of a day when the management—without asking what I thought of the idea—decided to change the entire menu. Yeah, all the dished I reviewed were no longer available.
So here’s hoping the third time’s the charm, ’cause I don’t think I’m going to want to review the place a fourth time anytime soon.
It’s not that the food is bad; on the contrary, I think Cinco’s new menu offers some great twists on traditional Mexican cuisine. It’s just that there are so many restaurants and so little time, yadda, yadda yadda.
Johanna and I made our trek tres to Cinco on a Friday evening and got in before the dinner rush. We were seated right away and given the new menus, which at first glance, looked like the number of available entrées and combinations had been severely culled back. Then, I started looked closer at what was available and saw that while you could still get your enchiladas and tacos and other favorites, it was going to be presented with style and in a not exactly familiar way.
For example, the last time I dined at Cinco, I had a chile relleno—a cheese-stuffed poblano pepper dipped in an egg batter, fried and covered with a chipotle ranchero sauce—that was served with a taco and enchilada with beans and rice on the side. This time around, that chile relleno combo was gone. In its place was a dish called Tequila Chipotle Shrimp ($15.99), which featured shrimp and a chile relleno in a red chipotle sauce with peppers and onions and a jalapeño tequila masa cake (cornbread).
The chicken enchiladas featured three steamed corn tortillas stuffed with savory chicken with a dollop of cream tomatillo sauce and a little bit of melted cheese over shredded lettuce.
When served, the relleno, the shrimp and the masa cake were covered in the spicy ranchero sauce. I loved the chile relleno and the shrimp, and the sauce was good, but there was just too much of it. The masa cake, which I was looking forward to, was drowned in the sauce, so much so that the generous two wedges of the masa couldn’t help but soak it, which completely overwhelmed whatever flavor the cake may have had.
Johanna’s chicken enchilada dish ($7.99) on the other hand, was delicious in its simple presentation. Unlike enchiladas we’ve had here in the past, which were soaked in sauce (like my masa cake), these enchiladas— three steamed corn tortillas stuffed with savory chicken—had a dollop of cream tomatillo sauce and a little bit of melted cheese over shredded lettuce. They were served with a bowl of spicy black beans and a roasted corn relish with julienned jalapeños. The sauce was light and added just the right amount of flavor to the tortillas and chicken. The corn relish and black beans were so much better than the tired old regular red rice or refried beans that usual accompany enchiladas.
So, assuming the menu doesn’t get changed anytime soon, I’d say get out to Cinco and try some of these new dishes. If neither of these entreees strike your fancy, you may want to give the Carnitas de Puerco (braised pork shank carnitas with poblano mac & cheese, $15.99), the Salmon a la Parilla (grilled salmon, jalapeños potato cake and a lobster and shrimp sauce, $15.99) or the Pollo Pakal (chicken breast pounded thin, layered with Chihuahua cheese, tortillas, roasted poblanos and a cream corn sauce, $10.99).
1500 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
Suwanee, Ga. 30024-8488
678.541.0645
Post by and photos credited to Gregory Watkins.
