Bk Magazine Online Says La Monita Tops For Bkk Mexican

[jfchandler]

They don't much explain how they came to their conclusion. But I will agree with BK Magazine Online that La Monita is tops in BKK for Mexican food right now...

They place Sunrise Tacos and Charley Brown's as runner-ups.... over Los Cabos, Tacos & Salsa, Coyote and Senor Pico... Not sure I can fathom any reason to agree with the picking of Charley Brown's at least on the basis of Mexican food, based on my most recent visit there...

With all the Red shirt craziness, and partly to settle a bet, I have been ordering a lot of Sunrise Tacos food for home delivery lately.... Some of the entrees have been pretty good, especially the Sunrise Salad, and the portions are quite large.... But the meat has been arriving too-often with a long-cooked and sometimes overly salty taste...

La Monita is my clear choice for eating out and top choice based on the caliber of their Mexican food. But with La Monita not doing delivery in any form, Sunrise is my choice for food delivered to home. Coyote is my choice for margaritas, given that you can order a different one every day for two months and not have a repeat.

I'd probably be eating at Tacos & Salsa more and they deserve the business, but frankly, I can only eat out Mexican food so often... (5 days a week??? ), and when I do, La Monita gets the nod.

For atmosphere and a evening out, nothing beats the ambiance of Los Cabos. I need to get back and try their Mexican food now...and see if the opening days growing pains have eased any.

Senor Pico... I really can't say, as in, after three years of living in BKK, I've never yet crossed their doorstep.

[SpoliaOpima]

Whoever wrote the piece in BK magazine obviously doesn't know Mexican food that well I noticed he/she misspelled 'michelada,' but then maybe La Monita mispelled it on their menu, as they have quite a few other Mexican Spanish words.

I suspect the Bk writer has never been to Mexico or even East LA Whatever the case I humbly disagree with their picks. Tacos & Salsa, and Los Cabos are the most serious contenders, with La Monita third and Sunrise fourth, for me. Los Cabos has the best deals - Tuesday (tacos), Wednesday (lobster) and Friday (buffet) - and a good happy hour.

I would agree the difference between La Monita and T&S probably comes down to personal choice. The cuisine at T&S is far more authentic while La Monita is authentic California Mexican style. But they're both serious efforts.

You almost have to take it dish by dish. For refried beans both T&S and Los Cabos are way better than La Monita, to my palate. The beans at the two places are so similar I wonder whether Robb got a taste of the beans at Tacos & Salsa.

Los Cabos deserves to be in any magazine's top 3, IMO, and in fact I prefer many of their dishes to those at La Monita. The enchiladas are far better, IMO, uysing better cheese and an authentic Baja-style sauce. Can't beat the lobster (six for 550 baht, perfectly grilled) on Wed nights either, or the 25B tacos on Tuesday - well no one beats that. Best margaritas too. The margaritas at T&S used to be great but the Thai staff keeps making them sweeter and sweeter.

Los Cabos also made its salsas hotter. They still could stand to be a little hotter but the hottest of the three is quite acceptable now. I agree 100% about the atmosphere at Los Cabos. I'm going there more frequently than any of the others now just because it's the best place to hang out, and the bar has an excellent selection of real tequilas.

T&S has the best tortillas, both corn and wheat.

My pick for Cinco de Mayo: Los Cabos or Tacos & Salsa. You can't fit more than 15 people (if that) in La Monita at one time anyhow I actually can't think of any dish at La Monita that I like more than the equivalent dish at either Los Cabos or Tacos & Salsa. Every time I read the menu, I think this is going to be good. But I've yet to be impressed though it looks like they're trying too hard - they look a bit stressed in fact. T&S will have the best music as Jorge is arguably the best Latin music DJ in SE Asia. Tough call but the 5o de Mayo prices at LC appear to be the most attractive.

Can't fathom why Charly Brown's would make the list at all though it obviously does well, and good on 'em for that. BK of course depends on advertising. I'd rate Senor Pico's over CB.

Anyway neither BK nor any other magazine in Bangkok is the ultimate authority. Gotta try 'em all and make up your own mind

Edited May 4, 2010 by SpoliaOpima

[powderpuff]

Got to shout out for those "El Charro" chicken enchalidas. Just like Mama used to make. Corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken. Seriously good. I think I found them at Foodland.

The ones TOPS sell have a nice cheese chili sauce over top. I buy one of each & eat them both together.

[DP25]

I can never seem to trust reviews that include things like margarita lists and 'vibe'. Mexican food is something that ideally should be eaten every day, that stuff is irrelevant to me. 90% of the time I eat Mexican food there is no alcohol involved and I don't care if it's served at rickety plastic tables out of a truck.

Might try the Los Cabos Cinco de Mayo buffet, haven't eaten at that one yet and it'd be a good chance to sample. But I expect it will be very overcrowded, so probably just make own.

[jfchandler]

What's the deal/specifics with the Los Cabos buffet for the 5th??? I haven't heard anything about it...

Los Cabos certainly might be more crowded that usual... But, there's aren't that many tourists in town right now....and not that many of them eat Mexican food, I'd think. Plus, of all the Mexican places mentioned, Los Cabos probably has the largest seating capacity...

SO, I agree that everyone has their tastes and preferences... I'd concur that T and S does a terrific frijoles....their soupy kind... I don't think I've ever had frijoles as a standalone item at La Monita....though I have had their whole beans inside their burritos, and that variety is quite good.

The owners of La Monita some time back promised a new and expanded menu with combination or dinner plates, meaning entree plus rice and beans... But a couple of months have passed, and they still have their original menu from opening and haven't really changed/expanded their offerings at all... I'm a bit disappointed about that.

They still typically have chorizo, which is great, and often seem to have fish as an entree filling, which likewise is good. But a lot of the other things that supposedly were coming to their menu remain just air for the time being...

Meanwhile, I'll give props to Sunrise Tacos, T and S and La Monita for each making their own homemade salsas, all of which I think are quite good in their own ways.... Though I haven't been back to Los Cabos for some time, my original experiences with their salsas there were quite disappointing... I hope they've changed for the better since then...

But really, the most important thing, and a good thing, is realize this.. we've finally come to a place here in BKK where they are enough good to fair to decent Mexican restaurants that a local magazine can actually write a review comparing a half dozen or so of them... Such riches were not to be found here in past years... For this, we all should be grateful...

[jfchandler]

And yes, being a native Californian, I'll freely admit my preferences and view of Mexican food is colored by my upbringing there... Perhaps that's partly why I like La Monita so much, in that it reminds me of "home."

T and S likewise is good in its different style, which I find more sparse and a bit more dry... But for me, I've never really found the current/new location to be a hospitable setting, by that, I mean the actual building and seating and such.

I liked and enjoyed the original T and S setting and location much more in terms of comfort and ambiance...

[gotlost]

You ever wonder how many tacos they got paid for this vote.

[Danger]

Hey La Monita,

Please offer an option of rice and beans on a plate with an entree so I can eat there more often! That's the way I like it. Uh Huh! Uh Huh!

[Sunbelt Asia]

With all the Red shirt craziness, and partly to settle a bet, I have been ordering a lot of Sunrise Tacos food for home delivery lately.... Some of the entrees have been pretty good, especially the Sunrise Salad, and the portions are quite large....

Thanks JFChandler! Glad to hear you're enjoying Sunrise and you'll be glad to know I've passed on your comment about the few quality problems to the boss!

[Danger]

Sunrise, Excellent Salsa Bar! It keeps me coming back every week!

[jfchandler]

A couple of suggestions on this...

1. They have a Twitter page... Leave them a message or comment there...

2. They do have both of those ingredients, of course, because they get used in such things as burritos... But they're not on the menu, either as side dishes or as combinations... However, if you ask, I believe they will serve up a dish that way... Just not sure how they'd charge it... but pretty reasonably I would think...

I have a hard time understanding why, after being open for 5 or so months now, they haven't been able to respond to such a simply and clearly desired thing... It's an absolute no brainer...

Hey La Monita,

Please offer an option of rice and beans on a plate with an entree so I can eat there more often! That's the way I like it. Uh Huh! Uh Huh!

[powderpuff]

Hey La Monita,

Please offer an option of rice and beans on a plate with an entree so I can eat there more often! That's the way I like it. Uh Huh! Uh Huh!

That's exactly the way I order mine.

Billy fixes me a huge burrito with meat cheese & salsa sauce with beans & rice on the side - into a very hot oven for 5 mins. I want it on a HOT plate. No guac or sour cream on my burrito. He will fix you a mixed pork burrito - some asada & some al pastour.

Billy will fix you anything you want.

[powderpuff]

Sunrise 24 hour delivery is a huge plus. Bravo.

[jfchandler]

I agree about that.... and one more thing with Sunrise...

I ordered some tacos for the first time for home delivery from them the other day...and was amazed (and pleased) at how they arrived at my home...

Each item from the menu item was separately wrapped or packed inside the box... tortillas alone in a little plastic bag, meat and salsa in separate packs... veggies and onions on a plastic sheet....

The result... nothing gets soggy while in transit...and you can more or less prepare your dish the way you like it after it's arrived home... Not the most eco-friendly approach. But it's the best way for handling home delivery of Mexican food. They're smart to do it that way.

[SpoliaOpima]

What's the deal/specifics with the Los Cabos buffet for the 5th??? I haven't heard anything about it...

Check here. In addition to being a bargain, it's nice they're putting on extra dishes not on the regular menu (which is huge already), including turkey mole and duck carnitas.

http://www.loscabosbangkok.com/

and from a post elsewhere in the forum:

For 295 baht, they're offering duck carnitas, sirloin carne asada, mesquite-smoked ribs, turkey mole, pozole verde, tacos, enchiladas, etc 6-9.30pm on Wed in celebration of Mexico's Cinco de Mayo. Margaritas 85 baht all day long.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Cinco-De-May...os-t361224.html

Though I haven't been back to Los Cabos for some time, my original experiences with their salsas there were quite disappointing... I hope they've changed for the better since then...

As I mentioned in my post above, Los Cabos has added heat to their salsas. They're all homemade, and have been from the start. Their pico de gallo (fresh salsa/salsa casera, whatever you prefer to call it) is almost as good as Tacos & Salsa, and better than the one at La Monita, IMO. Sunrise still wins the contest in terms of bald heat. (Aside: I ordered a buritto online from Sunrise a week ago. Agree the ground beef was overly seasoned/salty. I had the 'super hot' salsa plus jalapenos and was blown away by how hot is was - hotter than anything in Mexico in fact).

If you recall my earlier posts before or just after Los Cabos opened, I was arguably the most skeptical and also one of the most vocal about their salsas. Since then the place has won me over. I think one overall thing that sets it apart is that the owners and management clearly have many years of restaurant experience behind them and they clearly know and love what they're doing. They have also clearly spent the most time in Mexico (Jorge, the Mexican owner of Tacos & Salsa, obviously excepted). By comparison everyone else running Mexican restaurants seem a bit amateur, in the sense of being less consistent. I really like the fact there's a real bar downstairs where you can shoot a couple of tequilas before or after dinner. Only Coyote offers something similar, but the food there is too Americanized for my palate.

Sunrise is also having a Cinco de Mayo spread tonight, and T&S as well. Los Cabos' looks the most interesting but I just might drop into all three if I can get by the 85-baht margaritas (all night) at LC. Kudos to Sunrise for staying open all night.

[jfchandler]

SO, thanks for the info re Los Cabos buffet tonight... A friend just invited me to join him there for dinner tonight, so I may well be in the neighborhood for a try...

I'll look forward to trying their salsas in their latest incarnation... I don't judge them based on hotness or lack thereof.... I judge on flavor and consistency.... There's all different varieties... some smooth and pureed... Some chunky.... Unfortunately, at their opening, Los Cabos salsa offerings tasted a bit like Mexican baby food, home prepared or not. And when we asked the waitress to bring an additional small bowl to eat with our food, she didn't have a clue what to do...

But I always try to keep an open mind... I'll give another shot tonight... And if they've changed for the better, I'll be the first to say so. In my earlier visit there, the chili rellenos were quite good. But the overall service and execution was quite bad, including my companion getting the wrong item delivered for his dinner. But the service issue was in their early days of opening...so I'm hoping such things have been ironed out.

Re Sunrise Tacos... and their meat.... I had that experience with two different burritos in the past two weeks... especially the carnitas...and a bit less with their steak filling... It may be that their meats are precooked and sit in heat trays during the day, with the moisture slowly cooking away, and that tending to concentrate the saltiness.. That and, when combined with the pickled jalapenos they are using, it adds quite a bit of extra salt flavor...

Re consistency, I have no complaints with La Monita... Every time I've eaten there, what I've ordered has come out pretty much the same in terms of preparation and ingredients.... So if you like it as I do, you'd likely to have the same experience repeated. Ditto if you don't.

[SpoliaOpima]

SO, thanks for the info re Los Cabos buffet tonight... A friend just invited me to join him there for dinner tonight, so I may well be in the neighborhood for a try...

I'll look forward to trying their salsas in their latest incarnation... I don't judge them based on hotness or lack thereof.... I judge on flavor and consistency.... There's all different varieties... some smooth and pureed... Some chunky.... Unfortunately, at their opening, Los Cabos salsa offerings tasted a bit like Mexican baby food, home prepared or not. And when we asked the waitress to bring an additional small bowl to eat with our food, she didn't have a clue what to do...

But I always try to keep an open mind... I'll give another shot tonight... And if they've changed for the better, I'll be the first to say so. In my earlier visit there, the chili rellenos were quite good. But the overall service and execution was quite bad, including my companion getting the wrong item delivered for his dinner. But the service issue was in their early days of opening...so I'm hoping such things have been ironed out.

Re Sunrise Tacos... and their meat.... I had that experience with two different burritos in the past two weeks... especially the carnitas...and a bit less with their steak filling... It may be that their meats are precooked and sit in heat trays during the day, with the moisture slowly cooking away, and that tending to concentrate the saltiness.. That and, when combined with the pickled jalapenos they are using, it adds quite a bit of extra salt flavor...

Re consistency, I have no complaints with La Monita... Every time I've eaten there, what I've ordered has come out pretty much the same in terms of preparation and ingredients.... So if you like it as I do, you'd likely to have the same experience repeated. Ditto if you don't.

I wouldn't base your opinion on a party buffet night. To be truly open-minded, come back again on a regular night. I highly recommend the grilled lobster special, don't know if it's on tonight or not. It's an improvement on the traditional Puerto Nuevo style lobster in Baja. Only place that has it. Be sure to sample the beans. La Monita can't compare. Enchiladas, also no contest. Burritos might be better at LM but I'm not a big burrito fan anyway. Tacos? Again no contest. Of course it all comes down to opinion but we could go into specifics, starting with the cheeses used and the freshness of the tortillas.

Re salsas, if you don't prefer the salsa casera (pico de gallo for Texans) at Los Cabos the way it is now (compared to La Monita), we will probably never agree on Mexican food, which is fine. For a non-Mexican, Robb knows his stuff. My Mexican food history encompasses long stays in California, Texas and Mexico, and when I've talked with him about Mexican cuisine I'm impressed by the depth of his experience. His first restaurant over 30 years ago was a Mexican place on Kauai. LC says 'California Mexican' but the dishes obviously share affinities with Baja California Mexican cuisine.

I still accept that Tacos & Salsa is the most authentically Mexican. If I were to eat Mexican daily, it would still be my first choice as it's much lighter on the stomach than the Americanized versions the other five places cook up. I just wish he'd monitor the sweetness of the margaritas more (Jorge are you listening?).

For a night out, though, nothing beats Los Cabos IMHO (for Mexican that is). La Monita isn't really a night out, is it? More of a small diner, good for a quick bite.

[jfchandler]

SO, as I said above, I like all different kinds of salsas... All I want is taste....regardless of the style or variety.

I do think there are good and less good things about each of the places above. For me, I do like burritos..probably my favorite choice... and LM's are excellent... I don't think I've had the burrito at Los Cabos...

Re the margaritas at T & S, I agree completely... Had some bad experience there with that... Tried, tried again.. and now pretty much written them off... the margaritas at T & S, that is... The Thai staff there just don't get it..when it comes to margarita preparation.

For a "night out", clearly Los Cabos has it over all the competitors... Unless of course, it's a REALLY late night out, and then Sunrise Tacos is the choice... But for me, when I go for eating Mexican food, as someone else said above, I want the food.... setting and ambiance are secondary....

[SpoliaOpima]

PS Another reason I'm still a frequent diner at Tacos & Salsas is because they have dishes no one else has, like chilaquiles, tinga, caldo de tortilla and alambres, all excellent. One thing to avoid at T&S are the dishes he has added to the menu for gringos, like fajitas. Good fajitas are impossible to find in Bangkok, in my experience.

[SpoliaOpima]

But for me, when I go for eating Mexican food, as someone else said above, I want the food.... setting and ambiance are secondary....

For me it depends on my mood. But for the food alone, I would still place La Monita third.

[jfchandler]

Agree to disagree...

[SpoliaOpima]

Agree to disagree...

As I've been saying all along, it's down to personal taste. Luckily we're spoiled by choice for a change

[jfchandler]

Here's a Twitter-issued update from La Monita on their plans for Cinco...

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Get a special Mexican treats today

Lamb Barbacua, empanadas and other mex favourite

+Buy one get one margarita all day!

[Gluestick]

I went to the Saturday buffet at Tacos and Salsa. Excellent food. The tacos were awesome and the corn tortillas were good. They got a little soggy from the sauce but it was alright. I normally hate to eat raw onions but had no problem with the onions on the tacos. Quesadillas were small but very tasty. I think my favorite for the night would have to be the tamales. I haven't had tamales for years and these hit the spot. The owner said he gets them from a Mexican lady in Bangkok. I want to find this lady so I can buy some for home! Anyone know her secret location...? The beans were very good as well. The rice was ok. As for the salsa, I only liked the spicy one.

I prefer the burrito at La Monita since like JFChandler I am also from Cali. I have only tried the burrito and quesadialla at La Monita since they don't have a buffet and I haven't had a chance to go back yet. I think I'll try the carne asada fries next time for sure.

As for tonight, I can't pass up the ~300 baht buffet at Los Cabos. Tacos and Salsa is good and I understand their high prices due to the quality of ingredients but for 300, it's too good to not go. I haven't been there before and am looking forward to comparing it to the other Mexican joints.

[jfchandler]

And here's a separate TV thread on a variety of food and drink specials Sunrise Tacos is having both today...and for the remainder of the month.... Nicely done... Gonna try some of those...

PS... as best as I can tell, Sunrise Tacos, Tacos and Salsa, and Los Cabos do not have any presence on Twitter. If they did, I'd certainly be following them there also... Though Sunbelt Asia does have a Twitter account under "sunbeltasia" that they sometimes use to promote Sunrise...

[jfchandler]

Speaking as a former lifelong Californian, I can declare under oath that the carne asada fries at La Monita (which also can be carnitas fries, or al pastor fries, or take your pick) are a tasty, guilty pleasure.

T & S can have pozole... but give me carne asada fries anyday...

I do think that and the burritos are among the best things at La Monita... I've tried the tacos there, and they're just fine... but I don't think markedly different or better than Sunrise or T&S...

Everytime I go to La Monita, I promise myself I'm going to branch out and try some other things on their menu, like their torta sandwiches or quesadilla... But every time, my stomach gets the better of me...and I can't resist their burritos and fries...

[powderpuff]

These are the Enchaladas being sold at TOPS.

I normally use the Central Bangna Branch - who are currently out of these. In the freezer case.

[Danger]

Sunbelt it was 31 degrees in Sunrise on Sukhumvit tonight.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Danger

[powderpuff]

That's why they weren't rated #1 in BKK. LOL.

[jfchandler]

Well, if you love Mexican food, you gotta like it HOT!!!