Mexico Lindo - Duluth, MN

Mr. H and I arrived in Duluth, and were pretty excited to try out the new HellBurgers (the old Hells Kitchen) which is also right across the street from our hotel. After we arrived in Duluth and chilled in the hotel awhile, across the street we went.

We entered and seated ourselves, per the sign. The inside kind of reminded me of kindergarten with it's classic and bright colors and somewhat bright lighting. The illustrations by Ralph Steadman remain, along with much of the decor. I had wings on my mind, but we still perused the menu and drinks...and perused them....annnnd perused them. I think we perused them for about 10 minutes, and I was kind of getting a headache from the grade school atmosphere, so we left. They deliver for free, and next time I will likely hole up in the hotel with a bottle of wine and order delivery since it might be faster that way!

Mr. H and I then went on our famous 1 hour find-the-right-restaurant excursion. Mr. H is supremely indecisive, and since i had wings on my mind, I was too. Little Angie's Cantina? Nope, too bright, loud and generic. Green Mill? Old Chicago? No, hell to the no! We finally decided on the new and much hyped Mexico Lindo. (how we went from wings to mexican is beyond me, but not unusual for us scatter-brained individuals.)

We arrived at Mexico Lindo, which was a little confusing to get to since it is upstairs in the Fitgers building. We arrived and first saw a few people sitting in waiting areas. We were informed that there was a 20 minute wait, but we could wait in the bar. We agreed out of sheer frustration. We were then led through a frenzied, large dining room area to a small bar in the same space. Shortly after, we met our bartender who introduced herself as "not a nice person" and overall seemed unhappy. I ordered a margarita which was filled right to the brim, wiping off much of the salt... And the mix comes from a machine. We waited 30 minutes and watched a scene of disorganization . 3 drinks sat at the server station our entire stay at the bar. There were 2 bartenders in the small bar, one of which who was mostly counting cash. Finally, we were seated, a result of a "call and answer" system, where the servers walk around and call the name of who is on the wait list, menu's in hand.

We were led into yet another huge dining area, much different than the one we were just in; a bit more quiet and low key. Why they didn't put another bar in this area is beyond me. No wonder our bartender was so pissy. It also was lacking in decor. Mexico Lindo has sort of a schizophrenic quality to it. I realize it is only 2 weeks old, but still....

The menu consisted of your typical Chef Boyardee Mexican options. Combinations, enchilada's, burrito's, seafood specialities and the like. They brought out chips, which were hot and crispy, and the salsa was not hot at all, but cilantro rich, garlicky and very tasty. We finally decided: me on the Tres Maria (3 enchiladas) and he on a combo with one chalupa, one tamale and one chile relleno.

Tres Maria
(I don't have a pic for this one yet- but imagine 3 chef boyardee enchiladas with lettuce and junk all over them.)

Mr. H's combo

According to Mr.H, his chalupa was basically a hard taco (we are spoiled by the chalupas at Puerta Del Sol by our house.) However, we both found his tamale to be the best tamale either of us has ever had. It was delicately spiced, almost a cinnamon or nutmeg flavor, and completely savory. The chile relleno was also quite good, but again a tad too cheesey, even for me.

Greats:
-The tamale
-The chips and salsa
-Our waitress wasn't scattered or tardy. She was prompt, friendly and more together than the surroundings,

Not so greats
-That bitchy bartender (i hate bad service)
-The margs (terrible)
-The enchilada's
-The atmosphere

I don't think they have a website.