While many of us spent the week shopping for all of the scrumptious delights that are synonymous with 'Turkey Day', Cantina Loco held a soft opening for its take-out operation. Considering that it was an unannounced soft opening, word managed to get out fairly quickly leading to what appeared to be a brisk business. When we stopped in on Tuesday, co-owner and chef Mike Andrzejewski was cooking up a storm, and the orders were coming out at a fast pace. Judging from the few friends who had already made the trip to the Mexican take-out stand, we were psyched to try out a few items on the menu, but we also realized that we were partaking at an extremely early stage, so we didn't want to get overly excited. When we saw Mike doing the cooking, we knew that everything was under control.
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Since we were on the run, we decided to skip the starters such as Nachos Locos and Tijuana Tubesteak, although I have heard that the Tubesteak is pretty killer - "it's a foot long with bacon, cheese, refritos, bbq and salsa". Instead we opted to dive right into the chicken burrito, fish taco, vegetarian taco and a pork burrito - my friend really liked the chicken burrito and described it as very filling and tasty comfort food. He added that the creations will only get better when the entire establishment opens since he would have liked to try out additional 'accoutrements' such as fresh cilantro, a medley of hotsauces, etc. I was satisfied with my vegetarian and pescatarian selections, though I agreed that they will be greatly enhanced once the Mexican condiments are provided.
I am really digging the new signage on the building, as it reminds me of buildings in old postcards of the city. I'm also liking the deal that the owners struck to acquire a large patio on the Elmwood side of the building. At one point there was going to be a measly strip of pavement running along the back side of the building. Apparently the guy who owns the courtyard (and whose own building has been sitting vacant for over a decade) agreed to split up the large outdoor space. Maybe the addition of a popular corner restaurant might convince him to lease his own storefront (his heart grew three sizes that day...)
191 Allen Street
Buffalo NY
Open 4pm-10pm (or until everything is gone)
Full restaurant is scheduled to open mid-December
Very Nice! I also really like the signage.