Buffalo Rising Online

Jan 19th 2008, 8:01am By Christa Glennie Seychew

I must admit that it's been about a decade since I had dinner at Cozumel. I've frequented the bar plenty of times; with a huge selection of beers on tap and a killer outdoor patio, it's no surprise that it's one of the city's most popular drinking spots. I'd been given a gift certificate for Christmas, so we packed the kids into the car and headed down for some warm and spicy Mexican-American fare on a cold and snowy weeknight.

Cozumel's menu includes all of the usual suspects: Tacos, quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, nachos and entrees featuring the likes of steak, chicken and fish fill the extensive menu. We opted to try the Avocado Cake appetizer offered as a special. Soft guacamole and jack cheese was encrusted with crumbly cashews and served with a zesty, creamy sauce. The combination was good, rich and very, very filling. The cakes, recommended to us by our very friendly waitress, were very flavorful and didn't need any assistance from the sauce served on the side.

My husband, whose eyes are easily ten times the size of his appetite also ordered the Donnie Brasco quesadilla, something a friend once gushed to us about at a party. Shrimp, pesto, roasted red peppers and smoked Gouda cheese were all melted together between a grilled flour tortilla ($9.95). There were a lot of flavors going on with this one, and I can see the benefit to using Italian ingredients in this Mexican-American application. For a similarly inspired option, try the Italian Sausage Quesadilla with peppers and provolone ($8.95), or the Chicken Parmesan Quesadilla ($8.95). There are a lot of quesadillas on this menu. Some of them feature traditional ingredients like rice and beans, while others make use of popular fillings like jerk chicken and Blue crab.

Offered as a special, we also enjoyed another quesadilla that evening (and leftovers for the next two days) that featured ancho chili sauce, goat cheese, chicken and caramelized onions ($9.95). The super spicy heat played well against the creamy goat cheese and sweet onions. We also ordered a basket of very well-prepared chicken wings, a kid-sized portion of chicken fingers and a chicken chimichanga. The portion size on the chimichanga was huge, and accompanied by copious amounts of rice and guacamole ($8.95).

As I mentioned, it's been a long time since I've been to Cozumel for dinner. The prices were very reasonable, the portions sizable and the fact that they have a children's menu makes it a good choice for a family on a weeknight.

And don't forget that Mardi Gras is coming up and Cozumel is certainly one of the places to be when it comes to the parade and Buffalo's increasingly popular Fat Tuesday fun. Having over thirty types of tequila behind the bar doesn't hurt either.


Cozumel
153 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo 14201
716.884.3866