Cantina South on Glenwood

For one of Jessica's friend's going-away parties, a group of us went to Cantina South for dinner last night.  The restaurant has replaced Bogart's downtown, and while they've significantly changed the decor, it's hard not to be reminded of Bogart's, one of my favorite bars downtown, upon entering.

We started at the bar, and a familiar trend for the night began.  The restaurant has only been open for a month or so and it is clear they're still working out many kinks.  In an uncrowded bar, it probably took 10-15 minutes to have our drink orders taken.  The variety of specialty cocktails were good though, and the bar area is nice, so I chalked this problem up to growing pains.

Upon moving to our table, we were given the option of the regular menu or the Restaurant Week menu (three courses for $20).  Both Jessica and I chose the $20 route to sample a variety of their offerings without breaking the bank (normal appetizers were around $10-12 and entrees at or above $20).  For starters, Cantina South doesn't provide free chips and salsa; this is not completely unexpected but still a bit annoying.  The table ordered guacamole though, which was extremely well-received!

I also sampled their tuna ceviche ahead of my three-course meal.  This was definitely the highlight of the evening; the sweet mango, avocado, and red onion complimented the fresh tuna very well, and the "sauce" was really flavorful if even only on a chip (or one of the three plantain chips served alongside).  I could have done without the cilantro, but that is par for the course so I can't dock points.  All in all, it was some of the best ceviche I've had and certainly something worth trying here.

Unfortunately, the rest of my meal was a letdown.  For both appetizer and entree, I had duck; first in flauta form and then as a roasted breast and quarter.  The duck flauta appetizer wasn't terrible but it also really didn't have much standout flavor.  It could have been pork, chicken, or beef and tasted the same, and would have benefitted greatly from a sweet dipping sauce.  The dinner wasn't a whole lot better; the breast had a nice spice crust but was overcooked and the breast/leg quarter was difficult to even cut because it was tough.  Additionally, they ignored a signature of duck (crispy skin) and instead had a greasy outer coating that offered little flavor.

Dessert was a banana empanada for me, which was solid.  Jessica had their lime cheesecake, which was good but lacked any true lime flavor.

Overall, it's hard to figure out Cantina South.  Having been open only a few weeks, I believe it's probably worth waiting for another six months or so to a) give them a chance to figure out what they're doing and b) see if they stay in business.  The ceviche showed a flash of brilliance, but the duck was overcooked mightily on two separate dishes.  I am not sure if the chef (who is allegedly a Mexican national) hasn't yet trained his cooks properly or if the restaurant is just trying to win on volume and location and not quality, but there is work to do.  The service was only marginally better as I felt that the two waiters were trying to convince us how good everything was rather than letting us decide, but that too can be corrected. 

In summary, if you want traditional Mexican food that you're familiar with, go to your local place, save money, and enjoy.  If you feel a bit more experimental with flavors and ingredient combinations, go to Mez (http://www.mezdurham.com/) and get a top-notch meal.