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Mezcal Mexican Restaurant and Bar is located in Yorkridge Shopping Center in Timonium, MD.
Mrs. Sauce and I were making a Friday night grocery run at the nearby Mom’s Organic Market and decided to call in an order to pick up at Mezcal to take home afterward. After a quick discussion while looking at their menu, I decided on the pork Carnitas and Mrs. Sauce decided on the Carne Asada (her go-to dish when trying out a new South American or Mexican restaurant). I called and a lady answered the phone in Spanish, she quickly switched to English when she realized she was speaking with a Gringo. She was nice, answered my questions, and took the payment over the phone for a contactless experience. When I entered to pick up the order (I was early) it was not ready yet. A gentleman politely greeted me and checked on my order. He let me know it would be about five more minutes. The orders when finished appear to be placed on a table upfront for easy pickup. Mezcal is offering dine-in service, it looked very busy but safely distanced from what I could view from the front. The decor looked interesting as well. There was a family outside waiting to be seated enjoying drinks and there were at least four more to go orders waiting to be picked up. I went out to the car to chat with Mrs. Sauce while waiting for our food. Within a few minutes, the gentleman who greeted me brought our food out to the car, something we did not expect.
The Mezcal menu offers typical Mexican fare that you would expect to find in a Mexican restaurant here in the United States. Nachos, Fajitas, Burritos, and the typical dinner plates of Carne Asada, Carnitas, Quesadillas, Encheladas, and Chimichangas. For lighter fare, they offer several salads and numerous vegetarian options. Dessert options include churros, flan, Tres Leches, and sopapillas. You are sure to find one of your favorites of something new to try like their Mar Y Tierra steak and shrimp combo, El Favorito chicken and seafood combo, or Mezcal’s delicious-looking Carnitas Chimichanga.
The ride home was a struggle with the tempting smell of our food wafting through the car. We got home and prepared for our feast.
Each of the entrees we ordered, the Carne Asada and the Carnitas came with their signature yellow rice, shredded iceberg lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and tortillas. They also include beans (refried or Charro) and house-made tortillas. And, they included a bag of freshly made tortilla chips and salsa.
Apperance:
Our food appeared fresh and cooked as you would expect, the side of lettuce, pico, guacamole, and sour cream looked fresh but the portions on each entree were different. My Carnitas had more guacamole and sour cream than the Carne Asada. The rice was as expected, Mexican yellow rice with visible veggies and the meats were as expected but the Carne Asada was not as thin as most restaurants serve it. We both ordered Charro beans (beans seasoned with Chorizo sausage) but they gave us one Charro and one Refried. Making the best of this, we tasted both for the review.
Portion Size:
More than enough is what comes to mind when thinking about Mezcal’s portion size. You have to have a large appetite, be hungry, and skip the chips and salsa to finish your whole entree in my opinion. Neither of us finished our meal on the first try, and we tried our best.
Preparation:
The Carne Asada was grilled as expected and the Carnitas were prepared as expected, slow-cooked and so tender they could be cut with a fork. I ordered the spiciest sauce for the Carnitas, the Spicy Red. It lived up to its name.
Seasonings:
The Carne Asada was seasoned well and snapped my taste buds to attention when I tasted it. This may have been the most aggressively seasoned Carne Asada I have had in quite some time. It’s bold but not overpowering. The only negative of the dish was the Carne Asada was not as thin as one would traditionally expect for the dish, it was a thicker cut but hey, more meat than expected! Now onto the Carnitas, the Spicy Red sauce slaps you around n the first taste. I eat spicy foods daily so I had low expectations for this sauce being “spicy” to me. I was wrong, and it was just what I wanted. Unfortunately, the Carnitas were so tender and well prepared I almost regretting having the sauce covering up that much effort. I would really like to taste the Carnitas with no sauce on it, I am a huge pork fan and can appreciate when a piece of pork is cooked that well. The guacamole served on the salad is notable as well, it is traditional guacamole made with fresh ingredients. Unfortunately, the amount of guac served with the entrees only leaves you wanting more.
Overall Flavor Profile:
The overall, the flavor profile of these dishes at Mezcal uses the typical Mexican spices you would expect from a Mexican restaurant but amplified. Veggies and guac are fresh and flavorful, the salsa served with the chips is tasty as it has a hint of cumin, the chips are thin, crispy and made there and salted just right. The yellow rice is tasty and tasted fresh, they do use parboiled rice though which in my opinion steals a little from the experience. The tortillas served with the meal are warm, soft and taste like they are homemade. The refried beans are tasty and creamy, they are made with vegetable oil instead of lard so they are vegetarian friendly as well. The Charro beans are really good and like other items form Mezcal pack a lot of flavors. You can taste the chorizo used to season the beans but we did not see any bits of chorizo in our portion. Based on this visit, for flavor, Mezcal seems to be a solid Mexican spot serving fresh food with bold flavors.
Quality to Price:
Our meal total came up to $43.78 plus a tip, yes, please tip even on takeout. Everyone in the restaurant industry needs all the help they can get at the moment. The price of the Carne Asada entree is $17.99, The Carnitas entree is also $17.99. These entrees come with your choice of beans (charro or refried), yellow rice, pico, guacamole, and tortillas. They also included a large portion of their homemade tortilla chips and a good amount of salsa as well.
Would we eat here again?
Mrs. Sauce and I agreeing on a Mexican place we would return to is a difficult task, we had one years ago when we lived in Florida but we have not agreed on one in the last three cities we lived in. We have even tried other Mexican Restaurants here in Baltimore we both vetoed. Mezcal Mexican Restaurant is a place we would both return. We enjoyed the authentic flavors, freshness, and friendliness of the staff interaction. The food was ready quickly and the order was as ordered with the exception of the refried beans instead of Charro beans.
Would we order the same thing next visit? If not what would we order?
Yes and no. We decided we would enjoy having the same entree again however, since we both were impressed with the food compared to the other places we have been, we would like to try other entrees to see if they were as good as our first experience.
In Summary:
If you have thought about going to Mezcal Mexican restaurant, we suggest you do. It is at a slightly higher price point than other local Mexican places but the freshness and flavors we experienced make it worth the visit. From what I can tell after enjoying our order, the dishes are prepared with authentic spices and traditional techniques with an elevated flavor profile. It appears to be a fun place for a family meal or celebration and is conveniently located in the Yorkridge Shopping Center in Timonium, MD.
The Rating Scale:
Snack and Sauce rate Mezcal Mexican Restaurant in Timonium, MD a 7.5 out of 10.
Please read below to see what the numerical equivalents are for the rating above.
Snack and Sauce restaurant rating scale (1 to 10)
1. How is this place still in business?
2. Too far gone for Robert Irvine or Gordon Ramsay to save this place.
3. Seriously? This is what you are calling food?
4. Needs some serious improvement.
5. It was ok, middle of the road, mediocre.
6. Yeah, this place has some good things going for it.
7. Good stuff! No substantial issues with the food, service, or facility. We enjoyed our meal.
8. Impressive, better than expected and a good find on your gastronomic journey.
9. Seriously, get there as fast as you can, you must give this place a try!
10. We thought it was impossible to find a place this good.
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