Mexicasa, the Mexican Restaurant in a House.

Today I happened to venture out of doors and tried a new restaurant down the street. With some goading from my friends, I wrote a review:

Gird your loins, fellow restaurant goers, as the new Mexican eatery Mexicasa has just opened. Located at 1501 N.W. 23rd St. in Oklahoma City, Mexicasa offers all that you’d expect from a restaurant whose name is a conflation of “Mexico” and the Spanish word for “house”: a down to earth establishment filled with south of the border accents. Depending on your specific inclinations, however, those with eclectic tastes may find their dining experience more of an eclectic waste.
Upon first blush, the Mexicasa environment is an effectual hodgepodge of what it would look like if Alfred Nobel tested his first blasting caps on a piñata filled with pink paint. The walls are covered with what looks to be multi colored papier-mâché while the building itself and some inside effects are highlighted in a bright pink. Although this concoction isn’t necessarily displeasing, some may find it to be less than appealing. One of the dining members of our party pointed out one particular visual affront on the east wall: a cow-skinned hanging lined with poorly stapled paper streamers. Luckily, however, most customers do not go to restaurants simply for what is on the walls.
A huge positive came with the second thing you’d notice when entering: the staff. Our server was very nice and friendly, and although he did not know what number of one of the entrees (it’s the second day of operation, we can let that slide), he was always ready to help with any of our needs.
Like many Mexican restaurants (whether or not they are affiliated with any casas), chips and salsa were provided before the meal. The queso that Mexicasa has is great. Seriously awesome. However, the normal salsa leaves something to be desired; while full of large bits of fresh vegetables, it’s a little watery for my tastes. But enough of starters, what about the entrees?
Unfortunately, little excitement can be had for the main course. Like the salsa, the main dish (two beef tacos with beans and rice) claimed no blue ribbons in my internal county fair. While two beef tacos with beans and rice are pretty much a staple of any Mexican restaurant, what was found here was a dish fairly devoid of taste, as if the Hadron Super Collider did in fact create a black hole but the vacuum only affected the taste of this rice, these beans, and those tacos. The meal was entirely edible and will satiate a growling stomach, but what you get my not be justified by the price.
The dollar amounts that are set seem to be above what one would envision for a lunch menu with some caveats. For the meal described above, I payed $8.66 (without a drink). Dinner entrees ranged at $10 and above. Mexicasa does do something that this reviewer has not seen before, and that is giving out complimentary sopapillas. For some that could help justify the cost, but on the whole, the value of the entire meal seems lacking.
Overall, the dining experience was not wholly unpleasant. Mexicasa is brand new and does have some rough edges, and most places do have some growing pains. The staff was good and it is in a location that does have a dearth of “sit-down” Mexican establishments. In the end, however, I would be hard-pressed to find myself back there if certain things like price and the quality of food does not change.

So there you go. It was not that great.