El Mexicano
Clifton, NJ
The Clifton downtown area, as with most NJ towns, has struggled to maintain its downtown businesses ever since malls and franchise restaurants dominated the shopping/entertainment/dining industry. New restaurants especially have had a hard time getting a foothold. I'd say things have been turning a corner in the last two years or so. El Mexicano has been one of few with staying power, which is saying a lot. Furthermore, there has been a goodly influx of central Americanos here in the area--- putting the two together, we anticipated that this place would be above average.
And so on one fine Sunday evening, we checked it out. It wa pretty crowded and very festive (lots of lights, music and very happy people). The wait staff was dressed in jeans and honest-to-goodness gaucho hats. A promising start indeed.
House sangria. Was not very flavorful (from a mix?) and was on the weak side, in fact. That's ok, because sangria is more Spanish than Mexican. I was willing to give this slide.
The highlight of the night was the mariachi band (on Sundays)... they were singing a very rousing birthday song for one of the tables. This was one of the several happy birthday songs we heard that evening.
The menu itself was not too impressive, and by no means was authentic. Which jarred with our initial assumptions about the place. And so here's my vegetarian burrito. I could have used more guacamole and sour cream. It was quite meh (the filling was also from a mix?), the paltry salsa was devoid of flavor, and I think was too pricey for what it was.
