Favorite Las Cruces Restaurants (Sunland Park, Mesilla: home, buy, floor)

[GuyOutWest]

Originally Posted by tecpatl

I see that, sadly, my top choice for special occasion fine dining, Meson de Mesilla, has closed. Didn't make it a year. The menu was expensive but I always found the food, service and atmosphere to be worth the price...the essence of a good deal.
The restaurant business is very tough, even for seasoned pro's, and the owner probably got in too deep with a long delayed remodelling and couldn't hold on until the business built up to profitability. Lack of adequate cash is one of the main killers of new restaurants.
She was a great singer and I wish her the best. The Chef, as well. That guy knew quality.
LC is a tough town if you don't serve burritos and enchiladas.

LOL Very true! I did finally add Burrito's to my menu up here in Albuquerque though. One day LC may be ready for a BBQ place again.

[military spouse]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

Let me add Andele's...very tasty!! Located in Mesilla, right next door to El Comedor. We ate there Friday night.

We lived in El Paso a few years ago and we would drive to Las Cruces almost every weekend to enjoy Andele's Restaurant. The pation usually wasn't crowded and their green chili enchiladas are the best. Probably my favorite restaurant ever!

[deserttreasures]

Las Cruces is not known for their fine cuisine! If you like Mexican or the chain type restaurants, you will be in luck.

[tecpatl]

Originally Posted by deserttreasures

Las Cruces is not known for their fine cuisine! If you like Mexican or the chain type restaurants, you will be in luck.

You're so right, deserttreasures....dining choices are limited in LC, IMHO, unless you are seeking tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc., and a fair number of the Mex/New Mex places are, um, highly ordinary. This is, also IMHO, one of the negative "quality of life" shortcomings of this area.
There is some decent Italian food, and a few choices, but beyond that the pickin's are slim. Asian food in LC, with the exception of Mix and the newer sushi place up by Telshor (brain not working that well tonight), is fairly poor to downright pathetic. Note: I don't consider a Chinese buffet to be top quality China chow.
Hopefully this will change as the population and expectations change.
"Fine" dining? Pretty much nonexistant. Very little Thai, no Vietnamese, sad Greek, uniformly substandard Chinese, one just-passable Indian restaurant, second rate barbecue, and Red Lobster is what passes for good seafood. How sad is that? Even the steak places are middlin'.
There is good, interesting food in El Paso, but that's probably because it's so much bigger...though sometimes it's worth the drive.
Ohkay....got that whiney rant off my chest...again The restaurant chow won't get better until people start demanding, and attending, better efforts from LC restaurants.
I say this as a former 30+ year chef/owner of a very successful restaurant located in a very small town (smaller than Mesilla) in rural Michigan. It's not rocket science to do a good job and run a good business, but even when that goes right there has to be a local culture that rewards effort and accomplishment. That really isn't the case here...yet.

[TigerLily24]

I had the pleasure of dining at Aqua Reef on Telshor for lunch this past Friday. It was fabulous, if a bit on the $$$$ side. They make a teriyaki chicken roll that is to die for. The Aqua Reef roll (tuna and green chili) is a very close second.
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated though small, the service was fast and very professional. As a self-confessed sushi 'nut', I am thrilled to have alternatives when I need my sushi 'fix'.

I do have to say, I had the opportunity to visit my 'usual' sushi place back in NJ a couple of weeks ago and, while it may be cheaper, the quality of the fish at both Mix Pacific Rim and Aqua Reef is way superior. I highly recommend both.

[tecpatl]

Thanks, TL, for the memory jog...had a blank on that name. I even liked the cute boats delivering food...the quality is there, both at AR and Mix, though they are very different places.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by TigerLily24

I had the pleasure of dining at Aqua Reef on Telshor for lunch this past Friday. It was fabulous, if a bit on the $$$$ side. They make a teriyaki chicken roll that is to die for. The Aqua Reef roll (tuna and green chili) is a very close second.
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated though small, the service was fast and very professional. As a self-confessed sushi 'nut', I am thrilled to have alternatives when I need my sushi 'fix'.

I do have to say, I had the opportunity to visit my 'usual' sushi place back in NJ a couple of weeks ago and, while it may be cheaper, the quality of the fish at both Mix Pacific Rim and Aqua Reef is way superior. I highly recommend both.

I have not heard one bad word uttered about Aqua Reef. The place is perpetually packed.

[domino]

Las Cruces has some of the best Mex/New Mex food in the world, and for visitors there is no point in trying anything else. If you live there, I suppose you could get tired of it, but I can't get enough of it when visiting. I find the Mexican/Tex-Mex in Houston to be bland and tired in comparison. However, Houston does have some good Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Salvadoran, etc.

[tecpatl]

Originally Posted by domino

Las Cruces has some of the best Mex/New Mex food in the world, and for visitors there is no point in trying anything else. If you live there, I suppose you could get tired of it, but I can't get enough of it when visiting. I find the Mexican/Tex-Mex in Houston to be bland and tired in comparison. However, Houston does have some good Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Salvadoran, etc.

There is very good S. New Mexico style food around LC (as well as some very lousy stuff), but I don't want to eat steak every night, enchiladas every night, or spaghetti for a week straight either. Variety (and chile) is the spice of life and chow... for me, anyway.
The LC style is pretty much variations on green or red chile sauces with tortillas, meats, beans and cheese in countless forms...with it's roots in the modest rancho style food of North Mexico. While I love it for what it is, trust me, it gets tiresome. Much less variety than one finds throughout Mexico, for example.
When I was an occasional visitor it was chile this-n-that three meals a day, but eventually the curious palate desires more.

[domino]

Mexican food in Las Cruces reminds of the old joke . . . what do pizza and sex have in common? When it's good, it's incredible, and when it's bad . . . it's still pretty good.