Mexico Restaurant in Kalihi

Originally the plan was to go to Cocina in Kaka'ako but a a last minute message to the restaurant revealed they do not have nachos. No bueno! So quick location change to the Mexico in Kalihi. I tried to make a reservation but they already had two large parties. No worries! This group knows how to sit in the bar and wait for a table. We drank, talked story, and got to mingle around with everyone for about an hour before we got sat. Once at the table, there were 15 of us so it was a little hard to chat with everyone. Mexico nachos ($12.95) are advertised as a mountain of food to share. Piled with tortilla chips, cheese, beans, salsa fresca, and olives. Topped with sour cream, guacamole and your choice from a plethora of meats: chicken, beef, ground beef, kalua pig (+$1), crab (+$2) or carne asada (+2).  We ordered the chicken, asada, crab and kalua pork and of course Cowabunga ordered his own special recipe. They fed us plenty of chips and homemade salsa while we waited for our food to come out, I tried to resist so I wouldn't fill up but it was super tasty, fresh with cilantro and spice. Margaritas were drank by the pitcher, they may be a bit $$$ but they are super delicious. Pretty sure that pouring a full pitcher into glasses counts as some sort of bicep workout...heaviest pitchers in all the land. When the nachos finally arrived, they were pounced upon, with plates being passed around so everyone could try all the flavors. Even with all the writing, they were devoured in minutes. Consensus overall was a most marvelous evening with good friends and pretty fucking good nachos. The staff was slammed but super friendly even when our gang was piled up in the bar and in the way.

Hot Pepper: (4) Presentation was fantastic!  Food was excellent!  RAD : Big margaritas!  $11, everyone looks like they were having a great time!  LAME : It took a long time to be seated.  Real animals stuffed and mounted on the walls.  Yuck!  Topping to Chip Ratio : 5, actually needed more chips because there was so much topping!  Loved it!  Chicken nachos!  Lots of sour cream and guac-love that!  Love the "Day of the Dead" décor and the signs.  

Not so queso: (4.627) Lovely service, the place is totally stellar.  The chips and salsa are very available and they are definitely yummy.  RAD : The salsa is extra spicy tonight and really tomatoey sometimes.  The wait time was rad to chat.  LAME : The bar is a little small, but the restaurant décor overall is da bomb.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 2.5.  Love the décor!  So much fun and good people.  

Tom Tom: (4.9 - I <3 Mexico!!!) We had 2 pitchers of margarita before the nachos arrived…they are here!  So much toppings!  RAD : DAYYYYUM THAT'S GOOD.  The toppings are like the Four Seasons:  Carne asada summer, kalua pork fall, crab winter and chicken spring.  Chips are spoons!  LAME : Those margarita pitchers are expensive.  Also, the bottom chips are prone to sogginess.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4.5, perfect!  I will forever order nachos from Mexico from now on.  Mexico nachos are my new religion.  

Nacho Name: (3, not the worst but far from the best) Umm, the beans look distasteful, but I'll eat em anyways.  I like the green plate though.  RAD : Those beans though!!!! (black beans)  LAME : It was kinda cold but didn't stick to my tongue so not the worst.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4, by the time I was full, it looked like there were just as many chips as beans leftovers.  All the chicken was gone!  SO MUCH FUN!!!!  

Don Frijoles: (3.5, only because chips were spares and drowning) Emarcadero all aboard these boats of nachos are ready sail.  RAD : Meats are flavorful, well-seasoned chicken, excellent salsa, tender black beans.  LAME : Drowning chips in sour cream is not my favorite thing.  Too much mush makes my moustache moist.  Topping to Chip Ratio : Were there chips in that???  Too much sour cream and something green…pretty sure it was green sour cream.  Love Mexico and the restaurant's not bad either.  I should have had big Michelada, beats shoes on the bathroom flooded. If you like Micheladas and getting nachos on your face.  You're the chica I'm after, come with me and Nacho Blog in this place.  (Oh forget it.)  

Cameroodo: (5, excellent & authentic Mexican food!) Lots of cheese all over, plenty of guac and sour cream.  RAD : The crab tastes like it should have given all the flavor.  LAME : Soggy chips-more chips.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4, lots of toppings that fit each type of meat, great guac!!  Service was quick and prompt.  Great help with drink selection.  

Nacho Libra: (4.5, variety & flavor = LOVE!) Lots of cheese!  Nice, big dollops of sour cream and guac!  RAD : Kalua pork-lots of flavor, crab-so flavorful, beef-great chili flavor on the carne asada.  LAME : Soft chips.  Not all plates -crispy chips were awesome!  Topping to Chip Ratio : 5, so many toppings! Excellent to scoop up the left over toppings with extra chips and they are crispy.  Britney is the BEST!  Drinks were HUGE and delicious.  

El Empalme: (4) Lots of toppings, huge wad of avocado, like the Jolly Green Giant dropped a bad, in a good way!  RAD : Kalua pork was bomb.  Truly like a pig busted a flavor nut in my gaping maw!  LAME : Overwhelming fire hose of toppings moistening many chips.  Thanks dad!  Topping to Chip Ratio : 2:1.  Nice chi-chis and atmosphere.  ROUGH parking, great service, delicious but $$$ margaritas.  

Kokopelli: (5 LOVE) Delicious looking.  RAD : Real cheese, tons of toppings, crab topping, lots of guacamole, salsa is yum!  LAME : Soggy chips on some of the nachos.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4!  Tons of toppings, if sharing with friends, not enough chips.  If eating alone, it is awesome.  Cool atmosphere.  I like!  Lots of margaritas.  

Nacho Business: (2) Looks cheesy, guac and sour cream could be spread out more.  RAD : Cholula on the table.  LAME : Busy restaurant and seats uncomfy, chips were soggy and made it hard to eat.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 1.5, too many toppings, not enough chips.  

Unholy Frijole: (4.5) Look delicious!  Lots of cheese and toppings look fresh.  RAD : Refried beans!  And carne asada is very flavorful!  Using a chip as a spoon.  LAME : Crab nachos are stinky!!  Did not know about black bean option.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 3, not enough chips but the free chips and salsa make up for it.  Lots of great tasting fresh flavors and homemade guac.  Biggest nacho group I have been.  Super aloha spirit all around.  Mexico was very accommodating.  Li-hi-mui margarita +++  Don’t forget condensation kills.  

Cowabunga: (5, My first ever! Best on island so far) Moistness kills!  Drinks are huge but they make the forms a little yeasty.  Chicken is large and in charge.  I will probably choke on all the sour cream.  RAD : Chicken is splendiferous.  Moist beyond belief.  LAME : There are simply too many beans.  Just remove a few and we will be fine.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4, too many toppings, specifically beans.  Even though the staff was swamped, they were awesome.  

La Sexxxy: (4, awesome nachos) Nice presentation-we love the sour cream & guac on top!  RAD : Love that they have every type of topping, kalua pork, crab, asada and chicken.  LAME : No silverware until halfway through dinner.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4, lots of toppings definitely on each chip.  I ordered fish tacos.  AMAZING!  

Shananigans: (4) Big plates, covered in real cheese, lots of olives.  RAD : Fucking crab on nachos is delicious, real cheese, carne asada so full of flavor, nom nom sour cream  LAME : Chips get soggy, black beans only by request?  Topping to Chip Ratio : 4, too many toppings so you needed extra chips to scoop up after.  Super slammed staff was super friendly and helpful.  Took us forever to get sat because they had some other large parties but no worries, we just sat in the bar and drank margaritas.  First place that did not mess up Cowabunga's super special order.    

Heather: (4) Jury is in and the nachos induced a spiritual/religious experience.  Carne asada for this carnivore!  The crab meat grew on me although there were complaints about the smell/after taste.  Kalua pork knocked it out of the park with the multi layered style flavor.  RAD : Hale/Hacienda theme was amazing.  The cacti flowers transported me.  LAME : Stuffed animal décor.  I felt like I was being watched.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 5. The margaritas although worth the wait didn't mitigate the pain of the wait/lost order.   

Senorita Margarita: (3.5) Not as big as I thought they would be.  Look super cheesy, flat, lots of toppings.  RAD : The carne asada and kalua pork are BOMB.  I don't know which is better.  Chip spoon FTW (extra chips from chips & salsa).  LAME : Soggy, crab is too fishy.  Topping to Chip Ratio : 3, not enough chips.  More filling than they look though with all the toppings.  I love this place.  I wish the mariachi player was here.  It totally completes the atmosphere, cozy like Mexico should be.