By Blake Zipoy
Tex-Mex cuisine is pretty common in North Texas, but finding a nice variety beyond the traditional enchiladas and tacos is always welcome. Cristina’s Fine Mexican Restaurant offers a unique approach to Tex-Mex with a few surprises.
Atmosphere
There are 11 Cristina’s locations across the Metroplex. I have been to a couple of them, namely the Lewisville and Plano locations. The atmosphere is old Mexican hard wood and rustic stucco. The locations are all native to Dallas/Fort Worth and each restaurant has its own unique charm with no of the sterile, cookie-cutter feel of your basic chain restaurant.
Food
The menu displays common choices and like I said earlier, some tasty surprises. We started off with the guacamole salad. The waiter makes the guacamole right at the table. Now, I have had this done at other restaurants, and I am kind of a picky about my guacamole (my wife’s is the best.) But I can tell you that this was some great guac with not too much onion or spice. We inhaled the dip before our entrees were even close to the table.
My wife ordered the Jonny’s tacos. Jonny’s tacos are basically street tacos dressed up for a night on the town. The tacos were tender pork stuffed between a corn tortilla with avocado, white cheese and a spicy chili sauce. I could tell she really liked them because when I asked for a bite, she would not share. I had the carne asada with the shrimp relleno. The carne asada is basically a pan fried flank steak which was tender and juicy. It felt like it was better suited for a fajita, but it served its purpose later. The shrimp relleno was really good. The poblano pepper is stuffed with good-size shrimp and delicious vegetables mixed in a flavorful sauce. I was really digging this part of the meal, but look out. I got a couple of seeds and the hot spice knocked me down for a second. But with the great flavor, I kept right on eating, spice and all. The carne asada and shrimp relleno is a nice size meal. With the guacamole and the shrimp relleno, I was full and took the carne asada home for a nice late night snack. The waiter was even nice enough to get me a couple of tortillas. One tip, save the sauce from the shrimp relleno and pour it over the steak. Talk about good. This time I would not share with my wife.
One thing I noticed on the menu for dessert was fried ice cream. I was way to full for dessert, but after seeing the fried ice cream being served at the table next to mine, I almost turned around and went back to my table to order me some.
Blitz-worthy
Cristina’s Fine Mexican Restaurant is a blitz-worthy place for a nice night out for a great meal at a reasonable price. My advice is when you go eat at Cristina’s, try something you don’t usually find at a Tex-Mex restaurant, Cristina will not let you down.
Cristina’s Multiple Metroplex Locations www.cristinamex.com