Mom's birthday dinner

So, a small group of us got together to mark the occasion by checking out this restaurant that I drive by all the time and vow to visit but never have.

Actually, I have a laundry list of such places since moving to the new neighborhood. But, the one in question this evening was PAXIA at 2611 Edgewater Drive.

It was a little too chilly to enjoy the patio, so we went inside and really got a kick out of the over-the-top Mexican decor and the not-so-subtle mariachi music they were piping into the dining room.

The menu was far-too-subtle, no description of the dishes being offered. This handicapped at least one person at our table, who simply wanted a chimichanga or something similar to it. The waitress recommended the flautas with a couple of special modification requests to the chef.

The birthday girl spotted an interesting chicken entree with a cocoa sauce, probably the most exotic dish brought to our table. Yours truly stuck with the enchiladas suizas.

To hold us over til the food arrived, we ordered some queso fundido as an appetizer. It was great. But, they only gave us three tortillas, a definite handicap. And, since the waitress chose that moment to go AWOL, we ended up having to raid the basket of chips she'd left on our table to finish off the queso.

Everyone agreed the entrees were delicious, too . . . if a bit pricey. But, the presentation detracted from the experience. They brought a small bowl of beans and another small bowl of rice to the table, announcing it was being served "family style" and if we wanted more all we had to do was ask. But, this is not a "family style" restaurant, and for the prices they charge they should put everyone's sides on their own plates.

We decided to split a dessert to top off the meal, but were disappointed to discover only two were available: flan or sopapillas. We took the latter, which were served "family style," too. This meant, one big plate of honey-dripping goodness and no smaller individual plates to save the tablecloth. Really turned out to be a mess.

Bottom line: Glad I can scratch this place off my to-do list. But, I don't think I'll be back for dinner until the service and presentation catch up with the prices.

Oh, and happy birthday, Mom!