Heading east on Fleet Street past Patterson Park you come to Conkling Street and are immediately drawn to the building on the corner with the bright yellow facade. This is Mi Viejo Pueblito, a Mexican restaurant serving both traditional dishes of that country as well as inventive new creations intended to peak the curiosity of your taste buds.
The first thing to know about Mi Viejo Pueblito is that it’s a BYOB establishment and is located next door to Highlandtown Liquors; a perfect situation. After picking up some Modelo Especials we entered the the restaurant and were told we could sit anywhere by the hostess, who also turned out to be the entire waitstaff and did a phenomenal job all night.
Along the far wall a TV was showing the US/Czech Republic friendly so we positioned ourselves in order to keep tabs on the game as it went on. When the game ended we were drawn to a show on Telemundo that, on mute, appeared to be the show that inspired this sketch on SNL. The dining room was decorated in colorful flags and murals of Mexico, all of which provided a striking ambiance.
Chips and salsa were immediately brought to the table and were a delight. The chips came out warm and were thicker than most tortilla chips you’d see served in restaurants; this proved to be a beneficial trait as we attempted to heap as much salsa as possible on them. The salsa, proclaimed “best ever” by h1pster, couldn’t have been sitting around long as you could taste the freshness in each bite; the tomatoes were full of flavor and were set off nicely by onion and cilantro.
We started with an appetizer of sopas, three corn tortillas covered with chorizo, beans, lettuce, and cheese. They were accompanied by three salsas, of which the group’s favorite was definitely the smoky chipotle; the flavors were bold and the spiciness was subtle but ascending as the taste fully coated the tongue.
For an entree I ordered the grilled spicy pork, which was served with a picadita, cactus salad, rice, and beans. The meat was cut very thin but wasn’t cooked too dry, something that concerned me on first glance, and maintained strong chipotle flavors. The cactus salad was very refreshing and the rice and beans came out piping hot, creating a fiesta in my mouth when mixed with the pork.
H1pster was awed by the size of his tacos arabes. Served with more of the smoky chipotle salsa, he was thrilled with the way it complemented the pork, which was marinaded in vinegar and arabes sauces.
Both Hamsterdam and Old Line went with the Enchilada MVP, a platter of three enchiladas with different sauces; one red, one green, and one mole. Each was great; all of the sauces were tangy and Hamsterdam was especially blown away by the colorful and meticulous presentation, not something you often find at mexican restaurants. Old Line enjoyed the fact that although each sauce was unique in taste they blended together well when eaten one after the other. He also proclaimed the beans to be the best he’s had.
We were all thrilled with our experience at Mi Viejo Pueblito and encourage all of our readers to give it a try. We all ate more than enough as we left the restaurant with the lethargic feeling of a food coma, but could keep our heads up knowing we spent less than $20 each for our feast.
It was nice to find an authentic, yet creative Mexican restaurant away from the North Broadway corridor, which was long thought to be the only place to find a good Mexican meal in the city. The owners of Tortilleria Sinaloa should be nervous about a new jewel moving in on their crown.
Bohs and O’s score: 98/100
2 Comments
the food coma resulted in about a half hour of sitting around utterly satisfied engaging in trivial but very entertaining converation that I would compare to kibbitzing at Attman’s. Always a good sign when a place reminds you of Attman’s.
Good point, it was a very similar sensation. The meal had ended but no one dared to stand until time was allotted for digestion, much like after enjoying a Stu Special.