Holy Guacamole and Other Such Deliciousness

I freaking love Mexican food. So, when I heard a new Mexican restaurant in St Louis was opening up, I was pretty excited.

I was skeptical of Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina, seeing as it’s a large restaurant attached to a massive mall. As a general rule, I won’t eat at a Mexican restaurant unless the waiter speaks Spanish. However, this restaurant just opened up in November 2012, and I got a chance to chat with the chef, Chris Swinyard. I sat around chatting with him for well over an hour, as I chowed down on several different dishes and got the low-down on his experience and dedication to authenticity. While he himself is not Mexican, 90% of his kitchen staff is Latino. Plus, he plans take his culinary team on annual trips to Mexico to take part in culinary courses. I’d say that’s pretty impressive. Speaking of impressive, let’s take a look at some of the amazing food I sampled.

Guacamole

I find that I am rarely impressed by guacamole. I love avocados and all, but really, what’s so special about mashing them up with some tomatoes? Of course, Vida takes guacamole pretty freaking seriously. So serious, in fact, that they have a “guacamole station” that is dedicated to making three different guacamoles fresh for each order. I throughly enjoyed the Mango and Traditional varieties, but I have to say the Poblano Pepper Guacamole was my favorite.

Poblano pepper guacamole

Starters and sides

I could easily live off the appetizers and side dishes at this place. I loved both the taste and presentation of their shrimp ceviche, made with jicama and avocado.

I am very picky about my rice and beans. I get frustrated with those canned refried beans and tasteless rice that are often slopped onto the plate next to my tacos at sub-par restaurants. When I mentioned my snobbery to Chef Swinyard, he rose to the challenge and brought me an assortment of his side dishes.

Charro beans with chorizo (in the bowl) and black beans and red chile rice with a sprinkle of queso fresco.

Fried sweet plantains, mashed black beans and sweet plantains, and a charro beans with chorizo

I have to say, the rice and beans were superb. I also really appreciated the creativity of still having a mashed-bean style option, but mixing in some mashed sweet plantains to give it a unique flavor. I was worried the fried plantains might have an unpleasant texture, but I found them to be delightful. The charro beans were a lot like a spicy stew.

Get your drink on

What’s Mexican food without a drink? Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina carries over 100 different kinds of tequila. I declined to sample them all. Instead, I took sips of several of their speciality drinks. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the Corona-rita, which is a frozen margarita with a bottle of corona turned upside down inside of it. It’s far from authentic, but it’s right on the money with a mix of fun and taste.

It may not be classy, but it’s tastier than it sounds!

Don’t forget the tacos!

Usually, I’m all about chicken tacos, but the pork and steak options really impressed me. Check out this spread including Carnitas, Al Pastor, and Carne Asada tacos all served on corn tortillas.

I have to say the Al Pastor tacos were my favorite. You can’t really go wrong with roasted pork tossed in manchamantel sauce with grilled pineapple and the house cheese blend.

This may be the only Mexican restaurant in St. Louis located outside of out “little Mexico” region that I will happily visit again and recommend to others. I heard word of a Tequila Tasting party happening at this place soon, so hopefully you’ll be hearing from me about how that goes. Maybe I’ll video it, for your viewing pleasure and entertainment.