Mijita Misses Mark
I tend to agree with local Top Chef contestant Eric Hopfinger when he said, "I don't think fine dining and Mexican go together."
Ignoring those instincts, I gave (sort of) upscale Mexican a shot for lunch yesterday at Mijita. With celebrity chef Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière and Acme Chop House, two restaurants I like, at the helm and cooking to her roots (one of her grandmothers is Mexican-born), I reckoned that, if (sort of) upscale Mexican was going to work, this would be the place.
Disappointment reigned.
I ordered a carnitas taco ($4.00) and a carne asada taco ($4.00).
The carnitas taco was bland. How can anyone make a tasteless carnitas taco??? How do you render my favorite meat devoid of flavor??? It goes beyond mere incompetence. To denude pork of taste requires effort — nefarious effort!
And there was water on my plate when I finished. Where did that come from?
The carne asada taco was a bit better, but not much. At least I detected some charred beef flavor. The taste of the accompanying smoky red salsa was annoying.
The presentation didn't help. Two mini corn tortillas were overlapped on each taco plate and the fillings spread atop them. It was impossible to pick up one of the tortillas without taco stuffing falling all over the place. Consumption required an unnecessarily high degree of difficulty.
The only good note of the lunch was the strawberry aqua fresca ($3.50). Less watery than most I've had, it was fruity and flavorful.
There are plenty eateries in the Ferry Building that look interesting. I know that Taylor's Automatic Refresher is good because I've eaten there. Skip Mijita and try something else.
Mijita
Ferry Building Marketplace
1 Ferry Building, Space #44
between Washington Street and Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-399-0814
Map
Web site
Food inspection score: 96
Symbol of Excellence: No
-Friendly: N/A
Posted by Grumpy at 4/30/2008 12:48 PM 
Categories: Top Chef, Celebrity Chef, Embarcadero, Avoid, Mexican
Categories: Top Chef, Celebrity Chef, Embarcadero, Avoid, Mexican
Amen to that. I've been to Mijita twice, and have sworn off it entirely. Why would anyone go there, with the abundance of much better food in the area - including a Pancho Villa at the north end of the Ferry Terminal? Of course I also hold the unpopular opinion that Jardiniére is vastly overrated.
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