Fiesta Fiesta

Restaurant: Cancun Fiesta Fresh
Location: 4019 Pennsylvania Ave., KC MO (Westport)
Food: It is what it is, and what it is is good. Simple, authentic Mexican fare.
Service: Surprisingly pleasant on my in-n-out stopoff
Atmosphere: Lots of drunk happy people filling up on good food
Price: Quite reasonable - almost cheap
Rating: Two napkins

After an amusing happy hour at Sol Cantina with coworkers last night, I found myself in the mood for good Mexican food. But here's the situation: it's 7:00, I've already had a couple beers so I'm not totally famished, Elizabeth was out with other friends so I was pretty much headed home to enjoy a rare night of just sitting around and doing whatever the heck I wanted. A big ol' platter of takeout Mexican food was not in order. This was the perfect setup for STREET TACOS!

So I dropped into Cancun Fiesta Fresh to try what I have been told are some delicious and authentic-tasting street tacos. Of course, staring at the menu's options, my eyes became bigger than my stomach and I ordered four: Asada (marinated beef), Adobada (BBQ beef), Carnitas (roasted pork) and Pollo (chicken).



The handmade corn tortillas come warm and, despite small, are filled with rich meat and cheese that will quickly fill you up. Their salsas are fresh and quite tasty. Don't worry - Extra Spicy really isn't too bad. Give it a try. Squeeze the accompanying limes (which come in a little sandwich baggie along with a slice of radish and carrot just for authenticity's sake) on top of the bed of cilantro and lettuce that covers the meat and cheese and you get all the flavors an authentic Meixcan street taco should have.

The Asada and Adobada had magnificent flavor, the meat chopped fine for easy chewing. The pollo  was delicious but less flavorful and slightly dry as grilled chicken can be. By the time I got to the carnitas, I was too full to take on any more than one bite of the deliciously seasoned, soft, shreddable hunks of pork.

I got exactly what I wanted out of my trip to CFF and see myself stopping by here much more often now. I give it a lofty two napkins because I appreciate that it's not trying to be anything it shouldn't. Walking up to this place and getting your order of street tacos, which  you can wolf down in a matter of just a few minutes at one of the little cheap tables they have there (or even just standing and laughing with friends while you gorge) can make you feel like you're actually in Mexico, having the real experience. And I appreciate the heck out of that.

Rating: two napkins