Recently, I planned a birthday gathering for my evil twin aka Dessert Zombie, but unfortunately both of us had to miss it due to Super Storm Sandy. A few of the original guests took him out on their own as time permitted, but I decided to take him to Mesa Grill (where we’d originally planned to go) for brunch anyway, as I knew he’d been wanting to check it out for a while.
What’s a birthday celebration without drinks? Unfortunately, neither of us liked our drinks THAT much – one had too much tequila, one was too bitter… I don’t recall the exact names of our drinks (and the cocktail menu is not online) but these were not made as well as they could have been, unfortunately.
Our bread basket was a mix of some really tasty bites – a very moist cranberry cake, a coffee cake that I housed, and a jalapeno biscuit that I thought was OK but Dessert Zombie seemed to enjoy.
We chose to start with two appetizers; first, the rough cut tuna nachos, with avocado crema and mango-habanero hot sauce. I enjoyed these – the bit on the left is a pile of raw tuna, like tuna tartare but cut in chunks instead. This was served with small rounds of blue and yellow corn chips, though I thought the chips could have been a bit better.
Our other appetizer was the crispy bacon and hash brown quesadillas, topped with a fried egg. I thought this was really unique – the insides were a very nicely fried potato that was almost chewy, so awesome – but it was way too heavy for me to personally eat more than one piece. No worries, Dessert Zombie was on hand to help with that! This was definitely his preferred appetizer, so I happily ate more of the appetizer I preferred – the nachos.
Wanting more of a hearty meal, Dessert Zombie went with the sixteen spice chicken skewers. Ironically, his plate arrived covered in more green than actual chicken – which he enjoyed but said some of it was a little dry. I tried a piece and agreed with the assessment; it seemed pretty dry, unfortunately.
I wanted something more breakfast-y and light, so I ordered the ranch style eggs tostada, which came with breakfast potatoes. My dish was huge and way too much for me, so I shared with Dessert Zombie… the potatoes were nicely seasoned and very tasty. The eggs were cooked perfectly fluffy and served over tortillas that soaked up all the sauces… overall, it was a pleasant enough dish, though not to my personal tastes. Looking at the menu, I’m not sure why I ordered that; it doesn’t really sound like something I’d like. Perhaps I was likening it in my head to huevos rancheros (which I used to order at brunch frequently)? I’m not sure.
The dessert menu didn’t speak to us, so we left and headed to Eataly for gelato for Dessert Zombie. I was pretty full so I declined any…
Overall, I would say Mesa Grill might be worth a visit for dinner, but I likely won’t return for brunch. Hopefully, the dinner is better executed – there’s certainly more dishes that look very appealing on that menu…
Happy (belated) birthday, Dessert Zombie! Hope it was all you could hope for and more.
All pictures above were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S III. I think it takes better pictures than my point&shoot… thoughts?
ChristineT says
That’s too bad Mesa Grill was a disappointment. I can’t wrap my head around hash brown quesadillas though. Btw, the photos look great (considering the low light conditions). I was thinking about getting the S III but didn’t. I’m starting to regret it. Anyway, happy holidays!
Feisty Foodie says
Ha, yeah, when I was writing about them, it was hard to describe exactly how they achieved it. It was good though! just too heavy for me. Regarding the pictures, thanks – I actually tweaked these ever so slightly in Picasa (mostly just increased the ‘fill light’ as the originals were a touch darker). But the quality didn’t deteriorate as quickly as it could with that… I have heard the iPhone 5 takes much better pictures in low light conditions though, so if you went with that, not a bad choice!
Dessert Zombie says
Thanks again evil twin for the birthday brunch at Mesa Grill. 🙂
MmmMmm potato quesadilla!!!
The chicken skewers weren’t much of a hearty entree and no side with it. Oh well. Tasty and well-spiced but definitely on the dry side.
When are we going to Bobby’s Burger Palace? HA.
Feisty Foodie says
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoyed even though it was kind of disappointing… dinner sometime? 😛
Where is the closest BBP? Mohegan Sun? Or is there one in LI? I know there’s one in NJ too… but I’d rather go to Mohegan Sun in that case hahaha
Dessert Zombie says
My googling tells me Paramus, NJ with The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, and Garden City, NY at Roosevelt Field Mall.
Feisty Foodie says
Roosevelt Field it is! Not today or next week but maybe week after?
Dessert Zombie says
Cool, a 2013 burger with the twin. 😛
hungry says
I feel like Mesa Grill hasn’t fallen off Bobby Flay’s radar ever since he opened Americain.
Feisty Foodie says
Do you mean has fallen off? Bar Americain was pretty good though I went to the one in Mohegan Sun. Felicia really likes the Mesa Grill in Vegas… guess in this case it falls to whoever is the CdC, if it used to be better.
hungry says
Yes, HAS fallen off.
Feisty Foodie says
That’s unfortunate. While I understand chefs can’t be in all of their restaurants at once, if they choose to open more than one, they should take the time to find and train chefs to do things to the same standard and quality as they do, so that the restaurant is just as good as it was when they were in the kitchen.