Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mi Cocinita

What happens when you go into the backyard of somebody's house on the north, west or east side of Fort Worth? You get shot. But what happens when you do this on the south side? You're welcomed in for a delicious plate of Mama's best homemade Mexican fare. Seriously. Just walk down the driveway at Mi Cocinita, into what would be the garage and ask the nice lady for lunch and you'll get it. Note that not all houses are lunch friendly on the south side.

I'm tempted to not actually tell any of you where this place is, but then that would be against the spirit of this blog. Plus, you can easily find it on the interweb if you're familiar with what a google is. Mi Cocinita is at 3509 Bryan Avenue and you'll notice it by the big sign in the front yard and the dozen or so cars packed on the street.

If you've never been, you're missing out on one of the Fort's institutional hole in the walls. When you turn onto Bryan Avenue, look for the house in the middle of the block between other houses with a sign. Don't be scared, but you'll actually walk down the driveway to the "restaurant". In the back of the building there's a counter with a nice lady behind it, some colored paper with entrees and a limited menu. The friendly lady yells behind her to Mama to get started on your dish while you sit down and wait for a drink, chips and salsa.

The chips are thin and crispy and the salsa is lightly spicy and a bit sweet. Very tasty. If you don't agree, go tell Mama. I'm sure she'll appreciate your critique. While you're sitting and waiting for your food, notice that there is a patio taking up the backyard and the fence on the outside of the building also works as an advertising area. It becomes quickly apparent that this is an organic restaurant that has expanded as necessary and also doubles as the backyard of the house which people actually live in. Sweet. Why can't we eat in more people's backyards?

As mentioned above, there are a number of entrees, or plates, you can order. These generally include a mixture of tacos, enchiladas, tamales and rice and beans. A couple different plates were ordered at my table and it appeared as though the Outsider was the overall favorite. It had a brisket enchilada, chicken enchilada, a tamale, beans and rice. The enchiladas have a traditional tex-mex sauce/gravy with lots of flavor. The beans and rice aren't just throw-aways and the overall simplicity of everything makes you wish this place was open seven days a week. I'm not sure you could go wrong with whatever you order.

Mi Cocinita has been around for a long time and Bud Kennedy recently pointed out that a change was coming to Mi Cocinita. Fear not gentle reader. Mi Cocinita will still be around but Mama is soon retiring. Some cousins are taking over and the restaurant will begin serving hamburgers, brisket....and of course great mexican food.

So are you hungry yet? Well guess what...only get hungry for this place three days a week. That's right. Mama only serves her delicious wares Wednesday through Friday from 10:30-3.

If you've been, let me know what else you like. If you haven't been, head on over there, but let me know so I don't have to wait in line.

Mi Cocinita is located at 3509 Bryan Avenue and I'll let you figure out how to get there.

Mi Cocinita on Urbanspoon

13 comments:

cd0103 said...

One of my fav places. Their grandfather rule ends if they ever shut down so good to know they cousins are coming in. I thought they would close when Mama retired.

bourgon said...

I agree with CD - it's a fun place, doubly so for the atmosphere and the location. I figured it was over last fall, when they spoke of closing and turning it into bbq. Still doesn't make sense, there are plenty of pretty good bbq joints, but I guess there are plenty of good Mexican joints too.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

According to the lady at the counter, they will still have the mexican food, but the BBQ and burgers will be additional options. So hopefully they'll stay open with what made them famous.

Thanks for reading.

Lindsey said...

Ooh I hope I can try it out before Mama retires!

Have you been to Caro's on Bluebonnet circle? I was searching your site to see if you had written about that one. Best chips in Fort Worth.

Just BJ said...

I read this earlier and decided to go today, around 2:45ish. The woman said they close at 2:30 and were out of food except for tamales. There is a sign that says they close at 3, but anyway ...

She went on to suggest coming next time before 11:30. Be advised.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Just BJ, sorry you missed out on some awesomeness. Although I wouldn't be surprised if they run out of food every day at 2:30/2:45.

Thanks for reading.

Nina said...

Thank you for finally reviewing this place! Yummmmmm! Your blog makes me hungry!

Anonymous said...

Went for the first time today and it is officially my new obsession! The food was awesome, the staff was super nice...I'll definatley be back!

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Nina, thanks for reading and Anonymous, I'm glad you enjoyed the restaurant.

If anybody has any recommendations on things they like here let me know so I can try some new items.

Thanks to everybody for reading.

brande said...

The people here are so nice and friendly and the food is delicious. They are now open on Saturday's and Sunday at 8am and serve breakfast. And she told us on Wednesday's they are going to just serve american food (burgers and barbecue), but the other days they will have the regular menu.

Oscar and Mary said...

They are gradually opening on weekends. We have gone on a couple of Saturdays. Raymond, Virgie's nephew, is an excellent cook himself, and I tried his humongous burger! Pan-fried, hand-made patty, loaded with sauteed onions and all the fixings..I added cheese and grilled jalapenos. I almost shed a tear it was so good. This place is amazing.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Oscar & Mary, thanks for the update. I'll make a point to get the burger soon. Although I'll have trouble going and skipping the enchiladas.

Steve Bezner said...

FYI, went to Mi Cocinita today, and all was well. Some of Mama's daughters are running the place, and the food was delicious. According to the friendly folks serving us, they make everything in house, and the food was straight perfection. I think they hugged every single person that came in to eat. They made a minor error on my order and the cook came out to apologize in person. Thanks, FWHITW. You're doing a brave service.