Upon entering Muchos, I could not help but feel a little underwhelmed, which is slightly ironic considering the name of the establishment. The walls are made of a red brick façade, however very little decorations are presented upon them. The tables, chairs and booths appropriately match the decor, but do not really seem to add to the character of the restaurant. You can get a sense of the sort of feeling Muchos is going for, which is an old style Mexican tavern: The kind you might visit in a poorer part of Mexico or a cliché old western movie.
While the pursuit of such a scenario is both apparent and appealing, Muchos still seems to fall a bit short of realizing what it has set out to achieve. Those sorts of places would present more exuberant flavor and local colors, making the visiting customer feel both excited about the new experience and slightly apprehensive of the unfamiliar cultural zest. Muchos, on the other hand, has either decided to play it safe by providing an establishment where everyone will feel comfortable, or has yet to realize its full potential of providing its customers with a new and exciting dining experience.
The menu has an interesting mix of Mexican, non-Mexican and what I suppose could be called, Latin-fusion items. There are a number of dishes that I had not seen before and really seemed quite creative, such as the Chicken Enchilada Pasta and the Chipotle Penne Alfredo. While we did commend their adventurous spirit, we decided it best to stick with the relatively more traditional items on the menu.
We ordered the chicken quesadillas for an appetizer and fajitas and steak chimichanga (always fun to say and therefore fun to order) for a main course. The chicken quesadillas were pleasant, but a bit on the cheesy side, which would have been fine if they used a higher quality cheese or threw in some jalapenos, onions or salsa. The chimichanga was quite nice, although a bit on the greasy and heavy side, but that is to be expected given that a chimichanga is a deep-fried burrito. I would have preferred if it had a bit more kick to it in the form of peppers or jalapenos, but that is just my personal preference. The fajitas were satisfactory, but were hardly worth ranting and raving about. It is fair to note, however, that we did take our order to go. Essential to a good fajita is that it arrives at your table still sizzling atop a hot iron plate with a “careful, it’s hot,” reminder from your waiter. This experience is difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce when you are ordering to go. So, I do think that they would have been much better eaten at the table.
For dessert, we had the chocolate turtle empanadas even though our Indian waiter was quite pushy that we go for the brownies instead. We considered his recommendation, but decided that brownies were hardly Mexican enough and that we should really stick to our guns on this one. The chocolate turtle empanadas were nice, but they were exactly what you would expect them to be: Chocolate filled pastries.
All in all, Muchos was a decent establishment, but not somewhere I would go for a special evening. I would also not take anyone there that I was trying to impress, especially if it was his/her first experience with Mexican cuisine. I would personally have preferred it if they had stuck to more traditional spices and flavors that kick things up a notch. On the other hand, I do see this sort of establishment having a certain amount of mass appeal. If you have a craving for Mexican food and are in the mood for something slightly different from the usual, Muchos would certainly satisfy.
