Restaurant Review
The East Bay Express reviews the Oakland branch of one of our favorite local restuarants, Cocina Poblana in Emeryville, and isn’t thrilled. They do like the nopales though.
Cocina Poblana belongs to the bourgeoning genre of Mexican restaurants that focus not on burritos, fajitas, and enchiladas, but on the more complex regional cookery of this food-centric nation….
Emeryville’s Cocina Poblana, which opened in 2006, helped bring this trend to the East Bay. Now proprietor Lito Saldaña has opened another, more upscale location among the chain stores and restaurants of Jack London Square. But… only a few of the venue’s dishes attain the sophisticated, dynamic, virile heights of gustatory Mexico….
Another entrée, the huarache Azteca, involves a dried-out platter of masa piled with refried beans, grilled cactus, grated cheese, and a few salty shrimp.
Well, I don’t know about the shrimp version of the huarache, but the chicken huarache at our local hangout is quite good. The grilled cactus is crisp, and tasty. And the margarita menu is top notch. Maybe we’ll go there for dinner tonight.
