Frida’s Cocina & Cantina: Can it break the curse?

And are margs magic?

I have a theory that some buildings are cursed. By that I mean no business is ever successful there. Maybe it’s because there is a lack of parking or foot traffic. Maybe it’s a little hidden or just hard to get in and out. Maybe there was once a very successful business there that lasted for years and years and now nothing can overcome the memories of good times had in the former establishment. But maybe it’s just some sort of cosmic negativity that falls like a funeral veil over a place. 

Think about the Cobb Lane Restaurant – famous for its she-crab soup and chocolate roulage cakes. What about the old Bottletree building? The Cosmo’s Pizza location in Pickwick Plaza?

Nothing has managed to stay in these places for very long. And there are dozens more spaces just like these including the once-beloved Wanda June’s in English Village,that enjoyed three decades or so of happy business. Part of the problem with this space is the former Joe Muggs that someone built right in front of it – anything there is hidden from view. 

But maybe it’s now cursed. 

After Wanda June’s and Ciao, both with the same owner, it was Bambinelli’s, Salvatore’s, La Catrina, Root to Tail (I think the name killed that place…too close to the saying “from the rooter to the tooter” which is what I always said in my mind when I passed it), Bobby Carl’s Table, Evelyn’s Southern Fare, and lastly and probably leastly, Civitas. 

Now it’s Frida’s Cocina & Cantina.

I’d like to think that the spirit of Frida Khalo will break this curse. After all, the artist was known for turning great pain into great beauty. But I suspect that a spirit of another kind will lead to this new restaurant’s success, and that spirit is tequila. 

Which brings me to another theory I have which is that people will flock to a place that serves margaritas – “margs” in the parlance of today – whether the food is all that good or not. There are a couple of places in town that I can think of where the food ranges from resoundingly OK to very nanner-nanner, but the places are always packed. The only reason I can think of is margs.

For the record, I’m about tired of everything being abbreviated. I’ll have a marg with my app. Also some guac. Then I’ll do a burr and a ta and an ench….all with chick. Can’t we say whole words anymore? Appar n…

Back to the subject at hand – Frida’s. We tried to go there on a Saturday night about 7 and the place was packed! The outside patio was jumping, and people were sitting on benches in the entry. The hostess said the wait was 35-45 minutes, so we left to find something a bit more timely. 

We went back later in the week for dinner, though. This time it was what I like to call the Nanny and Paw Power Hour…a little before 5. There were a few people already eating, but there were plenty of tables. Even so, they sat us at one of two tables in a strange little room to the left of the entrance where the bathrooms are. I asked if they could move us to the main dining room, and they did.

If you’re familiar at all with the many incarnations of this space, you know that once inside, you’re in a long narrow space. It’s always been a bit awkward, and it still is. The Frida’s people have updated it with bright red booths and bar stools and white metal chairs around wooden tables. The first room you come to on the right has two booths in it, and also the chip warmer and entrance to the kitchen. The next room has about three more booths, the bar, and two tables, one of which is in front of the big walk-in cooler. That’s where they sat us. And the last room, which has all the windows facing out onto the street, has several more tables and a fireplace. 

I have to say that I think Frida’s has done about the best anyone could do with this space. But I think the odd layout forced upon it by the former Joe Mugg’s is one of the reasons it’s hard to be successful there. But we’ll see because Frida’s has – guess what! MARGS!

In fact, they have a pretty extensive drink menu. Ricky got the house margarita and I got the Frida’s Rita, mainly because I wanted to say Frida Rita and also because I like orange. Both drinks came out pretty quickly, but neither one seemed especially flavorful. I really couldn’t tell

a difference between mine and Ricky’s except that mine cost $3 more but was about a third of the size of his. Maybe they’re still trying to work things out at the bar.

Speaking of the bar, and there is a small one, Judge Judy was holding court in the corner. I’m always fascinated by what appears on a bar television.

They brought us the de rigueur (I should say de rigor) complimentary chips and salsa. The chips are thin and hot and crispy, which is how I like them. The salsa is not very spicy, which Ricky says is not necessarily a positive, but it is flavorful, light and bright with a teensy bit of heat at the end. We also ordered the Mexican guacamole for an appetizer, but it didn’t come out until our food was served. It was a treat to behold with one red chip, one green one, and a chicharron all stuck in the top to resemble the flag of Mexico. The taste was alright too, but it was too chunky to eat with the thin chips. 

Ricky ordered the street tacos – two chicken and one steak. The chicken is cubed, grilled chicken, not shredded like you get them some places, and the steak was grilled as well. All came with onions and cilantro, and he was served a little cup of a green sauce on the side that was very, very spicy. He said it was all very good.

I ordered the Dos Amigos y Pepe combination – one cheese enchilada, one shredded chicken enchilada, and one tamal topped with “gravy” and cheese with rice and beans on the side. The enchiladas were good but the tamale was great, very light and fluffy with a small strip of pork running down the center. The accompanying rice and beans was about what you’d expect. But this “gravy” – it was delicious! Bold flavors, smooth texture…it was really the highlight of this meal.

The atmosphere was jolly, and as the evening went on, lots of people came and went, some in fairly large groups (8-10 people), which Frida’s can accommodate in the end room or on the patio. By 5:45 there was a wait.

And as the rooms filled up, it seemed like the music got a bit louder and so did the people, some of whom were standing around the small bar waiting for the rest of their party to arrive. By the time we left, it was quite loud. I did notice some sound-deadening material oddly placed in the sky lights, but it seemed to have little effect when up against concrete floors and happy people.

I was also overjoyed to note that the creepy horse painting from the Civitas days has been replaced by a jolly sugar skull painting. 

A few days later, we went back for lunch in the early afternoon. They have a smaller lunch menu, but we got the same wonderfully crispy, thin chips and salsa. 

This time we ordered the street corn appetizer (I love love love street corn), Ricky got the enchilada lunch special, and I chose the chimichanga with grilled chicken. He had iced tea, and I opted for a Mexican Coke. 

This is the walk-in cooler you can sit by if you’re one of the lucky ones.

He said the enchiladas, one shredded chicken and on ground beef, were alright – nothing special – and he was not as enamored of the gravy as I was. He also pointed out that the same gravy that was on his enchilada was on my chimichanga, so Frida’s must use it as an all-purpose sauce. Traditionally, he said, enchilada sauce should be different from a burrito sauce or chimichanga sauce. 

Speaking of my chimichanga, I have not, until now, had one that was covered in a sauce. A little cheese dip, maybe, but not completely sauced. The whole thing was just soggy, not the crispy, fried delicacy I was hoping for. I guess it had been fried at some point, but by the time it came to the table – and the food does come out very quickly – it had been overwhelmed. It was filled with cubes of grilled chicken breast and a little cheese, but I found myself wishing for the shredded chicken filling that I’d had in the enchiladas. As much as I had loved my dinner a few nights before, I was disappointed in the lunch. 

We did enjoy the corn appetizer, which again came out after our plates were served. It was limey and not overwhelmed by mayonnaise which let the Tajín flavor shine through. And the corn was fresh and juicy.

Frida’s dinner menu is quite expansive and should have something to please even the diet conscious or picky. There’s a strawberry bacon spinach salad, lettuce leaf tacos, grilled salmon with white rice and mango salsa, a “bowl” (“bowls” are so “in” right now…), vegetarian options, a huevos section cheekily called “The Egg and I”, and a few combination dinners. Just about everything you could expect and more. 

I suspect that Frida’s will enjoy some success in this space for a few reasons. There’s a lot of great Mexican and TexMex food in the Villages (I don’t count Lady Bird because it’s about as authentically Mexican as I am) but Frida’s brings it to the heart of English Village; the people are very nice and the service is quick and cheerful even if the food is a little inconsistent (which may be due to the fact that the place hasn’t been open long); and there are “margs” and that seems to be about all it takes sometimes.

Here’s how we rated Frida’s Cocina & Cantina on a scale of 1-5 🫔 (that’s a tamale, in case you can’t tell):

Atmosphere: 🫔🫔🫔

Food: 🫔🫔🫔

Drinks: 🫔🫔🫔 but it’s MARGS so maybe that makes it a 🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔

Service: 🫔🫔🫔🫔

Bathrooms: 🫔🫔🫔🫔🫔