On a chilly Thursday night, we drop in on Mi Cocina, Peachtree Street’s own branch of the Texas-based Tex-Mex chain. With temperatures plummeting, it’s a good night for their tomato-based tortilla soup, which comes studded with chicken and topped with a slice of avocado. My serving (above) is tasty (though very, very salty), but I would rather have a bowl of the same dish as it’s pictured on the restaurant’s web site:
I walk past Mi Cocina twice a day, every day, on my way to and from work … but despite the decor (soaring ceilings, bright murals), we don’t stop in very often. I can’t quite put a finger on why.
Maybe it’s because the staff insists on greeting me with “Is this your first time with us?” (That’s one of my pet peeves). Maybe it’s because the seaters tend to seat people right on top of each other, even when the restaurant is mostly empty. (Once, the seater plopped us right in the laps of a couple with three screaming children — and we were the only two parties in the place!)
Maybe it’s because the cocktails are tiny and weak … and yet they’re among the most expensive in Midtown, at about ten bucks for a stingy little margarita on the rocks. (Compare to Einstein’s — just a block away — which serves an entire menu of strong, sweet cocktails priced at five bucks each.)
So we’re in … we eat … and we’re out. If you’re traveling and trapped at the Lowe’s or another Midtown hotel nearby, Mi Cocina is a “not bad but not memorable” choice. If you have a car (or a friend with a car, or an Uber account), ask them to take you to La Fonda (no fancy artwork, but better food) or even the El Azteca on Peachtree Street (for basic, honest, chips-and-salsa Mexican) instead.
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