Monday, March 09, 2009

February 28, 2009: Mi Corazon

While Cindy had been chowing down on a variety of uncooked delights, I'd been wading around Mud Islands in Port Phillip Bay getting sunburned (and seeing twelve new bird species!). Needless to say, neither of us had much energy for a Saturday night shop and cook, so we pondered our lazy and local eating options. We considered a few old favourites, before eventually settling on a trip to Mi Corazon, at the northern end of Lygon Street's fast gentrifying East Brunswick section.

Mi Corazon promises 'Mexico in Melbourne', and is part vodka bar and part Mexican Cantina. It's an inviting venue - a nice area of lounging chairs and lots of tables for dining. All the tables were full, so we parked ourselves at one of the front bars to peruse our options. It's a relatively small menu, and three of the eight mains are veg or veg-convertible. We kicked things off with a couple of virgin mjoitos ($5), which hit the spot pretty nicely (there is of course a wide range of tequilas, and plenty of imported South American beers).

Cindy couldn't resist the allure of taquitos carne vegetariano: crispy golden corn tortilla tacos filled with soy beef and topped with lettuce and sour cream ($16).

I had a little taste, and it was all crispy fried tacos - the filling played only a minor role in its deliciousness. Particularly once I'd smothered it in our sides: refried beans ($2), guacamole ($3) and hot salsa ($1).

I ordered up the tacos de espinacas con papas y queso: corn tortilla tacos filled with spinach, mashed potatos and cheese ($17).

Again, these were quite good, but basically served as vehicles for the sauces (it's worth noting that the tangy salsa that comes with the dishes is at least as hot as the salsa we ordered on the side).

In all honesty, the food here was good but not great - especially not at the prices asked (and especially when you compare it to the delights of Trippytaco), but it's a bustling bar with a good atmosphere and a convenient location, and it all went down a treat after a long day in the sun. Still, I think next time we've got Mexican cravings we'll summon up the energy to ride over to Smith Street.

Address: 462 Lygon Street, East Brunswick
Ph: 9384 6153
Prices: Vegie mains $15-$16
Licenced
Website: http://www.micorazon.com.au/ (although it's tremendously uninformative.

5 comments:

  1. tim and i had a look at the menu when they first introduced it and the prices really put us off, but i had no idea they had 'veg beef', that must be new because i remember the menu being pretty veg-unfriendly

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like mi corazon but i think it's more of a destination for mojitos (non-virgin please) than the food. it's a cute little bar!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pip, I reckon this menu was different to our first visit. There'd be potential for Mi Corazon to vegan-adapt a couple of dishes but with Trippy Taco on the northside, I wouldn't urge you to make the effort.

    Penny, we haven't made our way through much of the drinks list! I appreciated the mocktail option, at least, after a big day. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've visited this place a couple of times and the highlight for me was the cinnamon-infused tequila, it was sensational. And the decor is pretty great too. If you ever want some happy snaps of yourselves that look like you took a weekend trip to somewhere exotic, just head out to their little backyard beer garden area and snap away.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cinnamon-infused tequila? I will have to give that a try next time I'm there. :-)

    ReplyDelete