What: “Contemporary Mexican cuisine”
Where: Uptown Dallas
Komali, Chef Salum’s latest endeavor, opened up fairly recently to provide Dallasites with an authentic Mexican meal.
I had heard of Komali once or twice before (with mixed reviews), but when I saw the deal on Scout Mob for 50% off the bill, I was in. I didn’t even check the prices on the menu before I came in because I knew I’d be getting a great deal anyway. I invited my friend to come along, and we set off for our very first Komali adventure.
This “contemporary Mexican” eatery is located in Uptown in a little strip center that was fairly foreign to us hip and out-and-about young 20-somethings. The outside of the building was sleek and trendy looking, and as she opened the door and headed to the hostess stand, I was immediately cut off by a bus boy waving a towel over his head. I was the one who waited for him to pass before catching up with my friend a few steps ahead of me. I’m not really easily offended, but I didn’t like that the bus boy couldn’t step back for the customer to pass by, much less to enter the building. Oh well. I wasn’t going to give up then.
We were promptly seated at a four-top table. The inside was clean, modern and trendy—a must for an Uptown eatery. I looked around and noticed the place was not bustling, but not quiet. It was an interesting crowd…I felt like many of the patrons represented Dallas’s recent reality shows quite well.
Our waiter brought over the menus and we began perusing the drink menu. There were several eclectic and interesting drinks to choose from, and our waiter was very friendly and answered all of our questions. I went with the Komali margarita and my friend Lisa went with the habanero margarita. We both enjoyed them—but I’d say my margarita was a bit on the sweet side.
We started off with the queso fundido. I had had it before in Mexico, so I knew it was good. Queso fundido, a melted Oaxaca cheese with chorizo mixed in, usually comes very thick and with a side of tortillas to make your own quesadillas. The cheese was good, but when the waiter set the serving fork into the bowl, a pool of grease emerged at the top. Yikes. It was super greasy and a little too melty for queso fundido. I’d much prefer the queso fundido done the right way at Lol Ha in Akumal, Mexico.
For our main dish we shared the filete de huachinango, or the grilled snapper Acapulco style. It came in a tomato-based sauce with a side of grilled veggies and hash browns. Yep, hash browns. I was hungry so I ate most of the hash browns with it, but it was a really strange concept. I don’t know if they ran out of regular potatoes or what. The fish was really good, but the sauce threw me off. It was a pretty heavy dish being a fish entrée, and my general thought was that I could’ve easily cooked that meal myself rather than spending a whopping $18 on it. Good thing we got 50% off, because that meal was way overpriced for what it was.
Finally, dessert time arrived. We held out hope and ordered the crepas de cajeta, or the crepes with goats milk caramel, caramelized plantains and toasted pecans. Hands down the best part of the entire meal. There was a bit of chocolate drizzled on top and plenty of caramel—a great dessert to share.
When the bill came, I showed our waiter my cell phone with the deal on the screen. He was very nice and went back to get us our new bill. The manager came by to greet us and acknowledge the fact that we had come in because of the Scout Mob offer. The bill ended up being $32, but $42 with the tip. It would’ve been double that without the deal—which is an insane amount considering we shared our main dish. Overall, the food was alright, but nothing special. Another thing we were a little let down by? There were no chips/salsa/guac. I understand they’re trying to achieve a more authentic Mexican eatery, but chips are always a must in my book.
So if you’re going to go, hurry up and get your Scout Mob deal. Otherwise, I don’t see myself going back for mediocre food at such high prices.
Bon appétit,
ThatFoodieGirl
