First, let me just say that I love the Plaza Midwood area. The "main" stretch on Central avenue is full of trendy restaurants, bakeries and boutiques. Ok, maybe I shouldn't say "full" but there are definitely some great spots. It has an overall cool vibe and most of the places are locally owned. Now, don't get me wrong, you may have to lock your doors and speed through part of Central avenue before you arrive safely at Loco Lime but it's worth risking your life. ;)
So, Loco Lime is somewhat of a hidden gem but as you pull in and park in the back you can immediately see that this is clearly a local hot spot. The outside patio was packed and you have to walk through the bar to get to the main restaurant. The looks are a bit deceiving because the dining area is pretty large! The dim lights, friendly hostess and scent of fresh tortillas make you feel right at home from the moment you walk in! Most of the waiters/waitresses have a pretty trendy look--piercings, tattoos, etc so it is unique in that regard. I guess it isn't everyday that you see a trendy mexican joint. Most of the time they are well lit with bright colors splashed everywhere, some type of spanish music echos in the background and Jose is typically the server. Not here though!
Mexican food might be one of my favorite types of food. We eat Mexican food about once a week. I could literally drink salsa by the glass and I would have no problem taking a guacamole bath while dipping chips in the tub. I am picky about both of these staple mexican items. I love FRESH salsa and FRESH guacamole. Onions and Cilantro must be very present in both items and I don't want them too spicy but just the perfect kick. I have been known to judge a restaurant based strictly on their salsa so this is extremely important to me!
Loco Lime is more of a "mexican inspired" restaurant so you have quite a bit of the traditional plates along with some unique combinations. To start, the salsa was pretty good. Oddly enough it was a weird combination between fresh and canned salsa. It is almost as if they added some fresh cilantro and a few fresh onions to some canned salsa. It wasn't too hot but it did have a nice flavor. It wasn't my favorite salsa but we still managed to burn through 3 bowls. The chips were pretty standard.
I ordered the vegetable burrito...it was huge! It was filled with rice, cheese, black beans, corn, sweet plantains, and zucchini. You could choose your sauce (green-super spicy, white queso or red-spicy). I chose the red sauce which was very tasty and the combination of flavors really worked. There was the sweet, spicy and salty mix. It was quite good. It came with guacamole, sour cream and some kind of coleslaw but none of them are worth mentioning. They were hardly even there to be honest--very small portions of each and the guacamole had no flavor.
My husband ordered three beef tacos and he said they were great. The beef was finely chopped and was smothered in their taco sauce. The tacos were topped with cilantro and they were soft shell, which is very authentic. It was served with rice and beans. The beans were fluffy and almost seemed fresh (doubtful) in comparison to other Mexican restaurants. Normally the beans are soupy and seem to inch off the plate little by little...kinda like that lump of green stuff that the mom serves to her family in the movie "Better Off Dead." I am not saying they taste bad but you know they are super lardy and pumped with sodium. Pukity. But, that wasn't the case at Loco Lime. The beans were not greasy nor did they seem to be as salty. The rice on the other hand was pretty dry but I don't expect much when it comes to rice in this type of restaurant.
Everything was pretty good for the most part. I tried to ignore the fact that the food came out in literally 25 seconds. The food usually comes out quick at Mexican restaurants but this was record- breaking! I even ordered my burrito without mushrooms so I know they didn't just go heat up a pre-made dish but...wow. Their website says " All of our food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients and highest quality to please everyone’s taste." So, I'm going to trust them!
This was my second time dining with Loco Lime and I would go back. I'd like to try a few other items on their menu and I need to give their table side guacamole a chance. I have never had to wait, which is always a good thing and the service has been great both times. They are also very reasonably priced. It isn't the easiest part of town to travel to, but it is fun to try out this area in Charlotte and of course to support this locally owned hot spot!
Menu can be found here: http://locolimecharlotte.com/
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