Pachanga Patterson

 (This picture is from a recent visit for Brunch.  Excellent value at $10 for food and a drink)

I said to a friend just 2 weeks ago that Astoria needs a modern Nuevo Mexican place, thankfully a few days latter I found this place!  It is exactly what the area needed.  The food is fresh, tasty and exciting.  I like the small menu, I don't need a million options, and it is a lot easier to keep food fresh when there are fewer options on the menu.  The staff is very friendly, casual, knowledgeable about the food.  We had the spiciest of the salsa's, the Charred Tomato & Serrano Chili. It was good, although not quite as strong, or spicy as I would have liked.  The chips were fried fresh and a bit on the thick side, which I like.  Their house hot sauce was way to mild.

To start we ordered the Mussels which we did not enjoy very much.  They were just OK, the taste was a bit flat, under seasoned.  It could have used something to sharpen the flavor, perhaps citrus, or vinegar or just more salt.  Both my company and myself did not enjoy this very much, although we did not return it.

The entrees were very good.  I had the Roasted Pork Belly Enchilada, chocolate, fig & peanut sauce, cumin crema which were excellent!  The pork belly itself was cooked well, although not falling apart it had a good texture.  The sauce, chocolate, figs and peanuts were a wonderful balance to the pork, I really enjoyed the flavor combination and the crunch of the peanuts.  Great dish!  The fish taco's are excellent also, good portion of well fried fish.  Very tasty and not greasy.

For dessert I had the cold fruit soup with whipped cream.  It was alright, tasted more like a fruit salad, the actual broth was not memorable, however it was tasty and a great cool refreshing end to the meal.

I'm looking forward to returning to try the Duck and the Pork tacos.  Chips and salsa are not complementary, and neither are side dishes, which may push the price a few dollars higher than I would normally spend for Mexican food.  It is worth it for the food and the great outside sitting area.