Mayas

Verdict: Overpriced, low-quality ingredients, great service. Probably a great place in any city but New Orleans.

The stats:
Attentive waitstaff: +5
Only four shrimp in shrimp entree: -4
American cheese and canned olives in salad: -2
Thumb-sized dessert: -4
Liberal use of coconut: +2
General low-quality ingredients: -1
Canned whipped cream: -1
Homemade ice cream: +2
Overpriced: -2
Surprisingly tasty free mango dip and homemade chips: +1
Gritty salad: -1
Overall score: -5

Full review:

The Red Baron and I went to Mayas on the spur of the moment for lunch. I love Latin food, especially anything involving coconut, and I love a good lunch deal. The waitstaff was nothing but fantastic the entire time: attentive and friendly, knowledgeable about the menu. I wish I could say such good things about the food.

This place is pretty pricey for a poor person like me (lunch entrees are an average of $14, and entrees average $22), so I was very excited to try their lunch special: three courses for $12.99. (Soup or salad/ entree/ dessert).

The waitstaff knocked themselves out, right away bringing out complementary homemade chips and some sort of tangy fruity orange dip. It was a thin liquid, so I didn't expect much, but it packed in the flavor, and matched perfectly with the thick salty and crunchy chips. It was by far the best part of the meal.

The paid part meal started with salads. The Red Baron's was OK, but included some canned olives stuffed with pimentos. A restaurant charging $14 for lunch should serve quality olives. I picked sand out of my teeth a few times, while I ate my gritty salad garnished with American cheese. Tip: "pre-washed greens" are not always pre-washed. Wash them again. Bonus tip: American cheese is great at the stadium, not at a fine dining restaurant. Super-extra bonus: Try not to add so much dressing that the lettuce wilts at the bottom of the bowl.

On to the main course. I ordered the coconut shrimp and rice. I received four medium shrimp and a third-cup of rice. I recognize the amount because I feed my tiny dog a third-cup of kibble every morning. She weighs nine pounds. I weigh more than nine pounds, and therefore need more food than she does. Granted, the rice was delicious: lime-scented and nutty, surrounded by a coconut cream sauce. The shrimp were cleaned and well-cooked, if only half of the correct portion.

Then there was the third course, the "dessert." The Red Baron received an awesome homemade coconut ice cream, a contender with the chips and dip for best part of the meal. I received a "tres leches," a sponge cake the size of my thumb, maybe an inch and a half tall by half an inch wide. I almost felt scammed by the size of it. I could have coughed and it would have flown off the table. I was paying for this? Plus, it was garnished with canned whipped cream, just like the middle school cafeteria used to do. Canned? COME ON, Mayas. It's New Orleans. You have to do better than that. Really, American cheese and canned whipped cream? I think I'll pass on that $22 dinner. Plus, I think you charged me for my lagniappe with that tiny tiny dessert.


Mayas
2027 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA
(504) 309-3401
http://mojitoland.com/