Mexicali Rose is located at the Ricky’s Plaza Shopping Center in Newtown, Connecticut and has been for 20 years! We have been serving authentic Mexican food to all of our beloved clients since 1996. Our food features the exotic, rustic, and simplistic tastes of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and our flavor results from the freshness of the ingredients, skills and experience of Chef Marklin Hidalgo and wife Minerva.
The New York Times – By Sarah Gold
I found a similar dedication to custom at Mexicali Rose, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot in Newtown along a stretch of Route 25 populated with shopping centers and gas stations. During my lunchtime visit I found the interior a bit worn but cheerfully kitted out, with a multicolored tile floor and Mexican memorabilia (postcards, maps, framed artwork and painted plates, much of it from Oaxaca, where the owner’s family hails from) on the walls. A cooler was filled with Jarritos — Mexican sodas in flavors like tamarind and hibiscus. The sound of mariachi and the aroma of sizzling meat drifted from the kitchen in back.
Choosing what seemed like the most distinctive item on the menu, chiles rellenos stuffed with spiced ground pork and chicken (ordinarily, the dish is made with cheese), I again hit the jackpot. The meat-filled poblano peppers, served smoking hot, had been egg-battered, fried to a light crunch and topped with a chunky, fresh tomato sauce. It was top-notch, as was the accompanying basket of warm, crispy chips with fresh jalapeño-spiked guacamole.
I was later told that the unusual recipe for chiles rellenos had been passed down for generations in the owner’s family. “It was originally my great-great-grandmother’s,” said Michael Hidalgo, whose parents, Minerva and Maklin, opened Mexicali Rose in 1996 (and, more recently, began a second location in Bethel, now run by Mr. Hidalgo’s uncle). Mr. Hidalgo more or less grew up in the restaurant; one of his childhood memories is of being hoisted onto a milk crate on a busy night so that he could help with a sink full of dishes. Now in his 20s, he cooks — from scratch, every day — much of the fare on the menu. “Except for the chiles rellenos,” Mr. Hidalgo said. “My mother still mostly makes those herself. She’s slowly revealing the secrets to me, though.”
The New York Times – By Christopher Brooks
With the border-town kitsch of its overdecorated interior and insouciant use of pastel-colored floor tiles and serving vessels, Mexicali Rose is hard not to like. Add to that reasonable pricing and generous portions, and you are likely to come away not just liking the place, but also very much smitten by it.
White walls, highlighted with lemon-yellow, papaya-orange and sky-blue highlights, are nearly obscured by a vast array of eye candy: folkloric figurines in straw, ceramic and plastic; sombreros in sundry sizes and styles; pressed-tin cacti; paper flowers; various types of bottles; vintage and stylized photos and art pictures. This ebullient abundance makes a tight space, with just seven diner-style chrome tables and fewer than 30 seats, seem even tighter.
The amiable waiters, nonetheless, maneuver through the establishment with the panache of an experienced matador: taking orders; delivering crispy, house-made chips and salsa (gratis); bussing plates back and forth. Patrons need some of that skill, too, to fetch a beer ($4 a bottle) from the self-service cooler and to pay the bill at the counter.
Many of Mexicali’s offerings are familiar staples of Mexican cuisine. The menu leads off with three types of nachos ($6 to $7); burritos, including a vegetarian option stuffed with avocado, beans, toasted pumpkin seeds, lettuce and cheese ($5.50 to $6.35); and plump, pan-fried quesadillas ($5 to $6.65). The best deal may be the hard- and soft-shell tacos ($2.25 apiece), double wrapped in superfresh corn tortillas and well filled with chicken or ground beef or shredded pork.
Be sure to check the blackboard by the cash register for daily specials. “Home-style” chili and chipotle carrot soup ($2.85 for either) were listed recently.
