One can find food from different parts of the world in Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. There are restaurants in this urban village that claim to serve authentic Lebanese, Moroccan, Italian, Continental and Oriental cuisines. One such restaurant offering Tex Mex dishes is Maquina. I have heard good things about its food from my foodie friends which gave me a reason to try it once.
Tex Mex cuisine is basically an Americanised version of Mexican cuisine. I love how Tex-Mex cuisine is characterised by its heavy use of shredded cheese, meat, beans and spices in addition to Mexican style tortillas.
Well, Maquina seemed to me a place for such cuisine as its menu had everything which a Mexican or a Tex Mex restaurant should have. I was served a piping hot bowl of black bean lamb soup just to get a hang of the flavours. The soup had typical flavours but was way too viscous for me. It was so thick that considering it to be a soup was questionable, it was more of a curry. Tex Mex Caesar salad had the perfectly grilled chicken which was worth every bite.
As appetizers, chipotle chicken skewers were juicy and delicious. They were perfectly rubbed with spices and cooked to perfection keeping the tenderness of the chicken intact. But the real stars at Maquina were its nachos and tacos. They make the chips in-house which helps to maintain the consistency in standard. I tried Cajun roasted bell peppers as the topping. I liked how the chef served them traditionally with cheese sauce, chopped onion, jalapenos, refried beans along with a sour cream and guacamole dips. I must say that the chef had good hands and was experienced enough to cook Tex Mex food.
The other signature dishes of the region such as burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas and tacos were worth eating at the restaurant.
After trying out all of these, I felt the flavours can become repetitive at times.
Even though I was done with the Tex Mex fare, the burgers listed in the menu were tempting enough to give a try. I ordered chicken al rancho which had a 180 gram square patty topped with ancho chilli pepper, bell peppers, tomato salsa and cheddar cheese.
The good meaty burger gave me a reason to revisit Maquina as it was one of the best I had in recent times.
Meal for two: Rs 2000 plus taxes
