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Posted on Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 10:40 a.m.

At Cancun Mexican Grill in Saline, it pays to be adventurous

By Kim Bayer

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For a while it seemed like Ypsilanti was going to be the main hotspot for new Mexican restaurants in the area. But as of the end of last year, Saline is poised to give Ypsi a little competition with the new Cancun Mexican Grill. The location just outside of Saline's downtown is a bit bleak, but the parking lot is ample and the interior is tiled, sparkling clean and a fiesta of vibrant color.

Once inside, I wanted to spend an hour just looking at each of the hand-carved and painted booths and tabletops. Artistic themes include facsimiles of Diego Rivera's girl with calla lilies, some Little Mermaid-esque sea life, along with quiet pueblo and market tableau, lady revolutionaries with rifles, and wild stallions rearing against the sunset. The bright colors and the dramatic folk-art ornamentation reminded me of what it feels like to be in Mexico.

Once settled at our table, a waiter swiftly appeared with a basket of corn chips and bowl of mildly spicy house-made salsa, dark with roasted chiles and flecked with cilantro. Cancun has a full bar, which comes in handy because you may need a drink to get through the very extensive list of items on the menu.

Although the lime margaritas are good, I would recommend trying their delicious horchata (oddly not listed on the menu). Usually made from ground rice, almonds and cinnamon, horchata has no dairy but tastes just like rice pudding in a glass — down to the sprinkle of cinnamon on top. At Cancun, the horchata is served in a mug that is so comically large it requires both hands to lift the half gallon flagon.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Cancun Mexican Grill
405 E. Michigan Ave., Saline
734-429-2262
https://www.facebook.com/cancunmexicangrill.saline
  • Hours: Mon - Thu: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
  • Plastic: Visa, Mastercard
  • Liquor: Full bar
  • Prices: Moderate. Entrees $4.25-$15.99
  • Noise level: Moderate
  • Wheelchair access:Yes
Fortified with chips and a refreshing beverage, you can turn your attention to the task of deciding what to eat. Although the menu is intimidating in its extent, you'll start to notice that there are many "variations on a theme" here as well.

All of the things that you would normally expect expect on a Tex-Mex menu are represented — guacamole, nachos, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, fajitas, chimichangas, etc. Also listed are some less common items like chile verde, chilaquiles, filete al ajo, chuletas de puerco, camarones a la diabla.

And there are even some things that seem to be unique to Cancun—such as the "molcajete," which someone described as a kind of stone-bowl bibimbap of Mexican food, and the "tostaquac," a tortilla with various toppings including guacamole. Fortunately, the back of the menu offers a glossary, defining terms and including pronunciations.

Among the appetizers, I can recommend the freshly made and garlicky guacamole, the salsas from mild to extra hot made with various chiles, and the creamy queso fundido, a platter of melted cheese sprinkled with deliciously assertive and crispy chorizo sausage. Note that the bean dip comes with cheese dip as part of it — so you don't need to order both like we did. Both the beans and the cheese are creamy, salty, and hard to stop eating.

The entrees that we most enjoyed turned out to be some of those lesser-known items, which seemed to have extra personality. The most dramatic dish was definitely the molcajete — named for the smoking hot stone bowl in which it is served. The molcajete comes to the table steaming like a volcano, overflowing with grilled steak, chicken, shrimp, jalapenos, cheese, whole onions and nopales (cactus paddles) stewed in a thick spicy salsa. This enormous cauldron is served together with a plate of rice, beans, iceberg lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and tortillas. It was epic, with lots of delicious spicy and tangy flavors and textures meaty and vegetable-y.

The chile verde was another favorite — tender chunks of richly flavored pork stewed in a tart tomatillo and lime sauce. Served on a plate with rice, beans, tortillas and the works, this dish was like a tasty visit to San Diego's Old Town.

About the tortillas, I wish that Cancun would get some better ones. Superior Mexican food is built on great tortillas, and the corn tortillas here tasted a bit old and flat, and the flour tortillas were oddly mushy and flavorless. I think the underwhelming tortillas contributed to the lackluster nature of the burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and chilaquiles that even complex sauces, freshly made fillings, and excellent salsas could not redeem.

Also underwhelming was the number of vegetarian options on the menu. There are only five vegetarian entrees listed among easily 100 other menu items, and all are based on beans. The vegetarian friend we were with commented "at least there was a lot of cheese."

As for desserts, our server was very apologetic that they were out of flan when we visited. Neither the honey and Hershey's-soaked sopaipilla (made with a fried flour tortilla) nor the fried ice cream (served in a fried flour tortilla bowl) made up for that lack. But the fried ice cream had some festive sprinkles.

The service at Cancun was great — speedy, friendly, and informative. Granted, they weren't busy either time we were there, but every time we asked for something it appeared quickly.

Next time we go I want to try the pineapple fajitas — we heard that's one of their most popular dishes, and it's served inside of a whole pineapple. And I'd like to test out their carnitas too and see what their mole is like. Probably the the best thing that I could say about Cancun is the nicest thing you can say about any restaurant: I'd like to go back again. There's definitely a lot more ground to cover on that menu.

Kim Bayer is a freelance writer and culinary researcher. Email her at kimbayer at gmail dot com.

Comments

A2frank

Thu, Jul 18, 2013 : 3:46 p.m.

One of the best Mexican eateries in the area. Those of you that are so quick to listen to the 'food police' should in their own kitchen first. An inspection is but a snapshot.

awesomeblue

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 6:14 p.m.

those chairs make it seem like I'm eating in a kindergarten classroom

sellers

Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 1:47 a.m.

The atmosphere is actually really good - even in the lower level sans windows it's not bad. Putting some solar tube lights would be awesome.

DBH

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 4:21 p.m.

"At Cancun Mexican Grill in Saline, it pays to be adventurous." And brave. At their last Health Dept. inspection in January, they had a total of 15 violations, 7 of which were Priority (the most serious). And more disturbingly, this was an inspection that was scheduled, meaning the restaurant management knew when the sanitarian was coming. http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/restaurant-inspections-for-washtenaw-county-in-january-2013/ http://www.swordsolutions.com/inspections/pgesearchresults.asp?County=28

DBH

Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 7:13 p.m.

@sellers, I don't think the codes have changed so much as the terminology for violations has changed, from "Critical and Non-Critical" to "Priority, Priority Foundation, and Core." So I don't think your point about learning new codes is valid, only the categories into which violations are put. Secondly, the inspections were scheduled from October 2012 through March 2013, meaning the restaurant (and, specifically, its manager) knew when the sanitarians were coming. If you will look at the Restaurant Inspection reports for those months, there was a high percentage of restaurants with no or very few violations. This was so anomalous compared to Inspection Reports produced as a result of inspections prior to October 2012 that many commenters (and occasionally the writer for Washtnenaw County Public Health of the AnnArbor.com monthly published reports) remarked on how low the violations were. As I noted in my root comment above, all of the violations by Cancun in January were found at an inspection that was scheduled, an inspection when the manager knew the sanitarian was coming. In contrast to the vast majority of other restaurants that had few if any violations during these scheduled inspections, Cancun had 15 of them, almost half of which were the most serious type. I maintain (as evidenced by the performances of the great majority of the other restaurants inspected during this 6-month interval) that the expectation is that Cancun would have had FEWER violations, not more. Their performance was abysmal, in my opinion.

sellers

Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 1:46 a.m.

Let's put this into perspective because I found a large number of restaurants that have had issues. It appears the health code guidelines changed in the last year, which is why the inspections are now scheduled. This happens when they change the codes. The expectation is there will be a large number of violations as people learn the new guidelines. I wish they would post new v/s old so we know it is a function of learning the new guidelines versus poor food handling. I guess with everything - it needs to be measured over time not just one or two occurrences.

A2Westsider

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.

Yes, I had eaten there a couple times and though it was fairly good. Then the health department report - ugh. Haven't been back, but I will return after the next round of inspections shows that they are clean.

Urban Sombrero

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:44 p.m.

I was there for a friends birthday party and had the garlic shrimp. It was amazing. I will definitely go back.

dsponini

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:38 p.m.

Yes, because I live only a few blocks away I've been there several times. Good food, good service. I have only one suggestion to the management there: Please dim down the lights a little bit. I like going there but always feel like I'm sitting under fluorescent lights. I get enough of that at work 9 hours a day!

Billy

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:31 p.m.

I'm discovering that a lot of Mexican restaurants have horchata but don't put it on the menu. Cancun's is exceptionally awesome though. I was VERY pleasantly surprised when I asked for some after not seeing it on the menu, and they indeed brought out a comically large mug. It was absolutely delicious too. Next to Chelas they are the best Mexican food in the area I think.

djacks24

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.

Very good food and good service. the place is always busy but the service is still very good, unlike another non-Mexican place I was at recently (Sidetracks)where we waited for a seat and were even forgotten about at least twice nafter being seated.

Billy

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:33 p.m.

When we went it was PACKED, even had trouble finding parking in the parking lot. We walked in and it looked like no tables open. Turns out there were a couple open downstairs but it TOO was packed. We still had PERFECT service. It was Spectacular service if you took into account how busy it was. We had no delay in getting our order placed or our food, yet they seemed to stay packed and busy the whole time. I have a feeling Cancun will be around for a while. Good food, and good management.

djacks24

Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.

"nafter" meant after.

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