Tuesday, January 6, 2009

La Unica

In an old stip mall off of Hwy 73 with a tired exterior, and even more tired fast-food restaurants in the parking lot, I found a diamond in rough. La Unica, opened its doors less than two weeks ago, but it has already found a way into my heart via my stomach.

The restaurant has a more of a trendy cafe feel to it, than the typical wrought iron filled mexican restuarant. There are two HD TV's easily seen from the 20 or so tables about half of which were booths. The tables, chairs, and booths all appeared to be new and exceptionally clean.

Upon seating, I had two small carafes of salsa (hot and mild), chips, and a small bowl of lime wedges given to me. I instantly went for the hot salsa, and was pleasantly suprised. It was spicy, but the heat didn't overwhelm the flavor of the salsa which included chunks of onions, tomatos, and other veggies and herbs you'd expect to find. If this salsa came from a can or was freshly made, I couldn't tell.

I ordered the Lunch Chimichanga (filled with ground beef), a lunch special. About two or three minutes after I ordered, the food arrived. Again, I was suprised. The nacho cheese, was not the standard, neon yellow cheese wiz topping that I was expecting. It was white and made from real cheese (I'm guessing Asadero). Personally, I would have liked the cheese topping to be a little thicker, but it's flavor was good. The beef had a good flavor of cumin and oregano, and was exactly what I was hoping for.

The chimichanga was good and the service was great -- the wait staff were very attentive. And considering how hard it has been to find a decent mexican restaurant in the Huntersville area, I'm ready to jump for joy that I found this great little taqueria.

Score:
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 11/15

Conclusion: Great restaurant, great food, it's a good value, and definately a diamond in the rough. Including food, drink, and tip, I was out of there for less than $10, but for the non-lunch specials expect about $12 per person. I'll definately be back.

Restaurant Info:
La Unica
9121 -1 Sam Furr Road
Huntersville, NC
704-895-5378

2 comments:

  1. this place is fantastic, have been several times, everything is so good and the people are so friendly,
    all i can say is THE BEST

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  2. This is the only Mexican place we'll go to here. I go at least 2 times a week. The "authentic tacos" are awesome, especially the asada ones. Our 5 and 2 year olds also eat every bite. Also, we always have good service and get our food quickly. Beware of the medium margarita b/c it is like a large for me. I'm not sure what the benchmark is for a 5 for atmosphere, but it is very clean and new inside.

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