This evening we traveled across town to Café Frida, on Columbus Avenue behind the natural history museum. This was our second trip there in the past couple of weeks, and on the basis of this visit it may now have secured the top spot in our family Mexican restaurant rotation, despite the extra distance.
The outside appearance of the place isn't anything remarkable, and I would assume it's intended mainly to minimize attention and walk-in traffic off the street. In addition, there is an unpleasant feature wherein as soon as you enter you feel like you have stepped into a frosty wind tunnel courtesy of the air curtain generated by a massive vent above the hostess station. High marks for minimizing excess energy use from cooling/heat loss via the doorway, but since you have to stand in the midst of this vortex while negotiating with the hostess and waiting to be seated, it makes the initial part of the dining experience uncomfortably like being processed through a decontamination chamber.
Thankfully the dining room itself doesn't suffer from this defect, and although the tables are densely packed into a small area it feels comfortable and friendly rather than overcrowded. There weren't nearly as many oil paintings on the walls as I would have expected given the description from OpenTable indicating the interior is inspired by the restaurant's namesake artist, but I suppose I was reading it far too literally. The influence is definitely understated with just a single portrait of Frida and an absence of cliched Mexican paraphernalia like sombreros, serapes, and pinatas.
All the main dishes were excellent, including the standard but well executed tacos al carbon with avocado and smoky chili sauces on the side. What makes this place stand out for us, though, is the selection side dishes. The rice casserole with zucchini and corn as well as the fried plantains are staples, and the corn souffle and roasted jalapenos are definitely worth trying.
