Authentic Mexican Cuisine on the Side Street

Hacienda Azteca 6-8 Quarropas Street

Open only a few months, not everyone is aware yet that there is a restaurant serving authentic Mexican cuisine in this city east of the Hudson. Dianne Moore a manager at GLM in White Plains, finds Hacienda Azteca's Chilli Relleno's "the best on the east coast." Dianne went on to label the food as "awesome" and claims that she hasn't eaten Mexican food as good since she lived in San Diego.

I went to dine there with a large party one night. The margaritas were well balanced, and the nachos better than the local chain restaurants. We ate complete dinners such as tacos, and burritos and enchiladas that were accompanied by rice and beans Mexican style. Most impressive were the real sirloin chunks, not chopped beef found wrapped in the tortillas. A salad should not be expected with such a dinner, but shredded lettuce, tomato, and guacamole adorn the plates.

Hacienda Azteca is not ready a large dining party. Service for our group was extremely slow. After about a half hour, some hungry diners in our party were getting restless, so the manager put out more appetizers to keep us from growling. A few minutes later, I peeked into the kitchen to learn if I could find out how long till we would be served, and noticed a group of men (there are no women working here) in the kitchen who were moving the food with precision from the stovetop pans to the plates, lined up neatly in a row. Oh, I'm happy to report, the kitchen was clean.

My best suggestion for true enjoyment at Hacienda Azteca is to eat with a party of no more than four, and hope that a large dinner party as hungry and restless as ours is not in attendance.

On a separate note, parking in downtown White Plains can be taxing on your wallet. About 6 people in our group received parking tickets when they returned to their cars that night. Visitors beware! Meters are in effect until 9pm, on the city streets, and unknown to those who filled the meters till the 9pm cut off and still happened to receive tickets; meters located in parking lots (not on the street) are in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Signage is not posted conspicuously, which can leave a bad taste in the mouth, even after a very good meal.