Santaquin’s Maracas offers good Mexican dishes despite growing pains
Chicken enchiladas are served with rice and beans at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Horchata is served at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Jamaica is served at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Guacamole is served with chips at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
A smothered burrito is served with beans and rice at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Beef sopes are served with beans and rice at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Ceviche de Camaron is served with lime slices and soda crackers at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
Ceviche de Camaron is served with a side of tostadas at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
A Cheesecake Burrito is served at Maracas Mexican Grill in Santaquin.
A new Santaquin restaurant seems to have made a welcome addition to Southern Utah County’s dining repertoire.
Maracas Mexican Grill has attracted a good amount of business since its grand opening March 6. Between the restaurant’s Facebook reviews and my affinity for Mexican food, Maracas was an easy choice for my next dining review.
I’d recommend making a reservation, which got my party of four to a table without having to wait. Before we knew it, we were seated and left with some tall menus and tough decisions to make, considering the array of enticing traditional Mexican food and beverages we had to choose between.
Jamaica was an instant choice for me after a brief perusal of the menu’s drink options. The sweet yet subtly tart flavor and beautiful deep red color of this chilled hibiscus tea have made it a personal favorite in recent years.
I’ve tried several interpretations of the traditional Hispanic drink, but never one quite like that at Maracas. I’ll admit I was disappointed when my mouth was met with an overwhelming cloves flavor, which made the beverage taste more like a holiday tea than the Jamaica I know and love.
Maracas’ Horchata, however, did not disappoint. The cool rice milk was smooth and refreshing, served with an irresistible hint of cinnamon sprinkled on top. This delicious drink warranted several refills throughout the night.
We were also greeted with chips and salsa to share while we waited for the food we ordered. The chips came out warm but quickly cooled off. Although hard and essentially flavorless, they served as a satisfactory companion to the flavorful red salsa, which appeared homemade and had a decent amount of spicy kick.
We were intrigued to find Pomegranate Guacamole among the appetizers on the menu, which was listed as a Maracas specialty, and decided to order that to munch on as well. We were a bit puzzled when the appetizer we were brought looked an awful lot like normal guacamole and discovered our server had misinterpreted our order.
She agreed to bring us a side of pomegranate seeds, which she said we could mix in to create Maracas’ famous Pomegranate Guacamole. She forgot about this, however, and by the time we reminded her, we were halfway through the normal guacamole we’d been served and decided to just forget about the pomegranate.
Despite the mix-up, we were impressed with the appetizer’s presentation. The guacamole was served in a stone bowl shaped like a pig, which we thought was fun and unique, although we questioned how well the dish’s porous rock would be able to be cleaned.
The guacamole the bowl contained was less impressive. Although served with plenty of fresh avocado, which is one thing I can never get enough of, this proved to be the base of an ordinary and bland appetizer combined with tomatoes, onions and cilantro. We were also unpleasantly surprised to find small pieces of avocado pit and peeling in the mix.
The restaurant didn’t seem extraordinarily packed the night we visited, but we ended up waiting about an hour to get our food. Included in our order were three Mexican classics — a smothered burrito, chicken enchiladas and beef sopes — which came out first.
Each of these dishes was enjoyable. The meats were juicy, the sauces savory and the toppings fresh. I was especially pleased with the flavorful beans and rice served alongside each entrée, as many restaurants tend to serve bland and flavorless versions of these traditional sides in my experience.
The dish I ordered took a bit longer to bring out than the other three, but I was offered a free dessert as a consolation, which I thought was very nice. I had picked out Ceviche de Camaron, an entrée I was excited to see on the menu. I could tell this is a dish not many people order the moment I asked for it, and it unfortunately seemed to throw the restaurant for a loop considering the wait.
When made right, this classic blend of shrimp, tomatoes, onions and cilantro bathed in lemon or lime juice and served atop a crispy tostada comes together in a mouthwatering symphony of flavor that makes this dish one of my favorite things to eat. What I was served at long last was not what I expected: a small dish of dry ingredients with a side of three lime slices and soda crackers.
The menu had indicated my entrée should come with tostadas, and upon further inquiry, we discovered our server didn’t know what tostadas were — thus the soda crackers. We described them to her, and while she left in search of the tostadas, I squeezed all the lime juice I could on top of the shrimp blend and tried some of it with a few crackers.
The thick, salty crackers did not pair well with the entrée, and I’m sad to say the tostadas didn’t make it much better. I was disappointed with the texture of the ceviche, which was a little tough and not quite juicy enough, as well as that of the tostadas, which were too hard for my taste.
But dessert left a good taste in all of our mouths, literally. I had selected the Cheesecake Burrito — a sweet, soft, cinnamon-encased tortilla baked surrounding a rich cheesecake filling and served with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cherries. This tasty treat proved to be a winner all around the table and ended the night on a good note.
In sum, Maracas Mexican Grill seems to be a champion of more common Mexican cuisine, albeit perhaps a bit disappointing to the connoisseur of the fare’s more unique dishes and flavors. Despite some flaws that I hope were simply a result of the newness of the restaurant, Maracas and its menu of traditional Mexican food seem to be a success in Santaquin.
MARACAS MEXICAN GRILL
Where: 340 E. Main St., Santaquin
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: $3.99-$25.99
Info: (801) 754-3143