La Catrina is a new (as of April 2005) Mexican restaurant in the Freret St. space formerly occupied by Sarita's Grill, not to be confused with that homophonous weather event of 2005 spelled with a 'K'. IYKYK.
The previous tenant's simple decor has been brought up a notch with a touch of gloss and color. The Cuban bowls and sandwiches of the old restaurant are (sadly) gone, replaced by a glossy, broader menu more typical of chain Mexican places like On the Border or Chi-Chi's¹.
Chile Rellenos, a favorite of mine that has become somewhat less universal in today's Tex-Mex universe, are on the menu. I ordered one cheese and one steak, and both came under a red sauce topped with a light smattering of melted cheese. Not too heavy, and lighter than the cheese sauces I've seen rellenos typically buried in at other places. For my Pennsylvania-born octogenarian dining partner, a plate of chicken quesadillas earned her enthusiastic approval.
The meal started with light crispy chips and a chunky tomato salsa served in a decanter. The salsa tasted fresh, redolent with tomato flavor but milder than I would have liked.
Fajitas are also on the menu, and I'll be back to try those.
In all, La Catrina has a modern feel: they have fajitas, there's a Taco Tuesday special, and they have a full bar with cocktails.
There's a surcharge for credit card purchases, approximately three precent (a $32 check would have been $33 by card). One minor issue was the very loud telenovela being enjoyed at high volume by our server. Much as it pained me to come between a soap-opera fan and her story, my dining partner and I could not hear each other across the table. Our server graciously agreed to turn down the sound.
The glossy menu made me wonder whether La Catrina is a chain. Yelp! lists another "La Catrina" on Anson Street on the Westbank, but it's got a small menu set up for delivery--does not look related. A "La Catrina" in Media, Pennsylvania has a different menu and graphic design and is probably not connected. (It is the kind of Mexican place my Pennsylvanian dining partner would like, much as she enjoyed this one.)
Regarding chains, I remember being surprised and somewhat amazed to learn that Felipe's here in New Orleans for years had single sister restaurant all the way up in Harvard Square. Felipe's has since expanded to many more locations, but when they had just two hundreds of miles apart, I found that interesting (though you might not).
¹ In writing up this piece, I learned that Chi-Chi's closed everywhere except Austria (?!) over 20 years ago, but is now being revived in the US. Ya learn something every day. read more