I've been to Mexicali 4 times so far. The good news: ambiance is great, staff is always attentive,…read moreseating/dining area always clean, restrooms clean. Ceviche tastes fresh, guacamole is fresh, salsa is pretty good (I like a watery salsa), chips pretty good, mixed drinks (Paloma and margaritas) are good enough, chicken tortilla soup is filling. None of this is so good that I would recommend driving 15 minutes + out of your way for, but decent enough.
The downside: most of the food is lackluster. Tamales: dry (thank God for the watery salsa); rice and beans: dry, with beans slightly on the flavorless and burnt side; the burritos: vegetables are fresh, but meat always tastes dry (chicken) or slightly flavorless (beef), (thankfully most burritos served with a cheese sauce as well, but the lettuce and tomatoes that are served with it are always cheap and flavorless); enchiladas: one-note, the salty sauce and cheese covers up other flavors ( if there even are any); tacos: forgettable and one-note in flavor (needed guacamole, salsa and hot sauce to provide any depth of flavor); street corn: a complete joke, and covered with a mayonnaise-like condiment containing Sazon.
For entertainment, order the street corn! Ask them to split it in two so that it can be for two people. Depending on who the chef or waitress is this could turn into an interesting conversation (about whether corn can be split in two vertically, seriously- the waitress left our table and returned asking if we meant split a cob of corn vertically or horizontally). She then stared in wonderment at us when i said "we just want 2 portions"; i felt like i was making an Abott and Costello bit, when she replied "sooooo, two orders split in half or what do you mean?". I mean one ear of corn cut in half so one person can have one half and another person can have one half. She nodded in amazement, saying that it would be really hard to cut an ear of corn in half but maybe if the chef has a good knife, maybe this amazing half corn could happen. Then it arrives, yes split horizontally in two, she looked very proud. Now, what's supposed to make street corn street corn is that it's grilled and seasoned, then covered in a Mexican crema and cotija cheese topping with lime and onions. Mexicali boils their corn in unsalted water, doesn't usually cut it in half or season it afterwards, leaves the corn probably for the whole shift so that each of the kernels gets really shriveled and dry like an old raisin, then coats it with mayonnaise and sprinkles Sazon on it. It's an entertaining experience, if nothing else. Definitely have an adult beverage- at least those will have flavor and hopefully make the whole experience fun/worthwhile!