Lunch of the Week and Lunch of the Weak

Made it to three places for lunch this week: Old Germany in Choctaw, Mediterranean Imports and Deli on N May and the new Mexicasa on NW 23 Street.

Had never been out to Old Germany, heard all the hype and was not expecting more than some oompah music and sauerkraut. I didn’t expect to walk into an actual Bavarian tavern run by full-blooded Germans for 30 years. But that’s what the Turek family is doing. Plenty of beer, brats and schnitzel. Fantastic pickled cabbage and potato salad. Totally worth the 30-40 minute drive.

Mediterranean Deli is an old favorite. I hadn’t been in a while. We sat on the patio where I ate my Middle Eastern combo – falafel, hummus, tabouli, pita and etc  — that by the time I realized I needed to snap a photo, everything was gone.

Lunch of the Weak: I was so looking forward to loving Mexicasa. It’s the new Tex-Mex restaurant in the building previously occupied by Tom & Jerry’s, which is moving to May Ave. Mexicasa is owned by Tom & Jerry, who’ve proven they know what they’re doing.

Chips and salsa have always been the standard bearer for a Mexican restaurant for me. Mexicasa’s table sauce is a salsa fresca. The tomatoes are drained of water and roughly chopped with onion, chiles, cilantro and lime juice. I enjoy this kind, but you have to be careful with the onions. If attempting to make this kind, it’s a good idea to chop the onions separately and either thoroughly rinse and dry or press in cheesecloth or two paper towels. Otherwise, the bitterness of the onion can be invasive. Unfortunately, there was a hint of that onion bitterness in the salsa. Not a deal-break, but certainly room for improvement.