Maiz Cuisine Mexican Grill – Turn Up The Heat

Last week, my son and I went out of town to see my sister Myrtie. There were cute little restaurants on the way to Nashville and Jack suggested that I visit different little places on the outskirts of Chattanooga and write a book about them. I don’t know who would read it, but it is a fun idea. I might see if Phil would let Lois go on a few excursions with me and try that next year sometime.

This week, Lois and I visited a place on Lee Highway called Maiz Cuisine Mexican Grill. We sat down to look at the menu. This time, Lois carried her own things in her pockets since it was cold enough to wear a coat, but darned if she didn’t get her glasses caught on a thread in her coat pocket. I don’t know why she just won’t just carry a pocket book.

She was still fiddlin’ around with it when our waiter came up and he asked us if we were ready to order. Lois looked at him like a rabbit caught in a trap and said, “I would like a knife to get my glasses unstuck.” I didn’t think that was the waiter’s problem, so I went over real quick and pulled at the string and released her glasses for her. Then we had to have the waiter come back because we still weren’t ready to order.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of a painting on the wall. It was a nice picture of butterflies that looked as though they were coming out of the painting. I kept looking at it trying to figure out if they were glued onto the painting or the frame. I actually had to get up and go over to the wall to see it and I was a-MAIZ-ed to see that it was just a flat painting on the wall – I even had to touch it to make sure! The frame was even painted. It sure fooled me! The waiter pointed to the artist who was also the cook.

When I went back to my seat, Lois was ready to order. She chose the steak quesadilla for $6.99 and I chose the Arroz Con Pollo for $7.99 just because I had no idea what it was and thought it might be fun to be surprised.

The complimentary salsa wasn’t the chunky kind - it was a smooth sauce and it looked pretty hot. Lois said it was good. I wanted the queso cheese dip for $3.50. The basket of chips was small, which I prefer because we would have ended up eating too many chips before the meal arrived had it been bigger. The chips were not warm at all and not my favorite, but I liked the cheese dip.

When our meals arrived, Lois wasn’t quite sure what to do with her side dish. There was a baked corn tortilla bowl and it had fresh cut avocado slices. “Do I put this in my quesadilla?” she asked. I don’t know why she thinks I know everything.  I had no idea how to eat that dish. I told her she could either add the avocado to the quesadilla or she could eat it by itself or even pour that salsa on it. I was busy trying to figure out my own dish.

The Arroz must mean “Volcano” …at least, that’s what it looked like to me. There was a pile of rice shaped like a volcano and the chicken was in the cavity with queso cheese dip. It looked good and it was. It wasn’t as warm as I’d liked it to have been …maybe they need to adjust something to make sure it stays hot when it is served.

I couldn’t believe it, but Lois didn’t have any complaints at all. She is usually the one who doesn’t like something and she said, “I really like this!” She would put the hot salsa on each wedge of her quesadilla and she ate all of it. This place was a winner with Lois. She picked up a dried red pepper that was garnished on her plate and she said, “If you want something hot – eat this!”

Well, that sounded like a challenge to me. I had one on my plate too, so I put the pepper in my mouth and Lois said, “I was only teasing you. Don’t eat that!”

Too Late.

It didn’t taste hot to me. In fact, it didn’t have any flavor at all… it tasted plastic. I thought maybe it was plastic, so I got my napkin to discretely spit it out and THEN I felt the hot! Hoo boy it was real alright. I don’t think I will do that again. I had wished my meal was a little warmer and I got my wish!

Lois and I both liked this little place and the food was fun.

Hours: 11- 9