Cotijas and Tastea Grill again

Last month I took TC and her cousin out ice skating. Before going up to UTC, we had lunch at the nearby Tastea Grill which I blogged about last month. They still have their grand opening sign up.
I had the Basil Beef (I did not detect any basil leaves or basil flavor though) which was actually quite good, despite the lack of basil. It was thinly sliced beef (bulgogi-like) stirfried with red and green bell peppers and sprinkled liberally with chili flakes. It was served with rice and a side dish of cabbage, onions, and broccoli. There are two sizes - small and large; this was the small ($5.75) and the portion was just right for me. Actually, I ended up eating 3/4 of it and saved the rest for later.

Both my nephew and my daughter got the same thing, which was a kid's plate: Teriyaki Chicken with rice and french fries. I think I am going to suggest to the owner to offer a substitution of stir fried veggies instead of the fries. It's too starch heavy as it is and I felt it was a "dumbed" down meal which assumes that all kids would rather eat fries than vegetables. Ugh.

The next day we were out and about. I was craving tacos after our errands. It was a foggy night when we went to Cotijas....we thought it was closed because all of the chairs were up on the tables. Turned out they were cleaning the floors. They were open after all but their attitude was kind of like, "Eh, whatever".

This was a plate we ordered for TC and ourselves (knowing that she couldn't finish it on her own). These were two enchiladas (chicken) with rice and beans and chips. The sauce was really good, not your usual reddish tomatoey sauce. They one had more flavor and was darker in color...I wish I knew what was in it...

As for Bert and myself, we had two tacos de papa each! I really really like these! They are also $1.29. They are just mashed potatoes with cheese, shredded cabbage, chopped onions and cilantro in a crispy shell!

One gross thing that happened though while we were there....I saw a big mouse walking outside. I made a nervous noise because I was afraid the damned rodent would dart into the store. It was walking tentatively outside and I made a motion as if to scare it away. The mouse meandered for a bit, then scurried off into the nearby bushes outside. There were a few customers inside when this transpired but they didn't seem too worried. Neither did the workers. Maybe they thought I was some wierdo that hadn't seen a mouse before in my life. Shit. I don't know about you but if there's a mouse there, then perhaps there's mice in the restaurant too. Time to strip that "A" rating off the window and change it to "C"!