There’s nothing like a tall glass of frozen lemonade ($3) to take the singe off a 102-degree summer day, and nothing like a plate of chubby poblano peppers ($12.95) stuffed with cheeses, battered and served in a shallow pool of fiery roasted tomato salsa to jump-start a festive evening.
Add on a platter of cheese enchiladas sauced in a rustic mole and laced with crema Mexicana ($10.95), a couple of slow-roasted red chile carne tamales ($11.95) and a big bowl of fresh mashed guacamole ($4.95), and you have dinner at Cilantro Mary, perhaps the best Mexican meal available in Boulder County.
Cilantro Mary has dressed up the drab offerings of the ordinary burrito-tamale-relleño lineup with extraordinary sauces and salsas unrivaled in a region that really does know its Mexican.
The menu was developed by the chef-daughter in a mother-daughter team credited with the lively piñata-colored renovation of a the rundown restaurant space. She spent a lot of time traveling in central and coastal Mexico building a flavor profile that dances on tongues made weary by too much heat and not enough flavor.
Chef James Morton acquired the restaurant and reopened in January. He tweaked the menu but kept true to the recipes pioneered by his predecessors. “It’s authentic Mexican, not Tex-Mex and not Ameri-Mex,” he says.
The menu tries to stay at least a little healthy. Vegetable tamales ($10.95) – masa ground fresh daily and stuffed with spinach, corn and mild roasted green chiles – are made with butter rather than the traditional lard.
Sides of pinto and black beans are flavored with a splash of fresh cut jalapeños, onions and cilantro, rather than ham hocks and fat.
Every plate comes with a crunchy confetti of red cabbage dressed in a light chile-lime vinaigrette.
Daily specials ($12.95-$14.95) are grilled fish with a splash of fruit or avocado salsa.
The result of this kitchen forethought is that each of the six handmade sauces sparkles with a spicy clarity, some tooled for the gringo palate, some hot but not too.
Beyond the tamales, friendly, knowledgable servers direct anxious patrons to enchiladas verdes ($10.95), a tasty confab of tender corn tortillas wrapped around tangy cheese and topped with sizzling salsa verde and a thick smear of fresh guacamole. If you’re unable to settle, there’s Rosita’s Combo Plate ($12.95) that lets you pick two items, and the four-item Full Moon Over Mexico ($17.95) available in a vegetarian version, too. Only the Cowboy Burrito ($10.95), a ho-hum version of the standard wrap, disappointed, but even that was rescued by a splash of Cilantro Mary’s lush salsa verde.
Cilantro Mary
Mexican|450 Main St. Lyons, 303-823-5014|$3.95-$17.95|Lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dinner 5-9 p.m., closed Sunday and Wednesday; all major credit cards; off- and on-street parking
Front burner: Authentic slow cooked sauces and salsas derived from the cuisine of central and coastal Mexico.
Back burner: No liquor license, but you’ll make do with the alcohol-free Bonita Rita.
