Costa Messa provides plenty of food for the price
Costa Messa, located on a small side street in central McAllen, is a pleasant place to enjoy some fine Mexican food. Formally dressed, the waiters are extremely attentive and never far away. The service is quick yet gracious. The main dining room itself is a bit garish, though, with one wall painted orange and another painted blue. Across the largest wall is a mural of a mesa. It is a spacious room, and the tables are covered in linen tablecloths with cloth napkins, which add a touch of formality.
After being seated and our drinks brought, we were presented witha basket of freshly fried tortilla chips. Something I had never seen before, though, were two fried tortillas lining the bowl. The corn tortilla chips were good but I was not as impressed with the flour tortillas, although it made for an interesting presentation. We also received three salsas, with a warning that the green one was jalapeño, not guacamole. I would like to thank the young man who warned us, because it did look like guacamoleand it could have been painful. It was good, but spicy. The other suaces were a creamy cheese and pico de gallo. All were good, and it was a treat to have more than one salsa to choose from.
Our entrees were preceded by a small cup of soup featuring vegetables, mainly celery, and some zucchini and carrot. It was fine, but it was heavy on the celery. For our entrees, I chose tacos de fajita ($8.50), and my dining companion chose tacos de trompo ($7.95). All plates come with beans and refried beans, but our waiter let us substitue charro beans on one plate for no extra charge. My fajita tacos came three to the plate, with french fries accompanying the rice and beans. The corn tortillas were huge and filled with tender meat, so much so that I could only eat one. The rice and beans were delicious, but I could have done without the french fries, which were essentially frozen steak fries. With tortillas, rice and beans, I don't see the need for french fries as well. The tacos de trompo consisted of five smaller corn tortillas covered with diced pork in a special sauce that was heavy on the paprika. The pork was tender and the requested charro beans were some of the best I have had. This one did not come with the fries. Other taco plates include the tacos cazuela ($8.50), grilled tortillas filled with beef, beans, and cheese, or tacos de palambre ($9.50) which is tortillas filled with beef tenderloin, bacon, cheese, onions and bell pepper.
On another visit we tried the Mexican plate ($7.95) and the pollo al tromop ($8.95). The Mexican plate consisted of a crispy beef taco, a chalupa, a cheese enchilada, rice and refried beans. The meat in the taco reminded me of picadillo, it was ground beef with potatoes and carrots, but no raisins. It was all very good. The pollo al trompo is a boneless chicken half cooked in the paprika-laden sauce, which turns it a deep red color. It was tender and juicy, and came with rice, beans, grilled onions, bell pepper, a grilled jalapeno and tortillas. I enjoyed it tremendously.
Costa Messa has many other choices available. From the beef menu you could try the churrasco, a 9-ounce cut of Argentinian beef tenderloin for $18.95 or mollejas doraditas (crispy sweetbreads) for $6.95. Seafood choices include a whole red snapper, fixed either grilled, fried, garlic or ranchero for $14.95. Frog legs are $9.95, and the surf and turf, with fajitas, rice and beans is $12.95.
Desserts are worth a splurge here. Another new item for me was chocolate tres leches cake. It was luscious as only a tres leches cake can be, with the added attraction of chocolate. It is frosted with chocolate whipped cream. The vanilla version is also available, as is cajeta cheesecake and mango cheesecake. All desserts are $4.95, with the exception of the flan, which is $3.50 and there is a full bar available.
Children can feast on a chicken strip plate, enchiladas or a burrito plate for $4.50.
For some interesting twists on familiar food, as well as simply prepared familiar food, Costa Messa will fill you up, without emptying your wallet.
-Texas Monthly: The Greatest Tacos Ever Sold: Pork Tacos de Trompo, December 2006
