One of the great things that has happened over the recent years here in Hamilton has been the…read moreincrease in the number of Mexican & Central American restaurants available. For too long a time, the choice just used to be just one place on 33 that no longer exists (even the building is gone). If not there, then one needed to head to Trenton for the Guatemalan places that served some solid tacos to go with their regional cuisine. Now, we've choices galore, and since we're no longer held hostage by lack of options, we actually have to put thought into deciding where to spend our dollars. My Quate has now been serving up tasty south of the border standards for about a half dozen years, and after a number of visits, I can say that My Quate is solidly on my list of places worth going to.
The location is on the small side, and every time I've been there, there's been just one person working the front. Sometimes if it's busy it can take a few minutes before the counter person can get to you, but they've always been cheerful and attentive. The place is always clean, and it's got the usual bright decorations that you've grown to expect when going for Mexican style food.
Probably my favorite item on the menu is the Tortilla Soup. It has a depth of flavor that hits me where I live, and it's a fantastic cold night dish (or anytime dish), and even the cup sized serving can be fairly filling in itself. If I need some Tortilla Soup, My Quate is my choice.
They serve two different types of enchiladas--their House style and their Traditional style. The difference between the two appears to be the toppings and choices of sauces. That said, you need to pay attention. I ordered a House style chicken mole enchilada, and the server asked me if I wanted grilled chicken or shredded. I said shredded, but that only comes with the Traditional style. So what I got was the shredded chicken enchilada en Mole, but instead of being topped in the cheese sauce that the House style gets, it was topped with lettuce and sour cream (which I dislike). Luckily the sour cream wasn't super heavy and by smearing it in with the mole it was hidden, but it was a lesson in paying attention to the menu. That said, the Mole was very good, a hint of sweetness, but not excessively so, and it went down well.
The fish tacos served here didn't quite make the top 3 of my faves (https://www.yelp.com/collection/3YtEEhWaFEnyFZ4JjP0nbw/Fish-Tacos-in-Hamilton-Area-Ranked) in the Hamilton area--mainly due to them not being the battered, deep fried style I prefer, but they were the BEST of the chopped, non-fried fish tacos. They were tacos with above average flavor, likely due to the flavorful liquid in which they're cooked (braised?) that's full of tomatoes, onions, and chiles. To top it off, they're served on a fresh, house made tortilla that's got a robust texture that didn't succumb to the wetness of the fish, and that tortilla also had a great flavor that you only get from freshly made tortillas.
Probably my only real negative is the salsa that is served with the totopos at the beginning of the meal after sitting down. It's just lifeless and is like dipping your totopo into a bowl of crushed tomatoes. There's no pico in that gallo.
Aside from my minor issues with the free stuff, My Quate is well worth the visit if you're looking for a quality Mexican style meal.
