By Molly Bilker, Nikiana Medansky and Katie Kondrath.
Paz Cantina, the recent installment along Roosevelt Row tucked away on Third Street, where The Local and Scratch once occupied, is in a struggling spot, which makes our mouths more critical when it comes to the newcomer.
Paz maintains the energy of a variety of other downtown restaurants — the urban-casual feel you might find all along Roosevelt Row, but what does it bring to the table?
Two notable things about Paz’s environment stood out to us Downtown Devil diners right off the bat, including the music: an acoustic version of a song by Dispatch, which has never been heard by any of us in a public setting. That was a plus.
Secondly, the service caught our attention. The service at Paz was beyond inviting due to their helpfulness and the perfect balance of being around when we needed them without hovering over us the entire meal.
While we gazed over the menu, we were given a complimentary basket of tortilla chips and a side of mild salsa, refills are $3. We ordered off of every section in the menu to get a good idea of the food in general. Let’s start with the tacos.
If you like meat-heavy tacos, go for the Tinga chicken ($3.25) or the pork carnitas ($3.25) tacos. As a toppings fanatic, you may want to stray away from these as the flavors lean heavily toward the meat.
The new menu item, pork belly taco ($4), held a well-cooked and even better marinated piece of pork belly with a mix of pickled Serrano and green papaya on top, with two small wedges of lime on the side. For the first bite, I could only taste the hardened skin of the pork, which I quickly removed. Though it had spices and tasted fine on its own, it was a bit hard and not how I’m used to most pork belly. The next bite was much better. Each ingredient worked beautifully together to form a bite that was salty with a hint of sour, thanks to the pickling. Add the lime and you have a winner.
The Nopales, ($3.00), consisted of grilled Arizona cactus, queso fresco and mushrooms with a lime wedge on the side. The home-style tortilla was delicious and was the best part of the taco. The cactus and mushrooms were both quite bland, with a subtle flavor coming from the queso fresco and lime juice added on top. The texture of the cactus was interesting, comparable to the crunch of a bell pepper but with a slick (almost slimy) texture.
The Tinga was the winning taco for the night. That’s saying something, especially since some of the tasters don’t even like some of the ingredients included in the taco. The balance of meat and toppings was better than the other tacos featured on the menu, and the flavor was excellent.
Paz also offered a Build-Your-Own-Torta (sandwich) option, for only $8. That includes marinated and grilled carne asada, the sandwich was also stuffed with avocado, queso fresco, refried beans, shredded cabbage and crema. The meat was flavorful and the beans added a very filling elements to the torta. The shredded cabbage, although an unusual choice, also added a nice flavor and crunch. A filling meal with nice flavors, to say the least.
The only truly underwhelming menu item was the guacamole ($7.00), that includes cilantro, onions, jalapeños and lime. You’d think it would taste similar to something like… cilantro, jalapeños and lime, but it was a bit bland. We were a tad disappointed.
With the sun streaming through the big windows and the vibrant art adorning the walls, it’s hard not to enjoy the atmosphere. The chefs over at Paz Cantina have some work to do in perfecting their dishes, but the menu items are solid and what we liked, we really liked. We’re looking forward to what Paz can continue to bring to our bellies.
Star Rating (0 – 4): ★★½
Location: 1011 N. 3rd St.
Contact the columnists at Molly.Bilker@asu.edu, nmedansk@asu.edu and katie kkondrat@asu.edu
