Say ‘si si’ to Tico’s Mex Mex on the Square

The Mexican restaurant on Public Square in Watertown has changed hands again.

Most recently, it was called Sol Latino. Before that, Casa de Flor.

Now it’s called Tico’s. Tico’s Mex Mex Grill, to be exact.

Joe Gomez and his family took over the location in October. Joe oversees the front of the house. He’s a congenial host, stopping at each table to make sure everyone is happy, and he’s happy to talk about the dishes that are personally prepared in the kitchen by his head chef, his mom.

On a recent weekday night, there was a respectable crowd enjoying well-prepared quesadillas (cheese, mushroom, chicken, spinach or beef), burritos and enchiladas (chicken or beef), plus fajitas, tacos, taquitos, tamales, chalupas and chile rellenos.

There are some interesting specialties like chilaquiles (tortilla casserole with chicken and cheese), chuletas de puerco (grilled marinated pork chops), ceviche (marinated raw fish), tampiquena steak (grilled rib-eye) and five different camarone (shrimp) dishes.

As is tradition in most Mexican restaurants, we began with complimentary salsa and chips. In this case, the salsa was pico de gallo. It wasn’t chunky like salsa; it was thin and puréed, more like a sauce — fresh and tomatoey with cilantro overtones, not too oniony.

The flavor kept us coming back for more, even though it was difficult to keep it on the fresh chips.

An appetizer sampler ($9.99) made sense for four of us to share — taquitos, quesadillas, cheese nachos and Mexican pizza served with shredded lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream.

Cheese quesadillas were good, pretty standard fare. Mexican pizza was a lightly fried flour tortilla topped with seasoned ground beef and jalapeño ringlets. You could regulate your desired degree of hotness by picking off some of the peppers.

Taquitos were most interesting and most enjoyable — crisp and crunchy little fried cylinders (like a spring roll or small egg roll) filled with mildly seasoned shredded chicken. Everything on the appetizer platter was nicely presented.

We enjoyed a bowl of Tico’s Soup ($5.50), a hearty chicken and rice soup jazzed up with avocado and pico de gallo. Lots of stuff with every spoonful. A squeeze of lime further enhanced the flavor.

A special the day we were there was traditional menudo ($7.50), a Mexican peasant soup thought to be useful the day after a hard night out. It’s slow-cooked and stewlike in a dark broth made from beef or pork, we figured.

We couldn’t identify the pieces of meat floating in it, so we flagged down Joe. He said, “Maybe you should finish it before I tell you.”

It’s tripe. Tripe is the stomach of a domesticated animal. We assumed it was from a cow or a pig, but didn’t really need any more information at that point.

Burrito de puerco ($10.99) was very traditional looking. We were pleasantly surprised by the flavor and the texture — tender chunks of nicely seasoned pork plus onions and peppers carefully wrapped with a flour tortilla, with melted cheese on top being a nice complement. Tasty Mexican rice and refried beans filled out the large platter.

Chiles poblano ($11.99) was a similar-looking dish featuring two distinctive-tasting poblano peppers, lightly battered and pan-fried, stuffed with seasoned shredded beef and a mild cheese similar to mozzarella.

Joe told us they usually make it with Mexican Chihauhua cheese, but they’ve had trouble getting it from their supplier. Rice and beans accompanied.

Here’s a nontraditional dish we really enjoyed: tilapia ceviche ($10.50), marinated raw fish that’s cured or “cooked” in lemon and lime juice along with diced tomato, onion, sweet pepper and cilantro with strips of avocado on top. Vivid flavors made this the hit of the evening.

Camarones al mojo de ajo ($11.95) consisted of impressively large shrimp bathed in garlic butter, similar to shrimp scampi, with just a touch of Mexican spice. It came with rice, refried beans and a salad, making it another very filling entrée.

A great gimmick is the burrito el gigante, a 16-inch-long stuffed burrito that sells for $16.99. If you finish this monster, you get a T-shirt that says, “I Survived El Gigante of Tico’s.” If you’re still hungry, you get a free dessert.

We didn’t try the el gigante, but we did share one of the desserts, sopasilla ($3.50), a yummy, crispy deep-fried tortilla sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and drizzled with honey. A big blob of vanilla ice cream was placed in the center. This was enough sweet stuff to satisfy the four of us.

An evening at Tico’s cost us $75.

There’s a full bar available, with a couple of unique Mexican beers, one on tap.

For a nonalcoholic beverage, try Tico’s horchata, an authentic Mexican drink made with sweetened rice milk spiced with cinnamon.

Some may feel that the food at Tico’s is not spicy enough. I’m sure the kitchen could easily make adjustments in that department. Or do what a friend of mine does when he goes to a Mexican restaurant — bring along your own jalapeños and make your own alterations!

We were impressed the way Joe took special care and pride in serving the food and explaining the preparations. It’s nice to see an owner providing personal service and truly caring about his business and his customers.

Tico’s Mex Mex Grill

65 Public Square

Watertown

782-9569

A new family-owned Mexican restaurant on Public Square in the former Sol Latino location.

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday

11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday

12 noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

For traditional Mexican, try the burrito de puerco, a flour tortilla filled with pork, onions and peppers.

For something different, get the tilapia ceviche, fish “cooked” in lemon and lime juice along with diced red onion, tomato and peppers plus cilantro.

For dessert, sopasilla is in order, vanilla ice cream over a deep-fried tortilla sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and drizzled with honey

RATING: 3 and one-half forks