You want to know what’s the worst thing for a restaurant critic? It’s a mediocre restaurant. The extremes are easy. Give me a great restaurant, one with terrific food, great service and the right atmosphere and I can write about it for days.
Or give me the opposite, a place where nothing works – terrible food, untrained and clueless servers and uncomfortable surroundings – and the review practically writes itself.
But a place in the middle? There’s not a whole lot to say.
Adelita’s, a Mexican restaurant on Colonial Drive in Orlando, falls in that category. The food is OK, the service adequate and the atmosphere forgettable.
If I could find one thing to exclaim it would be the camarones con reboso, a jalapeño stuffed with a shrimp and wrapped with bacon and fried. A good enough appetizer.
Enchiladas ranchera estilo guerrero seemed to have a lot going on, with three cheese enchiladas with pork that would usually be on the inside served on top, mixed with bell peppers and onions, all topped with melted cheese. But it was largely bland. So too the rice and beans that came with it.
Same with the tilapia Veracruzana, pieces of fish stewed with onions, tomatoes and olives, served over white rice.
Our server took the order and brought us the food.
The space, which used to be a Jason’s Deli, is large and soulless.
Everything in the middle. It could easily go either way. Preferably, with attention to the food and service, it could get better.
Adelita’s is at 2915 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando (map). It is open for lunch and dinner daily. The phone number is 407-826-1540.
