Vivo Cocina Texicana

Few twists on Tex-Mex favorites

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
February 12, 2004

From the first taste of the salsa, it's apparent this is an unusual Tex-Mex spot.

Smoked serranos and garlic turn the tomato-based sauce at Vivo, one of the trendy new restaurants on Manor Road, into a heady, addictive dish.

That's not the only t.... More

Few twists on Tex-Mex favorites

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
February 12, 2004

From the first taste of the salsa, it's apparent this is an unusual Tex-Mex spot.

Smoked serranos and garlic turn the tomato-based sauce at Vivo, one of the trendy new restaurants on Manor Road, into a heady, addictive dish.

That's not the only twist on the traditional. The "puffy tacos" are made from corn masa that is fried to produce a light, half-moon-shaped holder for fillings.

From a taco plate ($7.95), which was served with brown rice and refried beans, the beef picadillo filling was disappointingly bland, while the chicken proved well-seasoned and flavorful.

The enchiladas, on the other hand, delivered a punch on both plates.

The chile enchiladas ($7.95), filled with cheese and onions, were topped with an ancho-beef sauce so terrific I craved a bowl of it on the side.

The enchiladas verdes ($9.95) were stuffed with chicken and cheese and covered with a hardy tomatillo sauce. Both enchilada plates were served with the same rice and beans.

At the beginning of the meal, the guacamole nachos ($7.95) demonstrated that, with care, a restaurant can produce nachos that stay crisp until the last bite.

For a final twist, the Mexican cannoli ($4.95) is a rolled pastry with a cheesecake filling served with strawberries and chocolate sauce. It's not an improvement on the Italian original, but it is fun.

More upscale than the typical Tex-Mex restaurant, Vivo projects an ambience that would make a Freudian psychologist take notice.

On one prominent wall is a painting of a longhorn steer, with horns extending way past the gilt frame, while most other walls in the restaurant and adjacent bar have large, dramatic paintings of bare-breasted women.

Psychoanalysis aside, Vivo has more than enough taste on the plate to make up for what some people might think it lacks on the walls.

Brief