Mi Mero Mole

yummers!

i had a vegan guisado, and i loved it.

my margarita was awesome.

i will be going back here regularly.

Brought the whole family in June 2016. Restaurant handled the large party like pros and everything was delicious. I am happy there is now the Chinatown location closer to my workplace and home, but there is something extra-special about the Division location.

Oh, and in my original review? Feel free to try the habanero salsa on a chip or a small bite of something first. It's actually more fruity than over-the-top hot and quite tasty.

Prices are up a little, but you notice I said that plate cost $8.50 4 years ago? Despite all the costs of doing business in Portland and volatile food prices? Now $10.50-12 depending on whether you go meatless or not.

My aunt wanted to buy the green chile and cheese tamales to take home - a real taste of her Arizona years, she felt. The vegetarians couldn't get over the rajas con crema. They are certainly delicious (muy rico!) and I don't even like mushrooms most of the time.

Guisado, guisado, guisado. It's the word of choice. It's also quite tasty food. I came here to meet up with a buddy and was actually looking for the mole. I've heard about it from several fellow Yelpers and unfortunately it wasn't on the menu on this day. Oh, I'll be back to try it.

I've tried the Mexican food around this town and I've been very impressed with what I've tasted. From Matador to Ole Ole to here. It could all have come straight from the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. That tells you something about the quality of food here.

It was an early Saturday afternoon and the place was quiet. The guy behind the counter was helpful and informed me of either grabbing a beer or about the house made horchata. I do love good horchata but I was in the mood for a Negra Modelo or two. He also suggested some chips and salsa. Well, of course! I was waiting on a friend so I waited to get anything else. It was nice out so I sat outside. I don't get down to this area much but there were a few places I wandered to earlier, a piercing shop, the Landmark Saloon, a Tattoo joint, the bar next door (North) and the food pod around the corner.

Buddy showed up and he got a guisado with eggs, rice and beans and I got one with the pork. It was a really rich sauce and really good. The beans were creamy and consistent with everything else I've had here in PDX. I will say that I would have liked the salsa to have a bit more kick to it, and I mentioned that to the counter person. It was a good salsa, it just needed more of a spicy finish. I like my Mexican peppers hot.

I will be back. Also Salud to whomever from Mi Mero that took care of that terrible one star review that was posted the other day (Oct. 3). Sir, if you see, those of us that write many reviews (the Elites) enjoyed the food here and several of them are the reason I came here and this place bookmarked on my phone for months. This individual has written all of 11 reviews and basically sounds like they didn't know anything about Mexican cuisine. Mi Mero Mole is a good place to go eat and I will happily return. Gracias.

Holy Mole Batman! A couple of visits in and yes, I am a fan. I was exposed to Moles a long time by my best friend's mom. She could whip up a mean chocolate chicken mole and I would be a happy camper. Fast forward years later and this sweet establishment continues to satisfy my mole taste. The options are endless and there is something for everyone to choose.

The first visit I tried the chicken colorado burrito. Jalapenos can be added upon request which I did. I added the chips and salsa for $2 and that arrived promptly after I got seated. The place was hoppin on a saturday night but I managed to get a table. My burrito arrived shortly after I started munching on the chips. The chips were crisp yet a little too salty. The salsa had the right balance of chunk and sauce. I finished most of my burrito. Upon further research, I realized the lamb was the popular choice but didn't bother to pay attention at the time.

I tried to go again a month later but the lamb chocolate mole was sold out. I walked away in sadness but promised I wouldn't give up. I went again last night and it was available. I ordered at the counter and a good side note - lamb does cost more but it is highly recommended. I got the plate combination this time and skipped the chips and salsa. I think I got the same table as last time and the crowd was pretty steady for a late Sunday evening. My plate arrived shortly and it was a beauty to behold. The corn tortillas are pretty big and freshly made. The lamb chocoate mole was plentiful, meaty, and a hint of sweetness. The rice and black beans with a few splashes of hot habanero sauce left my tongue sizzling. The chips were crisp and not too salty unlike the last visit. I ate in silence; savoring each heavenly bite.

Service has been great on both visits. The full bar is rather tempting with the booze staring at me as I eat. The sauces are a great condiment and yes, the habanaro sauce is very hot. A few drops will go a long way to add that extra kick. Special dinners take place once a month per RSVP and $30 sounds like a steal - next conquest!

I was headed to Tamale Mamas at 47th and Division, but found they were closed today because they were out at the Lake Oswego farmers market. No worries. I pulled out my phone and used Yelp to locate other nearby restaurants and came across Mi Mero Mole, located just a few blocks east.

Did I ever luck out. This is the brainchild of Nick Zukin of Kenny & Zukes downtown deli and a Mexican food lover. And the man himself was there though I didn't realize that's who he was.

Mi Mero Mole specializes in guisados, a stewed mixture of typically meat or vegetables, simmered in a chile sauce. Today's offerings featured 14 different pork, chicken, beef, lamb, lengua, turkey gizzards, shrimp and vegetable and vegan offerings. I chose the pork adobo and lamb mole.

Both were excellent with complex flavors. They had a smoky richness that was so much better than the gringo offerings at most Mexican restaurants in this countries.

Add to that homemade tortillas made to order from a chunk of wet masa sitting next to two large electric griddles. Tortilla chips were also made from what I assumed were the same tortillas.

All in all, this is a gem found in a neighborhood.

Mi Mero Mole is a place I have had in my Yelp bookmarks for a long time. I finally got the opportunity to go check the place out last Sunday.

The staff were all so nice and seemed like they really enjoyed working there. It just so happened that they were having a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration where they were offering face painting for free.

It was nice that they had several options for the veggie crowd. I decided to get a couple tacos: Rajas con Crema and Mole Amarillo. I also ordered up a margarita, 'cause we all know a margarita automatically makes the day better! I decided to go with the diablo margarita which is spicy. Days later I am still thinking back on this drink very fondly and trying to figure out when I can go obtain another one. If you are a fan of spicy, I'd say it's a must order.

My tacos were really tasty and I enjoyed spicing them up with the various hot sauces that were available. I was so impressed with the tacos that I ended up going back up to the counter and ordering myself a third taco (another Rajas con Crema). If I wasn't driving I totally would have ordered another margarita as well. The Mole Amarillo taco was great, but I think I would like this filling better in bowl form (which is one of the menu options available).

This SE Division location is a bit of a hike from my house so I think I'll have to go test out the tacos and margaritas at their newer NW location. It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it.

Mole not authentic. Chicken was bone dry. With a name like this, it was very disappointing.
7/27/15 update - In response to the owner, I posted my 3/8/15 (date of check-in) photo to document the dry chicken mole. My opinion, based on my late grandmother and mother's versions, was that the mole is unremarkable from Tex-Mex locations. This restaurant is nice and the servers were friendly, but, my issue was not so much the mole as the dry and rubbery chicken. I very much wanted this place to take me back to my memories. Unfortunately, it didn't. But again, this was only my experience. Perhaps others have had better. I was sharing my experience for the benefit of other Yelpers. Until I read the owners comments, we were all planning to return to try other menu items. Que lastima. Les deseo suerte (I wish them well).

Anytime I'm visiting Portland, I ALWAYS make it a point to eat at Mi Mero Mole. Why? Because Mi Mero Mole is bien delicioso y autentico!!! They serve some of the BEST guisados (stewed meats using Mexican spices) on the Pacific Coast (another contender being Guisados in Los Angeles). Such mouth watery goodness! Take it from me, a Chicana from L.A. who loves her tacos!
Portland, you have yourself a winner here!

Pre-Mi Mero Mole, I would eat at other taco joints in Oregon. Sadly, I have noticed that many places in this state serve their tacos using flour tortillas, instead of corn, even here in Portland. Plus, such eateries sometimes douse their tacos with a type of mayonnaise pseudo spicy sauce. I don't know, but it must be a Northwestern thing, which for me, doesn't constitute an authentic Mexican taco!

BUT! Mi Mero Mole! Como te adoro! Their tacos are SUCCULENT and moist (yeah, I know that is a strange word to some...) This place makes their own fresh CORN tortillas! And these tortillas! They are soft, pliable, exquisite on the palette! And that's just the tortilla!

Now the stuff that goes on those tortillas is simply amazing! One of the must-haves (provided that you are not a vegetarian or vegan) are the albondiga (meatball) tacos. Now growing up, I always had albondiga soup, which my dear great-grandmother made with plenty of TLC. Oh, those were the days! Taking a bite into that albondiga taco transported me back to the days of my youth. The meat is appropriately spiced without it being overly salty. And since it is a guisado, the meat is pleasantly tender and moist! It's perfect!

I've had other tacos there, like the chicken with green mole. And, oh! That was so delicioso, too. :) The actual chicken meat was also moist and tender. I have come across many places that serve up dry and tough chicken. Thankfully, their chicken is truly tasty. And, the mole sauce is darn right succulent.

And, if you have someone to share with, do get the dreamy guacamole and chips. The guacamole is very fresh, has enough savory, and just has a wonderful consistency. If you don't have someone to share with, take it home!

Now, you MUST get the fried plantains! I LOVE fried plantains! And the ones here surely don't disappoint. The plantains are fried to a lovely consistency with the outer edges being pleasantly crispy. They come with the restaurant's own crema Mexicana with spices akin to nutmeg. SO GOOD!

And, in addition, the staff here are pretty attentive and friendly. A few times here, I've had staff come by to chat, and even offer some samples of their drinks (think a kind of mezcal). Speaking of alcohol... I had did have their Jamaica margarita. OMG! This stuff is good! It had enough tang, saltiness, and sweetness. It was perfect!

Gosh, just writing this review, is making my mouth water! I must go back SOON!

I've been here a few times, and have never been disappointed. Today I had the chilaquiles cooked in green salsa with a side of pork mole verde. They were fantastic - super tasty, hot and a little tangy. I wished my appetite had been bigger so I could've polished them off. My gf had the small plato with chicken mole. Her chicken was also delicious (better than my pork, although I still preferred my dish over hers).

The service was super courteous and the food came out nice and quick. Highly recommended!

I wasn't sure if I was going to write a negative review after finding piece of bone in my burrito but when the last two bites were nothing but cheese, I want my money, my appetite, the gross feeling in my stomach, I want to take all of that back. Don't go here, I'm absolutely disgusted. I'm getting my money back and I want to vomit what's in me back onto their storefront, because they could have just said "we can't make you good food" but instead they really messed my night up because now I'm just waiting for the food poisoning to kick in to top it all off.
Don't go here, there are so many great place in earshot of this intestinal death trap.

National Taco Day demanded tacos, so off to Mero Mole we went. I ordered the seasonal quesadilla with mushrooms and butternut squash, a lamb taco and sampled the chicken and beef guisados along with a starter of chips and guacamole.

There was a tablespoon (if that) of chanterelles in my quesadilla. This is not an exaggeration. The butternut squash inside ranged from undercooked and way too crunchy/tough to well cooked.

Lamb alternated between tough and fatty to perfectly cooked. How is that even possible? Uneven cuts, most likely.

The chicken mole was tough and stringy (notice a tough pattern here?) Making what is essentially braised chicken tough is quite a feat, yet Mi Mero Mole pulled it off.

The service was super friendly. The woman who said it was her second day wasn't afraid to admit she didn't know the menu by heart and asked for assistance. I appreciated that.

This wasn't my first time at MMM and decent memories of past meals boosts my star count to three.

PS - I look forward to a verbose response from the owner, Nick Zukin, for my less than positive review.