Clementina in Detroit's Capitol Park (Deadline Detroit photos)
You'd think making tacos wouldn't be that tough. Then again, it's hard to find really good Mexican food locally.
Metro Times Tom Perkins is underwhelmed by Clementina, a Latin restaurant-food truck-shipping container bar concept in downtown Detroit's Capitol Park. It's a project of Jeremy Sasson, who also owns Townhouse and Prime and Proper.
The $5 tacos, he writes, are made with quality and creative ingredients, "but they simply don't taste good and the whole operation isn't executed as well as it could be."
For starters, none of three tacos on its menu came particularly hot. Instead they ranged between room temperature and lukewarm. The tortillas are flat and absorb — instead of complement — the flavor.
The al pastor, which comes with what Clementina says is charcoal fire-spit roasted pork, pineapple, yuzukosh seasoning, onion, and cilantro was surprisingly bland for having all those exciting ingredients. Beyond that, the hunks of pineapple were too large. Many al pastor chefs will put a pineapple at the top of the vertical spit on which the pork is prepared. The juices drip down the meat, adding a sweet dimension. But the huge hunks of pineapple dominated the taco instead of enhancing each bite — I couldn't even finish it, which says something.
The mushroom barbacoa was more flavorful and slightly warmer with a mix of hearty, chewy shrooms flavored with epazote and sesame, but the crema was ladled on so thick that it dominated the flavor, erupted from the tortilla with each bite, covering my fingers.
