7-31-10 Teocali

Today, we attended the funeral of a dear friend and we needed some cheering up afterwards. We drove around listlessly and ended up on Hospital Hill/Hag Hill/Dutch Hill and just down the street from Succotash, we found this Mexican gem, Teocali at 2512 Holmes.

JE had been told by his friends there was a Mexican place we should try so we parked the car (after figuring out the one-way streets) and went inside.

We were greeted by the happiest person working in KC on a sticky-hot Saturday afternoon. The delightful dining room was filled with six people, four of them at the bar. Our server brought out a bowl of chips and individual salsas. The salsa had a bit of a kick to it and another surprise later. 

JE noticed that the items on the menu were authentic Mexican family recipes that were Americanized for expanded tastes. Undaunted, we ordered. 


I wanted to try a bit of everything so I got the Los Three Amigos which was a tamale, beef burrito, and a chicken soft taco served with beans and rice plus a horchata which I absolutely love. If you like milk and cinnamon, you'll like a horchata.

 I thought it was funny that the soft taco came with a little plastic sword in it to keep it together. 

JE ordered the carnitas which surprised me because he had a Cuban sandwich at Swagger the day before. But it was the special of the day so he went with it and had a horchata as well. His plate also came with rice and beans, but again, he was happy they didn't put shredded lettuce on his carnitas platter. 

The food was really good, although probably too big of a portion for a normal lunch. All three of my items were delicious and JE's carnitas were really good. The sauces were just right. It just goes to prove that good pork can be eaten all the time. It was a nice touch that they also gave you free refills of the horchata, which most Mexican places will make you pay for each refill of it. 


While I wouldn't say it distanced itself from all the other Mexican places in town, it was a nice find. One gripe I will have is with the chips and salsa. When we got the bill, we were charged $2 for the chips and salsa which was  given to us without us asking when we walked in. Granted it was only $2 and I didn't fight it, but I definitely could have. I was already drained from the funeral so I let it go. You've been warned! You might ask them if you're going to get charged for them. I would hope this was a mistake.

If you're in the mood for some decent Mexican food down the street from Succotash, check out Teocali...and watch your bill for the chips and salsa!