Miss me? Sorry, folks. Real life has taken me away from my culinary explorations, but I promise I’ll try to make it up to you. I’ll start with this review.

Tonight Jason and I ended up having dinner at Carlos Santana’s new restaurant Maria Maria in Mill Valley. It was originally known as The Cantina, and was one of our favorite spots. He bought the place, upscaled it a bit, but kept a lot of its roots. For example, it went from a Mexican restaurant to a Mexican restaurant.

Now, early on, Santana had said he wanted to do right by the locals and not do anything too drastic. At first, I thought he’d reneged on that, since when I entered the door I got a much different feel from the place - there’s actually a wall separating the foyer from the dining area. The decor is less Mexican kitsch and more refined with the aforementioned wall containing some geometric cutouts inset with candles. This added to the overall atmosphere, as the lighting is more subdued and somehow makes the place feel warmer and less stark. It’s clean typically-California design, but it’s attractive and makes you comfortable. The tables and chairs have also been replaced, and this is a positive change. Gone are the horribly uncomfortable bamboo-rattan-whatever they were chairs which reminded me of an early 90s deck. They’ve been replaced with other natural-material chairs, but with a pleasant black and white sort of pattern to the woven grass making up the backs and a soft black vinyl seat. The tables are also a dark brown-black and provide a good contrast with the lightly colored walls.

Now, the artwork was what pleasantly surprised me. Now, this place is very tastefully done, especially considering the celebrity owner. This is no Planet Hollywood. The only real nods to its parentage are the guitar in the logo - a shiny cherry red - and the artwork on the walls which are a direct nod to Santana’s own style.

Of course, the most important thing is the food. At first, I was a bit hesitant. It was definitely more expensive than The Cantina - my chicken fajitas weighed in at $15, and the rice and beans were $2 extra. My concerns were soon silenced when a good portion of chicken, red onions, bacon, and peppers were brought to my table in a lovely presentation of a baby cast iron skillet - a mini version of the very same type that I, my southern mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, and so on, use in our own kitchens - on a simple white plate. The chipotle cream was on the side, and they served it with ample tortillas. I also found that the $2 for the rice and beans was fair because the bowl they came in, served side by side, was generous. The rice, however, was a bit dry and the beans, while smoky, were spicier than the ones at The Cantina, but overall they were incredibly good when eaten together, which I think is the intention considering the way they are served. Jason, meanwhile, ordered the shrimp tacos - also at $15 -and was overjoyed to see they brought him 3 of them, with the shrimp lightly dusted and fried and still succulent. He apparently missed that there was avocado on them, but that just meant he could pass it on to me. I love that little green fruit.

So overall, the experience was good. I can’t say I’ll go there often - between $40-50 for Mexican is a bit rich for me when I can get good Mexican cheap around here - but for a nice elegant-feeling Mexican meal, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Oh, but Carlos? Ease up on the cilantro, will you? It looked like someone ripped up an entire garden just to pile it on my fajitas, and sadly, I’m one of those people who are genetically predisposed to not enjoy the stuff. I pulled it off easily since it was a huge mass of it, but even if someone likes it, it was excessive.