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In 1975, restaurateur Marno McDermott and former Green Bay Packer Max McGee founded a chain of "upscale" Mexican restaurants called Chi-Chi's. In their heyday, these loud and festive places were as brassy and fun as their contemporary rivals, T.G.I. Friday's and Houlihan's. The cocktail menu was elaborate, the servers were young and bouncy (and sang birthday songs), and the food seemed to be a lot more glamorous than the enchilada combo plates served at cozy little madre y padre restaurants on the other side of town.

My friends in the restaurant trade dismissed Chi-Chi's as serving "gringo Mexican" food. But after work, a lot of them dashed over to the closest location for the potent margaritas and the lively singles scene at the bar. The Chi-Chi's restaurants aged poorly and ran out of steam long before the chain went belly-up in 2004. By that time, there were better corporate imitations everywhere, such as On the Border and Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy.

But there are always new players in the corporate restaurant game, and Kansas City, Kansas, is the test market for a Mexican dining concept that has a lot of potential — once it works out the kinks. The six-week-old Corona Cantina #1 at the Legends complex isn't aiming to be the 21st-century Chi-Chi's, thank goodness. There are, however, a couple of subtle similarities, including a young and sexy serving staff and a remarkable array of intoxicating beverages — including six cocktails served in fresh green coconuts hacked open with a machete. Chi-Chi's had its strawberry margarita. Corona Cantina has the Eroticolada.

This warehouse-sized dining room is supposed to vibrate with fun, fun, fun at all times. Lest you miss that point, the words "have fun" pop up several times on the menu. If that message doesn't resonate with you as you're dipping a corn chip in one of 10 signature salsas, it's your own damn fault.

The Kansas restaurant is the first in a planned series of Corona Cantinas (all of them named "#1" even if the Wyandotte County version is the first) financed by Mexico City-based De Mexico Al Mundo. The investors have licensed the Corona name from Mexico's Grupo Modelo brewing company. The name has plenty of positive brand recognition. Corona is one of the top-selling imported beers in the United States.

But I was there for the food and couldn't be tempted by our waiter's alluring description of a Don Julio margarita made with tequila, orange juice and Blue Curacao. My friends Peg and Shannon were more easily swayed. Shannon ordered one of the elegant cocktails, only to complain after a few sips that it wasn't really a margarita. Pretty, yes, but not the old-fashioned frozen kind she used to drink at Chi-Chi's.

The reason I like Corona Cantina #1 is that it's not like any traditional Mexican chain restaurant. The appetizer selection has some surprising treats, including wonderful beer-battered, fried fish tacos served with tiny fresh corn tortillas and lemony cabbage slaw. I'm tired of runny queso sauces, but I love this cantina's queso fundido — a smoky concoction of chorizo and manchego and Monterey jack cheeses that isn't for dipping but for rolling up in a soft corn tortilla. Chips here come with a colorful palette of sauces — a bright-green salsa verde made with cilantro or a pale-pink salsa maya, slightly vinegary and packing a hell of a punch. These were better than the salsa borracha, a smoky brown liquid (it looks like balsamic vinaigrette) that our servers talked up but I took to be a mediocre barbecue sauce.

Unfortunately, after a fish taco or two, a couple of baskets of chips and a plate of remarkably chubby pepper poppers, we were full before our dinners arrived. That didn't stop me, of course. I made a noble effort to finish my filet cantinflas, a plate of grilled beef tips, onions, bacon and poblano peppers blanketed by molten Oaxaca cheese, but I ran out of corn tortillas long before doing it justice.

Peg and Shannon couldn't keep up with me. Alas, Peg took a few bites of her oddball entrée — enchiladas made with seasoned chicken and melted Swiss cheese — and waved a white flag. She liked it enough to take home, though, so our server left carryout boxes for her and for Shannon, who enjoyed her mahi-mahi in an intensely spicy pepper-and-onion "Yucatan-style" sauce.

Shannon was tempted to try a dessert. The waiter nearly sold her on this cantina's version of the traditional tres leches cake (made here with four kinds of milk), until I told her how rich this delicacy can be. We decided not to push our good fortune.

I returned several nights later with Carol Ann, the decorator, who thought the dining room looked "cute," despite being the size of a Costco. She was adventurous enough to take on one of the restaurant's signature dishes: fajitas served in a 20-pound molcajete bowl carved out of volcanic rock.

"It's a gimmicky way of serving regular old Tex-Mex fajitas," Carol said. "But the presentation is impressive."

I wish I could have said the same for my Corona-battered fried tilapia. The fish was light, and the batter was airy and crispy, but I had incorrectly assumed that the tamarind-chipotle sauce would be served on the side. Instead, the cloying, sticky-sweet sauce was splashed all over the fish, ruining the entire meal for me.

Even worse was the dessert that our waiter had described in breathtaking terms: a tropical lime tart in a homemade crust. This ghastly affair was a warm lime custard in a ragged circle of soggy phyllo pastry. Later, a restaurant spokesman told me that it had been taken off the menu until a more palatable version could be created. Here's a hint: chilled custard in a coconut-cookie crust. Or something light and cool. Another dessert, a Caribbean Rum Cake, has also been 86'd. I didn't get a chance to try that one.

But tinkering with all the details is normal for any new restaurant, let alone the prototype for a whole new chain. On the drive back to midtown, Carol Ann asked me if I'd ever be tempted to go back to the Corona Cantina #1 and eat on my own dime. Sure, why not? If not for the food, then for the fun, fun, fun.

Write Your Comment show comments (19)

  1. Was just there on Saturday with some friends. Not impressed at all.

    The tag line of the place is "where you can live the corona lifestyle." If the Corona lifestyle is waiting in a small crowded area for one and half hours only to be seated and have poor service followed by poor food, than I suppose they hit it on the head. But if you are looking for a restaurant that reminds you have the little places on the beach in Cabo... keep looking.

    The decor is a mix of modern architecture and beach bungalos, the makeshift lawn chairs and tables covered with a giant sticker simulating the quaint little wood tables seen in the corona commercials just doesn't feel right. One would expect an establishment with a beach motif to have blue walls, not drab green. The whole place comes off feeling very dark and dingy.

    The food is modestly over priced for the quality, and of 3 people in the party, only one enjoyed their entre.

    We've definitely had better Margaritas, including the ones sold right next door at Margarita Mama's.

    The plethora of salsas is interesting, but they aren't that tasty and the so-called spicy salsa only registers as a mild compared to the competition.

    Their deserts were a bright spot, but our waitor was so incompetent we had to ask 3 times for water, 2 times for refills, and 3 times for a desert menu.

    With all the new developement going on, don't waste your time at the Cantina #1.

    Comment by James — February 20, 2008 @ 03:33PM

  2. But nothing else matters except the wait staff is young and attractive in Charlie(the caruzza)Farruuuzas mind.They could serve dog shit on paper plates but if its cruisey and oodles of gay or phony ass hipsters go there ...well then its ok.Ive seen Chuckwagon and his possee a time or two.Where does he find the pretentious folk?

    Comment by brent — February 20, 2008 @ 09:27PM

  3. Congratulations over the return of "Brent," who manages to weave together blatant homophobia, third-grade grammar skills and a two-year-old's knowledge of primary school punctation. Was wondering what happened to him.

    Comment by Love Those KC Bigots! — February 21, 2008 @ 11:43AM

  4. brent take a chillpill. you have a meanstreak a milewide. half the fun of restaurant going is people watching. would you really want the waitstaff to be old,grouchy and ugly. you sound as if you are housebound and bitter about it--just another aging hipster with a bad case of psycho-sexual fibromyalgia. get a life!!!

    Comment by ned — February 21, 2008 @ 11:55AM

  5. brent take a chillpill. you have a meanstreak a milewide. half the fun of restaurant going is people watching. would you really want the waitstaff to be old,grouchy and ugly. you sound as if you are housebound and bitter about it--just another aging hipster with a bad case of psycho-sexual fibromyalgia. get a life!!!

    Comment by ned — February 21, 2008 @ 11:55AM

  6. With the plethora of independent local restaurants dying out before word of mouth can get crowds in the door...why do you feel the need to review a corporate restaurant?

    Comment by Dawn — February 21, 2008 @ 01:04PM

  7. With the plethora of independent local restaurants dying out before word of mouth can get crowds in the door...why do you feel the need to review a corporate restaurant?

    Comment by Dawn — February 21, 2008 @ 01:05PM

  8. Oh get over yourself Dawn! Who gives a flying fuentes whether a restaurant is corporate or not, I just want a hot young waiter wagging his well-turned ass in my direction. Queso, anyone?

    Comment by The Late Tallulah Bankhead — February 21, 2008 @ 03:08PM

  9. Oh, I forgot, I'm dead.

    Comment by The Late Tallulah Bankhead — February 21, 2008 @ 03:12PM

  10. Excuse me Ned, but what's psycho-sexual fibromyalgia? It may be the one disease I haven't had yet.

    Comment by Neely O'Hara — February 21, 2008 @ 03:15PM

  11. There are many cures for pyscho-sexual fibromylagia advertised in the back pages of The Pitch. I prefer a good Oriental massage myself, as long as there's a happy ending involved. Heals that fibromyalgia right up.

    Comment by Jujubes Jones — February 22, 2008 @ 08:59AM

  12. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with Corona Cantina. The drinks were great, the salsa and food..even better. I might have to say that the service wasn't exactly top of the list, but the place has a great feel and isn't 'dark and dingy' as the last person wrote. We were so stuffed, i couldn't eat another bite and had to take the rest home. shame on ferruzza for comparing it to chi-chi's!

    Comment by nachomamma — February 22, 2008 @ 09:42PM

  13. Tallulah -- Had something called Queso Fundito at the Cantina last night and it f-ing rocked! Cheese, onions, and churizo served with a side of tortillas (so you can roll the stuff up and eat it). Yum. Yeah, this place is corporate, but here's why I like it: the food doesn't take like it was designed by a board of directors and their fatass, cigar-chewing CEO. So I'll go back. And I'll definitely get the fundito again.

    Comment by Carmen — February 23, 2008 @ 01:38PM

  14. I was at Corona grill this afternoon. My girlfriends and I had terrible service and the food sucked too. One of us is a vegetarian and got chicken on her "bean tostada". The enchilada sauce tasted like it has soy sauce in it. We had our appetizer 10 minutes before we even got drinks. When this was brought to the manager's attention he took two meals off the ticket but not once apologized for the service or meat mistake. We will not be dining there again.

    Comment by Jeane — March 2, 2008 @ 09:55PM

  15. This is by far the worst food have ever been served. The service was terrible, the manager was jerk, and the glasses were dirty. We couldn't get refills to save our lives. The only song they played for the entire stay was "Margaritaville". When we complained about the food and service the manager just said "OK" and walked away, no apology, no trying to replace our meals, nothing. RUDE, RUDE, RUDE. Our waiter mentioned that he was still drunk from the night before, so that may have been part of the problem. It took twenty minutes to get drinks (we had to ask our waiter three times and the manager once, they both continued to stand at the bar and chat). My friend thought the meat might be dogfood and the enchilada sauce is black and nasty. The rice is dry, the beans are mostly lard, and the only thing worth paying for was the Pepsi.

    Comment by Emma — March 3, 2008 @ 11:19PM

  16. I couldn't wait to take my mom to Corona. I hear so much about it on the radios and how awesome the food is. I ordered the Swiss chicken enchiladas and she ordered the prawns coconut shrimp. Well it came out cold my cheese wasn't even melted and wow there wasn't even any chicken in the enchiladas. Then her shrimp were cold and they tasted like they were the frozen kind that came out of a box that you buy at the grocery store. Our waiter gof the manager (Adam) and all he did was say ummm well do you ummm well let me take these back to the cooks and let them know. HE NEVER EVER CAME BACK TO THE TABLE TO SAY WE ARE REALLY REALLY SORRY ABOUT THAT. He didn't even say anything to us on the way out, he just stood behind the front counter there and wouldn't even look up. We still ended up having to pay for our appetizer and drinks and got no apology. For a new place you guys really suck at service and food. We were so disappointed that I wont be going back. There are too many good restaurants in KC to go to and you don't have to pay as much and you get good food and better service.

    Comment by Kim — April 4, 2008 @ 08:50PM

  17. What a disappointment going to this restaurant was. When we first walked in it was very attractive and the hostess was very pleasant and informative. It went downhill from there. I came to Kansas City from the Omaha area and have been to some amazing restaurants but I do not have to travel 3 hours for this again. The food was a disappointment, it was cold and mediocre at best and if I am going to pay $15.00 for a lunch entree I would like to get my monies worth. False advertising comes to mind on the chicken enchiladas........no chicken!!!! Cold lifeless corn tortillas with clumped cheese obviously not melted..not hot at all! When we told the waitress that we were not happy she offered to get the manager. Adam came to our table and stood there as if he didn't know what to do about an unhappy customer. He finally said he would take the food to the kitchen after explaining everything to him. Adam did not come back to offer an apology, he did not ask if he could make it right in anyway in fact he went to the hostess station and after we paid for the chips and salsa and pop (which any GOOD restaurant that is new and knowing word of mouth will be an asset would have paid for) Adam did not even look up other than to tell the hostess as she was asking if we enjoyed our visit that we had not. In a market where you are vieing for so many diners you would think they would want to see a happy customer walking out the door. I have told many in my area that they do not need to go to Corona Cantina and I had looked forward to its opening.

    Comment by Barb — April 5, 2008 @ 12:32PM

  18. I was at the Corona Cantina last night and had a great time with my family and friends the atmosphere was incrediable we had are kids with us and they enjoyed the music and the toys they were given to play with. My sister was so impressed with the place that she is going to have her rehersal dinner there in September the server we had was incrediable he made sure the kids were taken care of and with them happy we were happy I enjoyed the restaurant and it was worth the drive from Blue Springs, Mo.

    Comment by Greshan — April 13, 2008 @ 11:17AM

  19. I was at the Corona Cantina last night and had a great time with my family and friends the atmosphere was incrediable we had are kids with us and they enjoyed the music and the toys they were given to play with. My sister was so impressed with the place that she is going to have her rehersal dinner there in September the server we had was incrediable he made sure the kids were taken care of and with them happy we were happy I enjoyed the restaurant and it was worth the drive from Blue Springs, Mo.

    Comment by Greshan — April 13, 2008 @ 11:17AM

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