Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant

Very interesting place. I asked the server what she put in the guacamole. She said «Tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions, salt… and love.» My eyes lit up — She knows the secret ingredient! It’s here in droves with this family-​run restaurant.
For those with surface knowledge of the area, it might seem strange that a Mexican restaurant is rare in the neighborhood. But looking more closely at the population, you can see that they are far surpassed by Ecuadorian and Colombian restaurants. The most notable other Mexican restaurant is Taquieria Coatzingo, which, as contrasted, Fiesta Mexicana has a bit more sophistication, yet still stays casual.
A personable and knowledgeable staff. None of those moments when you ask a question, they look around, motion one of the busboys to come over to your table, while you ask them what batter the chile rellenos are made with. He smiles, and you say nevermind. None of that.
The cooking seemed complex and simple. They take signature dishes from all over Mexico and lasso them onto their menus.
Right now, there is surprisingly a lot of empty chairs in the dining room. They plan to add a liqour license, a pasta and italian food station, and a pizza maker, and become 24 hours, competing with the taco carts 30 feet away. Wouldn’t you rather order from a restaurant than stand outside under the train tracks? I would.
Their tacos are progressive. The first indoor/​outdoor taco vendor. The selections are noticeably different, with cabeza, cochinita pibil, lengua, and the usual carnitas, pollo, bistec, chorizo and others. The only problem is the space is cramped, and not built for many customers at a time like the carts are.
We’ll see what happens…
UPDATE: I think they’re closed.

I feel dishonest reviewing this place, because I live in the middle of Brooklyn and this will read like I’m one of those people who travels great distances to some little hole-​in-​the-​wall way on the other side of town because I believe that food somehow tastes better when you have to wander through an unfamiliar neighborhood, say a secret password, turn around three times, and order something that’s not even on the menu.
I swear, that’s not why we were here. Really.
My boyfriend found Fiesta Mexicana on his way to the airport, since it’s right next door to where you get on the Q47. He picked up a bag of empanadas from the take-​out window before getting on the bus. We devoured them while our delayed flight prepared to convey us away for a long weekend. The pastry was perfectly soft and flaky, the chicken filling hot salty greasy goodness. The thought of those lovingly handcrafted morsels was enough to sustain us on our equally delayed flight back to NYC. «Just think of the empanadas,» he whispered to me while we sat on the runway. «We’ll have empanadas soon.»
So we actually sat down in the (very cute and well-​appointed) restaurant once we made it back to town, and found the service terrific, the watermelon agua fresca sweet and refreshing, and the beef empanadas even better than the chicken. Next time we’ll take the time to have a full meal there before and/​or after our trip. I’m sure it quite soundly beats the hell out of the Au Bön Pain in Terminal B.

Homemade Mexican food. The stuff tastes fresh and slow cooked as if mi abuela was in the kitchen. Fiesta Mexicana just recently reopened up after a hiatus. I don’t know whether it was due to renovations or the violations I found on the web but I am glad they are open for business. The food is wonderful and they are all about customer service. The owner was very nice. He explained to us in great depth how the dishes were prepared and a little about the culture behind it.
I wish there was a take-​out menu available or a listing on MenuPages because for once I am unable to remember what the dishes were called or what was in them in great detail. The whole menu was in Spanish and the descriptions were each a sentence long. Cuando digo mi espanol es muy malo, es realmente mala! I should have paid more attention in school.
I came to Fiesta Mexicana with a very large group and the restaurant was more than accomodating. They put together about six tables for us and let us sample the mild and spicy guacamole and crepes. Fresh chips and tomatillo salsa was complimentary. For drinks I had the watermelon agua fresca while the others had the horchata and jamaica. It was very refreshing. For dinner I had the chicken enchiladas suiszas and a side of tamale filled with chicken, cheese, and poblano pepper. The enchiladas were served on a very hot plate. The chicken inside was cubed and all white meat. The enchiladas were very tasty and filling. The dish did not come with any sides (beans or rice). The tamale was really good and came with a red salsa. It was quite big and a generous serving for just $ 2. I think the next time I go to Fiesta Mexicana I will make my own mix and match dinner made up of a tamale, chorizo taco, and chips and guac. BTW, the guacamole here is made fresh. The waitress brings a whole pestle and mortar tray to your table and grinds the avocados into guacamole. I recommend the spicy one.
The menu at Fiesta Mexicana is quite expansive and the dishes ordered on our table ranged from torta and taco to stews and steak. All thumbs up in my opinion. The dessert of crepes filled with goat’s milk and smothered in burnt caramel is not to be missed either.
I recommend Fiesta Mexicana. Just don’t mind the Italian influences that share space on the menu. It’s a bit confusing.

I have been in my quest of finding good Colombian cheese bread lately, and I would say, so far, this was the best place for having pandebono and almohbanas (the former shaped like a donut, the latter is just a round one, both with cheese flavor and have chewy texture). I actually haven’t been to their restaurant section yet, but I will definitely check it out. It’s strange that it clearly looks like a Mexican cuisine place, but selling these delicious Columbian cheese breads??? one time in the past I used to have these breads at their bakery section almost every morning, I was really, really addicted to them. You will see a line of people waiting for their pandebono and almohbanas in the morning, too (you have to wait outside the «take-​out» window unfortunately — the bakery section is pretty small) because they know they are fresh, they bake them right in front of you at the window. Also their coffee is OK, too, considering other coffee served at all these other bakeries/​coffee joints (or there are almost none?) in Jackson Heights area, it is pretty decent and I am happy that it is in my neighborhood (but I seriously need a treatment for getting out of this addiction to Colombian bread!).