Caliente Kitchen

• Cuisine(s): Mexican
  Price: $, $$, $$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash
• Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining
  Serving: Dinner, Late Night, Lunch
  Alcohol: Beer/Wine, Full bar
• Reservations: Accepted
  Parking: Free, Garage, Lot Available, Meters, Street

Description

Taking a nod from the successful Rocco's Tacos, Caliente in Delray Beach seeks to put asses in seats with a clubby, neo-Deadwood vibe and plenty of standard Tex-Mex fare. But months after launch, the party hasn't quite found its way inside. Instead, veritable tumbleweeds blow through the long hallway of the restaurant, past the kitsch-filled bar and open kitchen. Tacos, burritos, rellenos -- all the usual suspects -- are present, all of them overpriced. Tacos, at least, are $2 during happy hour (daily from 4 to 7 p.m.) and drinks are half off. Even there, the soft flour tortillas and shredded meat plunked straight from a steam tray won't do much more than elicit a milk-curdling "meh." Make like most of Delray and seek your faux-Mex elsewhere. With more than 200 types of tequila, this faux-Latin cantina will make your throat as fiery as its hot-red walls and neon sign. The tequila runs so freely that even the second-floor DJ has stacks of Patrón to his or her right and left. Buy shots that range from cheap brands like Montezuma to the good stuff like Patrón Gran Burdeos (which will run you $65 a shot), or grab a 32-ounce double margarita. If you're craving something other than pizza for a late-night snack, Caliente Kitchen keeps a takeout window open for those drinking outside to order tacos, burritos, or other typical Mexican fare. Reggae and mainstream alt-rock reverberate throughout the space, making the music feel less inspired by its supposed theme than even its décor. But after a few shots of tequila, hearing "One Love" will feel like the first time.