Blue Corn Cafe is a Latin American restaurant on 9th street in Durham. Imagine an ordianry Mexican restaurant with an added touch of interesting variety.

I was impressed with the menu, which included the basic things you would expect on a Mexican restaurant menu, along with a few things not found at your cheap Mexican place, like a variety of plantain dishes and a decided emphasis on vegetarian options.

You'll pay a premium for the novelty, though. Blue Corn is a bit pricier than typical Mexican restaurants. Whether or not this is warranted depends on what you order, I suppose.

The atmosphere was clean and pleasant but somewhat uninteresting, with the exception of a some seemingly random artwork offered for sale on the wall. There were several other customers but Blue Corn was definitely not full on a Thursday night. Its central location on 9th street in Durham make it a particular draw.

Service was prompt and friendly.

I ordered a basic chicken quesadilla, which was as I expected. The rice and bean sides also met expectations. On that note, Blue Corn doesn't serve huge sides of rice and beans like your familiar local Mexican place. The portions are sized just about right, so don't expect to be getting an entire second meal out of your leftovers. Overall, the satisfaction level of our group memebers was 8 for 8, so consensus says the food was great.

The Bottom  Line

If you're in the mood for basic Mexican, you may not find much more at Blue Corn than higher prices -- try somewhere else like Bandidos or nearby Torreros. But if you're a quesadilla junkie and looking for an interesting flair, Blue Corn Cafe is a nice, reasonably priced variation on the tried and true Mexican theme.