Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published August 28, 2007 Taqueros/Coyoacan In Last Days About a month ago, Guillermo Peters announced that he would be closing his brilliant gourmet Mexican restaurants, Taqueros and Coyoacan, on St. Charles Avenue at Melpomene. I refrained from saying anything about it here, because I've heard this story before. After the hurricane, Guillermo sent a note out to everyone saying that the storm disrupted things too much, and that he wouldn't be reopening. Next thing I knew, however, there it was--a bit different from what it was before the storm, but with Guillermo in the kitchen making his fantastic salsas and unique creations of classic Mexican (not Tex-Mex) dishes. Now he and his co-chef daughter Ingrid are still insisting, this is it, the last weekend of service is coming up, better get your reservations. Okay, I'll play along. Here's the menu for this weekend. It has some clues as to why they won't be around anymore (my thoughts after you look it over): Guacamole $9 Lobster Crepe $12 served over chile pasilla cream sauce Shrimp Crepe $8 served over tomato chile costeno cream sauce Piquillos $14 small red pimentos stuffed with pickled venison dressed with chile pasilla vinaigrette Shrimp Chilpotle $9 large shrimp sauteed with red onions and chile chilpotle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ensalada de la Casa $6 romaine lettuce, tomatoes, mixed vegetables and cotija cheese with cilantro-basil vinaigrette. Ensalada Coyoacan $8 baby spinach, goat cheese, avocado, tomato, roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh pear and blackberry-chile habanero vinaigrette Sopa de Tortilla $5 shredded chicken, tomato, onion, cilantro and spices. topped with crushed tostadas and cotija cheese. Chef's Soup of the Day $7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chile Relleno de Mixiote $28 roasted chile Poblano stuffed with  leg of lamb wrapped in banana leaf and baked. served over blackberry-habanero coulis and topped with griddled cheese and pecan cream sauce. Chile Relleno de Mariscos $28 roasted chile Poblano stuffed with  fish, shrimp, red onions, capers, tomatoes and green olives. served over tomatillo-chile chilpotle sauce. topped with griddled cheese. Pescado a la Parrilla Poblano $24 grilled fish served with chile poblano cream sauce (mild), grilled vegetables and rice. Sea Scallops $28 sauteed sea scallops served over a bed of black rice and topped with chile poblano cream sauce. Filete Guillermo $36 grilled filet medallions served over chile pasilla cream sauce. served with mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini. Filete Chilaca $32 grilled filet strips sauteed with julienned red onion, chile jalapeno and fresh corn. served with rice and black beans. Spicy! Pato Pibil $24 duck breast marinated in achiote, wrapped in banana leaf and baked. served with chile poblano and corn rice and baked plantains. Venison Chops $34 grilled to order and served over chile chilcotle-cinnamon sauce with nopal cactus salad. Rack of Lamb $28 a full rack grilled to order and served over roasted tomato-chile costeno sauce. served sauteed mushrooms and caramelized red onions and grilled asparagus. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Xamitl $8 fresh corn cake Vanilla Flan $5 Camote Asado $6 baked sweet potato in tequila-butter pecan sauce Home Made Ice Cream $6 We take pride in the authenticity of our food. Please no substitutions or changes. This collection of food tells nearly the whole story. Guillermo was trying to operate a restaurant at or above the level of the best gourmet bistros in town, in the Mexican cooking tradition. There was nothing lacking in the quality of the raw materials, the presentations, or the final deliciousness of the food. What was lacking was more than a smattering of understanding among New Orleans diners that Mexican food can indeed carry this kind of ambitiousness in the kitchen. Enough to rate those prices, which are double to triple what we're used to paying in a Mexican restaurant. But we will pay three times as much at, say, Mr. B's as we would for the same dishes at Mother's. It was a prejudice against and a lack of knowledge of Mexican food. Shame on us. But look at that last line of the menu, about authenticity and all that. Guillermo, briliant chef though he was, didn't understand that you can't force customers to turn over their palates completely to the chef. They need education, yes, but not in a demanding way, as the absurd "no substitutions" rule implies. Other great restaurants allow adaptations; why not this one?  So shame on him, too. I'm still holding out hope that they'll change their minds, and we'll have another chance. And that, if it happens, they adopt a more flexible attitude. If not, this Friday (August 31) and Saturday (September 1) will be your last chance to enjoy the best Mexican restaurant New Orleans ever had. Taqueros Coyoacan. 1432 St. Charles Ave. 525-9996. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com