Just left Mr. J's and it was great! They had only been open for about 5 minutes, not everything was ready, and it was a little chaotic, but the food was excellent.

I tried the tilapia ceviche; bright, clean, flavors served on a crispy tortilla. The chicken taco had juicy chunks of meat on a fresh, lightly charred flour tortilla. They have 4 different salsas in nice covered bowls, plus hot sauce on the tables.

Lots of stuff on the menu that you don't see at most Mexican places, tamales, queso fundido, 3 kinds of ceviche, horchata. The menu is very different from Mambo Grill, so hopefully there is room for both to coexist on Merrimack St.

I will be back soon to sample more dishes, but so far I'd give it a big thumbs up.

Wow! Well worth the wait (for me, probably not for Ricardo...). I was going to get tamales, but then I saw the Azteca soup. Little did I realize that I would then be assembling my own soup from broth and other components. But the end result was fun and delicious -- the avacado was amazingly fresh and tender. And the chicken taco was maybe the best-tasting taco that I've ever had. My wife said the coffee was really good, too. Now, they were indeed a wee bit disorganized, but that's to be expected. I'm sure they'll get their legs under them soon enough.

I, too, hope that both Mexican restaurants can carve out their own niches so we can have some variety.

Went to Mr. J's for dinner on Saturday. Definitely some opening-week pains, but overall the food was great! We tried a variety of dishes, including the cheese quesedilla (pretty basic, lots o' cheese) with all the fixin's, the corn tamales were excellent, and and the veggie fajitas were nicely grilled, with a nice flavor and crunch. The homemade tortillas were served hot and fresh and were awesome.

While it's different from the Mambo Grill, it's not that different. Makes me wonder if these two can co-exist right across the street from each other....

We went to Mr. J's with some friends who were visiting from Boston for lunch on Saturday. We all loved our food and we left happy! The Azteca Soup was amazing, as was the burrito, mole encliladas, and tacos! We were also impressed with the quality and amount of fresh avocados that came with the soup. I don't think I've had such good food from a brand-new restaurant in a long time. I do, however, agree with other commenters that there were some opening-week pains but the staff was really friendly and went out of their way to make things right. I think the kinks will be ironed out in no time.

My partner, who is a dedicated Mambo Grill fan, felt a little guilty about cheating but really enjoyed Mr. J's food. She had the mole enchiladas (a dish she doesn't get at Mambo because she doesn't think they do them well) and said they were some of the best she's ever had and that the mole was out-of-this-world.

I actually haven't been to Mambo in a reeeealy long time (it may even be a year) because I think they've gotten a bit too comfortable with being the only Mexican joint downtown - I think that their service and food quality is spotty and after one too many bad experiences, I gave up. I think that Mr. J may be the kick-in-the-pants that, in my humble opinion, Mambo needs to really step up their efforts.

I think that Mr. J is a great addition to the local restaurant scene and I am already looking forward to another trip this week.

Well, Mr. J's is finally here, and it is definitely a welcome addition. So much more authentic than Mambo Grill. My wife and I went twice this weekend (we're dorks), which is proof of how much we enjoyed it.

Trip #1 - I had the homemade tamales (pork) and my better half had a veggie taco and a cheese tamal. My tamales were savory and perfectly done, while the taco was yummy and flavorful. We eagerly took part in the salsa bar as well. The employees seemed a bit lost and frazzled, but nothing that two weeks of experience won't cure.

Trip #2 - I had the specialty (something Azteca, I think - it's the one made with the family recipe) and the corn cocktail, and my wife had the veggie fajitas. I don't know what they did to that corn (it was a bowl of corn with butter and cheese), but it was fabulous. The fajitas were crunchy and perfectly grilled. The family specialty was one-of-a-kind, a Mexican lasagna of sorts with layers of homemade tortillas, cheese, chicken, and corn. It was tasty, but needed to be heated slightly longer (obviously pre-made and reheated, but that's expected with such a complicated dish on a Sunday afternoon).

I don't mind Mambo Grill, but I agree with the comment that they seem to be comfortable with being the only Mexican place town. They will have to take a close look at their menu or they may find themselves a lot emptier in the coming weeks.

I went to Mr. J's on Saturday with my hubby. It was seriously the BEST mexican food I've had in the area. I had the chicken mole and enchiladas that were out of this world. Best mole sauce EVER. My hubby also had that mexican lasagna type thing and said it was good.

I'm not a fan of Mambo actually. I'm intolerant to gluten so I can't just go grab a burrito over there which is what I think they do best. My Hubs likes it but then again, he can have a burrito. I'm always disappointed with Mambo and am very happy that Mr. J is open. We didn't have any fresh chips though. Boo. They were clearly out of a bag which bummed me out but, as everyone else mentioned, the kinks will be ironed out soon and I can't wait to go back. Mr. J himself was very nice and brought a few extra things for us to try with the chips including the guac which I thought was pretty darn good.

Can't wait for Margarita's to be added to the menu. And are they really delivering?! I don't want to ask for fear that they might not have that worked out yet and I'll be disappointed.

Will Mr. Jalapeno's kitchen be staying open past 8pm on busy nights? If so, they already have Mambo beat in my book.

We've gone twice already and love it! The owners are really nice and the food is exactly what I was looking for - real spanish food. Highly recommend both types of Tamales and the Chimichongas. Delicious and very filling!