text: I notice a few reviewers out there having the is it authentic debate when it comes to Mexican restaurants My first concern with Mexican food is the same as it is with any cuisine and that is is it good It is just as easy to make bad Mexican food as it is any other food but I find so much of it out there both here in Pittsburgh and in the rest of the country So much so in fact that I had decided to write off eating at Mexican restaurants unless I am in Chicago NYC or So Cal as I have been disappointed so often The reviews here on Yelp made me think things might be different here at Cal Taco Shop NotnI started with chips and salsa The chips were a little greasy but not really badit is the salsa that had me shaking my head It reminded me of a can of ROTEL diced tomatoes with green chiles dumped into a molcajete I do not know to what extent this salsa is homemade but it seemed to me not at all They do offer three different pureed salsas at a table where you pick up your fork and napkin and I found the salsa verde to be alright I used that on my chips I ordered chicken enchiladas in mole for my main Most of us in this country know mole as chocolate sauce but they can be best defined as chile based sauces thickened with nuts and seeds These sauces are different all over Mexico as regional cuisine in that country has stayed really well preserved Mexican chocolate is used as a flavoring ingredient in some moles but when used is one of up to ingredients that go into the sauce The mole that most restaurants here in the YOUS attempt to replicate is mole rojo which hails from the state of Oaxaca When done right it is nutty and spicy with just a hint of sweetness in the finish The mole at California Taco Shop was very one note and overly sweet There is a ready to use mole paste in a jar out there Dona Maria Mole Adobo from Hormel that tastes and looks alot like this mole My conjecture is that many restaurants use it as making mole is an all day affair I do not know if that is what they are doing here but I am saying that this mole tastes like that They top their enchiladas in mole with queso anejo which was the only good thing about them The refried beans were flavorless and uninteresting I would say that I will go back and try other dishes here but I did not dine alone so saw some of the other offerings It is just not good quality food It is not being prepared with care and the ingredients are sub par They may make their own tortillas but mine were buried in bad mole so I cannot comment on their attributes Not Going Back