It almost feels like you need a passport to enter Fiesta Mexicana.

Out on the street in front of this Woodland Park standby, the Rockies still grudgingly insist on winter when it should be spring. Pikes Peak is still cloaked in ice and snow.

But inside, the restaurant is as warm and pink as a tree-ripened grapefruit. Bright rainbow blankets act as curtains, hiding the cold parking lot beyond. Chairs carved with palms and toucans fill the floor. Tropical plants drape a dining room bathed by skylights. It feels so much like a steamy courtyard garden in south of the border that you half expect a parrot to come swooping through.

The plates here are generous, well-prepared and attractively priced, but don’t quite keep alive the illusion of being transported to Mexico. They are more Middle American than Latin American. Because of that, Fiesta Mexicana might not reach the level of destination dining that would make a drive up Ute Pass worthwhile. But for people looking for dependable Mexican food in the city above the clouds, this is a good bet.

The restaurant is part of a 10-location chain in small towns, mostly in the Four Corners area. The menu ranges from decidedly Americanized Mexican dishes like burritos and fajitas on a sizzling cast iron platter to more authentically Mexican options like grilled skirt steak or chicken in a dark brown molé. Parents, they have a hamburger, too.

Fiesta Mexicana is big on big. Order the fiesta grande combo plate ($12) and a terra cotta platter the size of a hubcap arrives, filled rim to rim with Spanish rice, soupy refried beans and a choice of combo plate standbys. Some are quite good. A chile relleno made from a meaty poblano pepper cloaked in a spongy egg batter had just the right amount of good, molten cheese inside. An enchilada held hot, shredded chicken under a bright red sauce.

But other items showed haste. A sopito — a tostada variant with a base of thick, fresh corn dough instead of a crispy tortilla, was clumsily made, too thick, and buried under so much shredded lettuce that it took some digging to discover it was even there. A chalupa — essentially a taco, but with a fresh-fried, somewhat doughier shell, was dropped unceremoniously onto the plate and had dissolved in the surrounding hot Mexican-combo-plate goo by the time it reached our table. Most notably, though, the flavors were tame, even bland. All of it was good, but none of it was great.

The same is true for Enchiladas Suizas ($9.60). This dish, with a green chili and tomatillo salsa, had moist, delicious chicken inside and a cool dollop of sour cream on top (hence the name Suiza, or Swiss — that global symbol of all things dairy), but the green sauce was barely there, and what was there had little of the smoky, tangy taste of a good roasted-tomatillo sauce. What a shame. Those who want their Mexican dishes heavy on Suiza and light on spice would love it. I was hungry for something more spicy and authentic.

Beef and chicken fajitas ($12.80) proved more true to form. They arrived sizzling and popping — a melange of chicken marinated in mild chili until deep red, and salty, garlicky steak among steaming slivers of onion and pepper. On the side: enough rice, beans, guacamole and lettuce for two. These sizzling meats lack the great charred taste of being cooked on a real grill. I get the feeling they went from a warming tray to the hot skillet, with no fire in between. They were fine. Does that sound like faint praise? It is. I’ve had fajitas that were much better, and much worse.

There is also a lack of fire in terms of a good salsa. If you like hot, and are hoping for real Mexican sauces, this is not your place.

That is not to say this should be no one’s place. (My editor is crazy about it.) The long menu has big burritos ($10.50-$13) and seafood dishes like shrimp enchiladas and fish tacos ($13-$14). At lunch, a number of specials bring prices below $10. Fiesta Mexicana is the type of place you can count on. Service is prompt, the bill is reasonable and none of the food is bad.

If you want American-syle Mexican food in an authentic atmosphere, then bienvenidos.

FIESTA MEXICANA3 STARS out of 5(Great setting)Address: 420 W. Midland Ave., Woodland ParkPhone: 687-3551Hours:  11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and SaturdaysEntrees: $9-$20Vegetarian: PlentyAlcohol: Beer and margaritasCredit cards: Yes

The food at Fiesta Mexicana in Woodland Park is well-prepared, generous and reasonably priced, if not nearly as authentic as the restaurant’s décor. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE