Having just wrapped up some business in the area, I had a hankering for some Mexican food. I…read morenoticed this place had great ratings, so I decided it's worth checking out. It's an unassuming place and it's completely empty, when I arrived and met my hubby there, even though it was during peak dinner time. With the torrential rain outside I figured it was the weather that was keeping people away.
After we perused the menu and ordered, I went to wash my hands. I only mention this because the soap dispenser in the restroom was filled with water down soap. This made me wonder if they're cutting corners in other areas, as well. I try not to let that first impression influence me and so I went back to our table.
Unlike almost every other Mexican eatery, we've visited, there is no offerings of complementary chips, salsa, or water. When the counter worker brought us our order, they mentioned bottled water was available in the fridge for $2. Since cold beverages triggered my migraines, I asked for a room temperature water instead, but unfortunately, that wasn't available.
Now onto the food. Here's what we ordered:
- Chicken Empanada: 2/5 stars
Freshly fried and nicely stuffed empanada. It was filled only with chicken breast, and no sauce provided on the side. Unfortunately the chicken was overcooked. It really needed a sauce to for more flavoring and to aid in the dryness.
- Burrito de Al Pastor: 3.5/5 stars
Massive!! Easily big enough for two people to share, so we did. The addition of pineapple was such a great touch and really helped brighten up the flavors. The cuts of pork itself was a hit or miss. Some pieces were wonderfully moist while other bits were quite dry. I would've liked more consistency, but I didn't mind a generous amount of rice used as filler. It came with a salsa Verde and a creamy, spicy, red sauce. We ended up using the entire container of Verde on the empanada and saved the spicy, red sauce for the burrito.
The server who greeted us was very friendly, and overall the dining experience was pleasant. The ambience is modest, with some colorful pieces of wall decor. They also have weekly specials. This week featured Birria tacos and Birria quesadillas. We opt for the Burrito de Al Pastor because we didn't want an overly meat heavy meal.
One thing we found strange was how quiet the restaurant was. Throughout our meal, we expected the phone to be ringing with a few takeout orders, especially with the storm outside. It didn't ring once. The kitchen was very quiet, other than when they were preparing our order. Maybe we caught them on an off night? The friendly service and the burrito were the positives, however, the empanada was disappointing, as well as the pork in the burrito being it was inconsistent.
