My daughter was visiting from out of state, and, being a huge fan of Hamilton (the musical) we wanted to sneak down to Yorktown to see the place where it happened. (Sorry, a lame attempt at a reference, I know.)
Well, it was a cold, wet, fall day, and we concluded our driving tour just about lunch time. So, we pulled out our trusty Yelp app to determine where lunch should be. We were having trouble making a connection because of Covid closures, but we discovered that Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina was open. I'll be honest, I'm a bit skeptical of "Authentic" Mexican food this far away from the southern border. But, our options were limited, so we committed.
Let me pause to describe how my Mexican food reviews work...
I have a pretty basic matrix for deciding if I like Mexican food.
1 Salsa
2 Beans
3 Margaritas
4 Quality of the meat
Like movies and wine, we all have a different opinion of what makes Mexican food good. I grew up eating Tex Mex, so it has a special place in my heart, but I'm agreeable to all the other variations.
Starting with the top, the salsa was good. It wasn't amazing beyond belief, but it was much better than average. I don't care for cilantro, as it tastes like soap, but the cilantro was minimal, and the salsa was tasty. It wasn't too chunky or too watery. It fell into the goldilocks zone of being just right.
The beans were standard, refried pinto beans, free of any weird surprises. They were well seasoned and had a proper consistency and were a perfect complement to the meal.
The margarita was a house blend that wasn't too sweet, and had a proper edge of tart, and I felt a slight buzz, so I know they didn't attempt to cheat me on the tequila pour.
So, now that the house keeping is over, let's get down to business. I ordered the Speedy Gonzales, which is, in my case, a beef enchilada and a ground beef taco, along with rice and beans. I wasn't terribly hungry, so I expected the meal would be a perfect serving. And I was right!
The red enchilada sauce was consistent with typical Tex Mex red sauce, which was what I hoped for. I don't usually enjoy red sauce where the chefs get inventive and fuse weird ingredients that aren't natural. Juan's went with traditional, and I was absolutely grateful to them. The taco was a solid choice, too. It was a standard ground beef taco in a crunchy shell, with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. The meat was perfectly seasoned, so much so that there wasn't a dominate flavor. The taco stood on its own merit, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
While I make the meal sound very average, that's what I liked about it! I felt as though I was eating Tex Mex from back home, where I already knew what I was going to receive before I ordered it, and grateful that it was a familiar meal. I WANTED my Mexican food to be predictable. Mexican is not an area where I appreciate pioneers, and Juan's didn't disappoint me in the least. In fact, my whole family bragged about how happy they were with our meal and the stellar service.
All in all, I loved the place, and I expect you will too!
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