WIFE SRIKES AGAIN
My wife is riding a heater on Yelp. She keeps pulling out these gem restaurants off Yelp in the Burbs. First she delivered Middle Eastern in Waukegan, then she mastered Italian in Gurnee and now she amazed me with Mexican in Round Lake Beach! I can hardly wait to see where she is going to drag me to next. I might have to make a Yelp List for my wife.
This place was cute from the street. There was a great patio outside with beautiful flowers. When we walked in at 12:38pm I remarked to my wife that they had a great crowd for a Monday. Then at about 12:53pm there was another rush and this place filled up. That is the sign of a good restaurant. If its always busy then they are doing something right.
I did joke with my wife that the restaurant wasn't authentic and she said, "How do you know?" I said, "There sign doesn't say so!" That's an inside joke between us. So many Mexican restaurants write authentic on their outdoor sign but that doesn't mean anything. It's the taste of the food that is key.
I will say that I was impressed with the food. I wasn't totally impressed with the chips and salsa. The chips seemed like they were out of a bag. We make homemade chips at home and you can tell when chips are processed. Now I'm not saying that the chips were bad but after tasting the food I was a little let down with the chips. Also a second basket of chips was $2.95, which seemed high for homemade chips. I can make 48 chips for 33 cents. That would fill about 4 baskets. I also was not impressed with the salsa. My wife asked the waitress and she said it was homemade. I'm so spoiled at the salsas in Chicago. One place gives us 8+ salsas and we are just blown away. So these weren't my favorite but hey they were free, so I won't hold that against them.
As we were sitting there, our waitress dropped off 3 bowls of spicy chicken vegetable tomato soup. I will say that this was a nice touch. Our little one who loves soup even went for it. We are slowly increasing her spice level because we eat a lot of spicy and she really loved this soup. In fact, she ate two cups of it...my poor wife lost out again.
As we were eating our soup, my Steak Burrito Suizo hit the table. I must say it was beautiful to look at. There was a small salad, beans and rice on the side. As I cut into my burrito I noticed steam pouring out. This thing just came out of the oven. I blew on it for a bit but I had to dive in risking a burnt tongue. I will say that I got goose bumps on my arm, after the first bite. That doesn't happen often. There was a major flavor explosion going on. The quality of the steak was good but it was the combination on the inside that really shined. I also noticed a type of chiplote mayo inside. It was a unique taste and something you typically don't find in a steak burrito. I loved it and it worked with every bite I took.
My wife and little one got chicken tacos and those seemed to take a little longer to make. There lunch showed up 10 minutes, after mine. My family was nice enough to let me start eating. In fact, I was amazed how hot my burrito still was. It retained its heat until the last bite and I ate it slow to enjoy it. My girls loved there chicken tacos. I tried some of the white meat and it was really good. They did not skimp on the chicken.
The rest of my lunch became a free for all. My wife took my salad, my little one took the rice and I grabbed the beans. I love sharing! It's better then over ordering.
I loved the detail to small things like lime wedges on every water glass. Also our waitresses were really nice. One girl took our order but another delivered food as soon as it was hot off the grill. In fact, both spent time at our table ensuring we were happy with our food.
I also loved how when our bill arrived there were 2 peppermint candies for us and 1 sucker for the little one. Again attention to detail. No other restaurant puts that much thought into the free candy they deliver with the bill. I also must say that this place is incredibly affordable. All 3 of us ate for $13. That is amazing. We are going to have to make this place a regular stop.
So if you find yourself in Round Lake Beach starving for delicious Mexican food then look no further. This place is gonna fill you up without emptying your wallet. It is so easy to find average food in a small town but this place shines and could stand on its own next to any amazing Mexican restaurant. I can't wait to return to Round Lake beach for an our next meal because I'm eating here again! read more