This location of 100% Antojitos Mexicanos is in a strip mall on Trenton, just west of the corner of…read moreI-69-C and Trenton, next to the entrance to The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley shopping center. The strip mall has its own entrance on Trenton and the parking is not connected to the larger shopping center.
I was there for lunch. The facilities appeared to be clean. I expected more people at lunch hour but it was mostly empty. TV screens on the wall were playing a Spanish language talk show, but the volume was not too loud. They have a nice dining room inside and also feature a patio where you can eat outside if you wish. I opted for the inside dining with air conditioning because it's a hot Summer! The ambience is pleasant, family friendly, and clean. The dining room is big enough to accommodate groups. It would also be suitable for a business lunch as it is clean and not too noisy.
You order and pay at the counter. The menu is posted on a sign showing your options. I chose the flautas and a fountain drink. I think the prices are a tad high considering the area and competition, but still within reason. I know the location is a costly and prime location. Once you order, you're given a number on a stand to place on your table, and they bring your food to your table.
For drinks you have a choice of bottled drinks (Mexican soda pop or beer), or fountain drinks. The fountain drinks are soda pop or "aguas frescas". The aguas frescas include limeaide, horchata, and another flavor (sorry I forgot what it was!). I would normally choose one of the aguas frescas, but they are made from concentrate rather than fresh, so I chose a soda.
All food is supposedly made fresh when you order, so that's a plus. I had the choice of having guacamole covering the flautas or separate. I also got to choose two sides, and I got the rice and beans.
The food is served on a paper covered tray. My flautas were good and crisp, and well filled. The guacamole is mashed avocado with nothing added, so any spice comes from the salsas. You can choose between the red or green salsas. I liked the flautas once the salsa was added. The salsas are decent, your typical Mexican taco salsas and are medium spicy. I would have preferred a molcajete style but they don't offer that option. Some parts of Mexico serve flautas covered in finely shredded cabbage or lettuce, onions, cream, and sometimes bits of radishes; Sinaloans even add some chicken broth which really adds flavor. I wish that was an option here, but the guacamole and salsa is still good. Mexican food, even standards like flautas can vary a lot from one region to another. We all have our favs.
The rice and beans were bland, non-descript, and portioned small.
I found the size of the portions (the whole plate) on the scant side and was still a little hungry after finishing. Had I been at home I would have gone for a second helping. Perhaps other menu choices are more filling.
Overall I enjoyed my visit. The ambience and freshly made food is what impressed me most, the employees I interacted with were nice and efficient, the food was OK, but lacked any "wow" factor. There are so many Mexican food restaurants in the area all serving similar items, I feel that for the prices this place could use to raise the bar to be more than just another taco place.
