Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Bank Strikes Back

Tonight, I ventured out to Mexico Chiquito for a chili relleno fix. I hadn't been there yet, and was anxious to give them a try.
Alas, I was too late.
I got there to find it burned damn near to the ground.
I suspect they won't be rising from the ashes anytime soon, if at all.
Arson is a great way to get out of a non-profitable restaurant. I'm not saying this is what happened, but hey... statistics are what they are.

Too bad. It looked like such a nice place.


With my previous adventure to The Bank Of Mexican Food still fresh in my memory, along with my offer to the owner that, maybe, I might give it another chance, I decided "What the hell".
Now was as good a time as any.

This experience started off differently: I walked in, was seated within seconds, and had menu, flatware and drink order in no time. Spot on, great service. Friendly,too.
And I only had to wave off the chips and salsa once.

Taking a cue from the past, I skipped the chili relleno and ordered three enchiladas, a la carte. (Still can't handle rice and beans. Maybe someday...)

Absolutely a different food this time.
The enchiladas, I could tell, were freshly made. They were not the perfected, every-one-just-like-the-other, cookie cutter type enchiladas you would find at a larger, well-ordered commercial restaurant chain.
Nope. These were more of what you would find in somebody's kitchen, in their home.
They were good, and fresh, with a slight baked-type crunch around the edges.

Loosely folded (personally, I prefer a more tightly folded enchilada), and filled with not just cheese, but also laced with onions and black olives, adding a little more taste and texture to the meal. A nice touch, and one that I like very much. You wouldn't usually find this personal addition at a chain location.
And the cheese was stringy/stretchy, lacking the pasty plasticity that doomed the rellenos last time out.

A traditional style, slightly spicy, not too tangy, tomato-based sauce complimented the enchiladas without burying them.
After the enchiladas were finished, I actually scooped up as much of the sauce as I could, til it was gone. It was yum.

Nothing bland about my plate this time. It wasn't heavily spicy, either. So, if you're a native Mexican food eater, this may be a little mild for your buds.
But, as a mainstream, made for American tastes, Mexican food, this should make you happy.

4 comments:

Night Writer said...

Well, that sounds better...and the 18"-thick concrete walls make the place harder to burn down, so maybe it will still be there the next time you go!

kr said...

mmmmmmmm ....

Gino said...

NW: i may go back after this last experience.

Jade said...

One thing I miss about living so far south - authentic Mexican food. I've yet to find a sit-down place that is anywhere above chain-level food, but there are a couple taquerias that fit the bill for fresh authentic taste.

It amazes me every time I sit with my perfect simple tacos and look at the line of cars across the street at the fast food taco place.