Because people seem less concerned with a collapsing economy than a cold, absolutely everything is being shut down. A popular local restaurateur mentioned to me $2,000 worth of cancellations in just one morning. We remained committed to doing our part to propping up the faltering economy, so we still eat out every night. Since all shows will be coming from the Cool Water Ranch for the foreseeable future, you will likely notice a spike in north shore reports. Please do your part to support the restaurants on the south shore. (We will too.)
Last night after the show we headed down to El Paso Mexican Grill, which is expanding all across town, (and coming soon in the space that was Araña.) This place has something on the menu that sets it apart from all others for Tom - it has mole sauce. For Tom, this is the barometer of excellence for all Mexican restaurants.
I was mildly hungry, and mainly along for the ride. The one on the north shore has taken the space formerly occupied by Macaroni Grill, and the footprint remains the same. This is a little disconcerting, but it definitely looks Mexican now.
As part of the usual program, chips and salsa were delivered when we sat down. Also a bean dip. Unlike most others, this was a black bean dip and was really a cut above the others. Most of them seem made from kidney beans, but black beans really are outstanding. The salsa was also just fine but nothing exceptional. The chips are thin and unimpressive.
Tom went right for the reason we came. He order Enchiladas Con Mole, menu item #58. I have to wonder about a menu with items going well past 58, but... I got a tamal and more of the bean dip. It is rare to see Tom dig into a pile of food with rapture, as he did here, eating an enormous platter of shredded chicken enchiladas, occasionally dipping into the sour cream and pile of shredded lettuce. He gets mole wherever he sees it, and reported it to be among the better versions of this that he has had. So, highly recommended.
As someone who never passes up a chance to eat tamales, I found this one oddly good. It didn;t really look that great, unlike the one at La Caretta, which is larger in width and shorter in length, and flatter, but served in a very classy way on a banana leaf. This one looked like a Delta tamale style, which I also love. It had an excellent flavor and I will definitely want to explore more of these when I am hungrier.
Tom, of course, finished his meal with the essential flan, which was also not as pretty as Caretta. Tom considers a flan after a Mexican meal like a period at the end of a sentence, and is delighted to explain his fascination with flan to anyone willing to listen.
El Paso Mexican Grill
elpasomexrestaurants.com
