I enjoy going out to Mexican restaurants, but I am really picky with where I go since most Mexican food I don't eat. So when this coupon came about on Groupon (25$ for 50$ worth of food) I decided why not look into it. Reviews online noted they made the best frozen margaritas with a large variety so I decided to check out the menu and decide if it was worth trying. The prices were low and variation of the menu was great so I purchased the Groupon and made reservations for that Friday, as reservations were recommended because it is a small restaurant.
After work, I went to the restaurant straight from the train station. The restaurant had a very small front and small parking lot shared with multiple stores. But there was ample parking on the street behind the restaurant, so we really did not have to walk. We entered in the back and saw how small the place really was. It was very narrow and not too long, maybe a total of 9-10 tables. The colorful bar was in the back and the whole restaurant did have a Mexican theme to it. It was not crowded at all, which did make me weary since I heard it is always packed on a Friday night!
When seated it took a while, like really long, to give our drink orders but I did not mind since I was unwinding from work still. Once our drink orders were placed, I ordered a frozen raspberry guavarita ($11) and my boyfriend a coronarita ($12), we took a little bit of time to look at the menu since it is an extensive menu. We decided to order the baked mexican egg rolls as an app and I wanted to wait to order the entree but the server told us they prefer to take the order at once. This was a bit of a turn off because when I go out to eat, I prefer the food to be spaced out and to really enjoy myself. I always feel that ordering apps and entrees together will be served one after another. But the waitress was more than receptive and asked how long between each course would we like to wait, which was accommodating and nice. I told her fifteen minutes and went on ordering entrees, for me the Fajiti Veggies lettuce wrap ($10) and my boyfriend ordered the Costillas de Cerdo (slow roasted baby back ribs) ($16).
First our drinks, the frozen margaritas were really large and delicious, well worth the wait that it took to order and be brought. Our app came out pretty soon with the drinks. The portion was huge, and only for $9. What the were were baked egg rolls filled with smoked mesquite chicken, black beans, roasted corn, chiles poblanos, onion, and Oaxaca cheese with a side of creamy avocado dip. It probably was three egg rolls cut into slices. This was the BEST appetizer I have ever ordered from a Mexican restaurant. They did not even need the dipping sauce at all. The flavor was strong, smoky and delicious. Both me and my boyfriend said we could've just ordered that with another appetizer and been set. We ended up not finished all the pieces, to make sure we had room for our food.
Next we decided to order sangria, ordering a craft of it for $20 since a craft is always more than enough. Now I know I wanted spacing between meals, but boy was it a mistake to ask! It took about half an hour for our entrees to come out after we finished our appetizers! I was fine with that but it was too funny, so I would never recommend asking this restaurant to go slow.
Out came our Sangria followed by our entrees. My entree was two lettuce cups filled with grilled mixed veggies, and additional sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers served with pico de gallo, crema, guac, black beans, and shredded cheese. I really enjoyed all the grilled veggies but I was not too much of a fan of the lettuce cups, but that is also my own preference since it was prepped the way it should have been. The portion was huge so I only ate one.
My boyfriends entree was hickory smoked, slow roasted baby back ribs with caribbean seasoning and mango chipotle bbq glaze. It was served with fries, fire grilled corn on the cob with chili-lime butter and mango jicama slaw. There was a lot of ribs and fries for the small price we paid! He said the ribs were tenders and the seasoning was right on. The corn was smoky and the butter was really well seasoned. I ate the slaw since he hates mangoes, and the slaw was amazing as well. He too was not able to finish all his food.
We did not go with dessert since we were both really full, and we left a bit of sangria left since the craft was much bigger than expected, but we both left happy and will definitely return to this small, mexican gem.
I highly recommend all to try Sante Fe Tequila!
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