Wednesday Night Mexican Club

Buenos Tardes Amigos

2007-11-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Dude everybody knows Scott Gomez is about as Mexican as Carlos Mencia. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only ice any Mexicans know of is the kind that goes in glass pipes...dang. So how can you skip out on "Half-blAIDs Wednesdays" for ice hockey? Hockey sucks dudes...and the Dallas Stars suck especially hard. Why not watch a sport that embraces the Mexican, like basketball. Eduardo Najera, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge "The Garbageman" Garbajosa, Francisco Garcia...the list goes on and on dudes. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, anyone who didn't show up to Mike's house last night with ZuZu's takeout for the Mavericks season opener is a gay. Also, ZuZu's tastes pretty good. The End.

Royburtitos? Si!

2006-10-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Matt's is suxors

2006-10-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

we "I" still think matt's sucks. it's like the chili's of tex-mex. the menu is bare bones and the queso always comes with a skin about an inch think. who wants queso with skin? we sure don't. matt's is what lakewood country club families do instead of ordering pizza. it's safe, it's easy and it's shitty. mike gets all teary-eyed and sintemental at the mere mention of the place. he's been ordering the same dried up order of nachos for over 20 years now...does mikey wanna go to mcdonalds and play in the balls too? play with our balls motherfucker. matt's sucks!

note to the offended: hugs!

Editor's Note: Considering Enchilada's is Jon's favorite Mexican restaurant in town, you know this is all bullshit. He just likes to try to piss people off.

Two weeks of recap

2006-10-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

October 18: Matt's Rancho Martinez

Much to Jon's dismay, the group outvoted him on this choice; though only a few blocks from our meeting point, Matt's has been notorious in visits past for some of the worst service in the city (and you guys thought I bitched about that sorta thing too much). Waiting forever for tables, waiting forever for a waiter to notice us, getting orders wrong, all the good stuff. But, uh, it's just a few blocks away.

Good choice this time; the Bob Armstrong queso (mixed with just the right amount of guac and ground beef) was in top form, and I went out on a limb and ordered the chile relleno, which was possibly the best one I'd ever had; its cheese blend was mild, yet tasty, and the strange addition of chopped nuts and raisins on top of the lightly breaded pepper mixed well w/ the rest of the Tex-Mex palate. Service was actually quite quick, as the Matt's staff kept our 6-top sated with tons of chip and drink refills. This pissed Jon off, because he no longer had anything to complain about, so he whined about his order of tacos al carbon instead (even though I'm sure those shits were good...whiner).

October 11: Manny's

I can never remember the name of this place, just off Lemmon between 75 and the West Village, but this was our first visit, and I couldn't believe we'd never been to this place before. Food was cheap, service was top-rate and the enchiladas, chips and queso were killer. I can't remember more concrete stuff about our visit, other than us landing the joint's isolated "meeting room" that made our party of 6 seem pretty paltry... blah blah blah, offshoot of Mia's, whatever. I like Manny's a lot more and look forward to our return trip.

WWKJD?

2006-10-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

Oh almighty Karate Jesus, where shall we find the best queso and sour cream enchiladas?

Thanks unto the Karate Jesus!!

Karate Jesus always knows where the best tex-mex restaurants are!!!

10/04/2006: Zuzu's

2006-10-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

I had to ditch the posse to conduct an interview for the new site, so I popped into Zuzu's solo because it was on the way. Someone always bitches when I ask to go there on a Wednesday; not because the food sucks, but because the food comes out "too" quickly. I always thought this was a stupid complaint because 1) we always wait until 8 p.m. to eat and I'm starving by then and 2) the chips aren't good enough to sit and munch on while waiting for an entree. So, like, it was good to get away from those complaining ninnies so I could enjoy a lil Zuzu's.

Thing is, the meal was a bit disappointing. I went with some chicken enchiladas which were decent--the red sauce wasn't overbearing and the white cheese is a nice change of pace from the usual enchilada fare around town--but I think I'd put Zuzu's on a pedestal after being denied its quick pleasures for so long. I will say that the option to pick your own sides is killer and should be used by more restaurants...I can't stand rice at most Tex-Mex restaurants, so I traded that shit in for a roasted corn salad. Mmm. Their black beans are also tops; not enough places around Dallas serve black beans. Too bad their chips are both flavorless and served cold; their salsa selection is good and deserves a better palate-enhancer.

Three chips out of five, a good combo of Taco C's quickness and a sit-down joint's quality. Might've raised the score if I'd ordered any of Zuzu's new 99 cent "value" items.

9/28/2006: La Acapulquena

2006-09-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Slow night, so we kept it close to home. Went down to La Acapulquena at Beacon & Columbia. Sat outside on the patio - good choice. They appear to have changed their salsa for the better. Free queso is also a good thing. You also can't complain about a $3.95 Weds. night enchilada special. All in all, the best time I've had there in a long time.

9/11/2006: Buja Gali Falls Cafe, Jinja, Uganda

2006-09-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

While my friends were back in the States exploring the best Mexican karate establishments in East Dallas, I was on the prowl for the best Tex-Mex in East Africa. Well, not really, but after riding in a canoe down a stretch of the Nile River, Beth and I were dragged to a riverside cafe whose name I cannot remember. Our caretaker Pasco ordered some chips & guac for us and we sat under a miniature hut and stared at the river while waiting. When our food came, I was apprehensive--yellow guacamole? Is this shit some rancid African stew? But Beth assured me that the color is due to the avocados being ripe and fresh, so I dove in. Yow. It's amazing how the quality of avocados changes the flavor--this was a particularly sweet guacamole, but not overpowering, and the blend of tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and chili powder was pretty intense. Sometimes, guac can get old after eating it for a while--a relatively flavorless mush once you get used to the flavor--but this stuff stayed tasty and lively, not mushy, until the very last bite. If you're ever in Jinja...

karate and mexican around the world

2006-09-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Javierdo is a martial art dedicated to smoking lots of peyote, conjuring demons and dining at local mexican restaurants. Above, Javier demonstrates "Pegasus Flies O'er the Lake of Rainbows Gathering Taco Shells".

By the way, i understand Sam is dining Mexican in Uganda...

He should stear clear of these dudes. Check out !Xabbu's third leg...

9/6/2006: J. Pepe's

2006-09-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

James the Shocker ever so shockingly suggested we go to possibly the douchiest hang-out on all of Greenville last night. That's right...J. Pepe's. I hadn't been there since I was like 19, so it was somewhat of a nostalgic voyage. I was actually looking forward to it until we got within shouting distance and noticed the Pat Green meets Billy Ray Cyrus impersonator on the patio belting out some acoustic/a cappella Spice Girls, "if you wanna be my lover, first you gotta be my friend". Good times. We pushed our ways through the teaming throng of underage SMU Greek life and into a nice quiet inside corner.

The service was expectedly horrible. They obviously hire the kids that are too stupid to work at Snuffers across the street. It took us thirty minutes to get our menus, fifteen more to get drinks and then another hour to get our orders taken and our food served. In that time we were offered jello shots (WHOOOOO-OO-oooo) by the most annoyingly un-cute girl ever.

Tangent Time: So I gave her my best Steven Seagal face: HEY GUYS!!!! HOW BOUT SOME JELLO SHOTS!!! NO!?!?!? COME ON THEY'RE ONLY TWO DOLLARS!!! Seriously though. Peep the body language bitches. We don't want any. You're not cute. Please don't come back two more times.

Anyways, we got our food and it was not so great. I think I ordered a chicken chimichanga which came smothered in Ragu Thick n' Chunky. Even the rice sucked. We didn't even get a chance to order queso. J. Pepe's is deserving of maybe one chip because my hunger was definitely sated. I think Taco Yes! would have been better. Oh, and on the way out it was an entirely a cappella rendition of the Bee Gee's "How Deep Is Your Love"

while sam's away in africa

2006-09-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

this blog will be about mexican karate!!!

to our dedicated fans:

2006-08-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's time for some crowd participation 'round these parts, so tell us where we should go eat this coming Wednesday. Got a suggestion for a Tex-Mex place you love that we haven't written up yet? Are you curious about some restaurant and want our take on it? Do you just want Dave to dip his balls in the tortilla machine at the Lower Greenville Taco C? Speak up.

8/23/2006: Blue Goose

2006-08-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing special about the 'Goose. It's never bad, though, so it's our fall-back restaurant. Everyone at the table had various forms of the Enchilada Special, and I think we were all relatively happy with it.

We did mix things up with a little bit by ordering the upgraded queso - a little con carne, guacamole, and sour cream never hurt anything I say.

Oh yeah - as we were fixing to leave they gave us all free Budweiser Select. Apparently they just started serving it or something? What's it supposed to be, anyways? I'll stick with Bud Light.

8/20/2006: Exposition Park Cafe

2006-08-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Though this place isn't anywhere near a traditional Tex-Mex restaurant (let alone full-on Mexican), their Mediterranean queso deserves mention. It's obvious they're trying to go foo-foo with their dish, mixing cilantro and other Martha Stewart crap into their melted cheese, but the flavor on the whole is a refreshing twist on the queso genre and is certainly worth the plunge. Mike, Noah and I agreed that the shit was among the better quesos we'd had in a while. 4 and a half chips outta 5.

In case you were wondering...

2006-08-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

...what we look like, here's a shot that James took at Pepe's Y Mito's on Wednesday.

L-R: Lindsey, Noah, Mike, Jon, Sam

Wednesday Night Mexican Club works so much better when you can attach names to faces.

8/9/2006: Pepe's y Mito's

2006-08-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing bad on the menu there. I ordered the tacos al pastor this time which were delicioso. They saute/marinate their pork in this pineapple wine sauce that's like way good. Dump that on some corn tortillas and you're off on a zesty fiesta...in your mouth.

There were nueve of us on this particular outing which (for me at least) made conversation a little hard to follow at times. The service, however, was excellent. Our waiter managed to keep our cups filled and our tortilla chip baskets full-up the entire night. note to self: seis glasses of senior pepper does not a heavy sleeper make. Ay dios mio! But hey, here's to good friends in celebration of our proud Mexican brethren. Maybe next time we can make it diez.

Quatro y media chips out of cinco in honor of our most successful outing as of yet. Oh, tres chips for the queso. I can't stand it when they dump a ton of chili powder in there.

Taco C? Yes!

2006-08-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

My little bro (James) and I opted for a late night bonding session via our neighborhood Taco C. I had my usual personal fajita chicken super nacho, three tortillas, a small queso and a drink. Jamie had the personal beef super nacho, a hard taco and a drink. Food was typically lack luster, a ton better than Taco Bell and barely better than Bueno. All in all, it's the best 'fast food mexican' I know of. Atmosphere was what you'd expect for lower Greenville. A few tables of Plano kids that just rode in on their cute little speedbikes. Are they a gang?!?! They've got matching leather pants! God they annoy me. Then there was the trashy couple sitting next to us with maybe 10 corona bottles strewn over the table. They started making out with eachother and I swear I vomited in my mouth a little. Always a treat though.

So my score is two chips out of five. That's one extra chip because the queso there is second to maybe Monica's. It's that good.

8/2/2006: Nowhere

2006-08-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

I might go to Taco Bell or somethin, but everyone else has ditched for various reasons. Now I know how Jesus felt at the Last Supper.

Enchilada's

2006-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Enchilada's is much much better than Monterrey could ever hope to be.

7/26/2006: Enchilada's

2006-07-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

A relatively frequent spot in our travels, though I've never been sure why...Enchilada's is further away from (and a little more expensive than) Monterrey's, but I don't think it's much better. This time, I ordered the chipotle grilled chicken, which was a chicken breast (quite dry) smothered in cheese and not-so-good chipotle sauce. The "sonora vegetables" on the side were good, at least: flavorful, not oversoaked in butter. I skipped the queso, but I don't remember theirs ever being remarkable (though it's among the best in cost-to-quantity ratio, at least, which is good for big groups).

My score: two chips and some crumbles out of five. I'd imagine the rest of the guys had better luck w/ their enchilada plates and would up that to three, maybe even four. But hey, they took their sweet-ass time posting this week, so come get some.

P.S. Jon and I beat the shit out of Mike and James in Halo 2 last night. This has nothing to do with Mexican food...it just needed to be stated.

7/19/2006: Blue Goose

2006-07-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

A sparsely attended night encourages us to stay local and head up the street to the Blue Goose. We sit inside on account of the warm weather - which keeps us from are usual chick watching. So sad... The service was really good, counter to our normal Weds night enchilada special excursions. The queso was good, but not great and the food was good. Three of us partook in various versions of the afore mentioned enchilada special, while the fourth chowed down on a heaping order of tacos al carbon. Over and out.

7/12/2006: El Ranchito

2006-07-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

This south Dallas establishment is a pilgrimage for our lazy asses. Because we're residents of the EDT (East Dallas, TX), the Wednesday Night Mexican Club has an unofficial criterion of driving distances less than 10 minutes for food. This works out nicely because 1) there's an abundance of good Tex-Mex cuisine in that range and 2) we're lazy. But El Ranchito gets top marks in our gang, so we didn't hesitate to make room for such a journey.

This visit, however, blew ass. My guess is that we got the "white people will tip us no matter what" treatment (we were one of only three white tables at the restaurant that Wednesday). Our service was slow and sloppy; the worst was when our order for pre-meal queso didn't show up until one minute before dinner was served, and as soon as the queso arrived, we needed more chips...those didn't arrive until AFTER dinner was served. Bitch bitch bitch, maybe, but if we're overpaying for melted cheese, we should at least get it on time. It was pretty bland queso at that, which was a first. Can't attest for the rest of the table's dining experience, but I wasn't fond of the enchiladas suizas. There was no discernible flavor in the mess of sauces piled upon my chicken enchiladas.

But on the bright side, the live mariachi band was tops. They have live bands at El Ranchito frequently, but this one actually had a horn section (rather than just a synth-horn rig). Perhaps that made all the difference; the oompa-oompa songs kinda ran together by dinner's end, after all, but you can't beat real effin' horns.

2 chips out of 5...plus a bonus chip for the band.

bienvenidos

2006-07-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

We are from Dallas, TX, and we eat Mexican food every Wednesday night. You don't need to know much else about why we do this, other than the fact that we're an annoying mix of broke and picky. We'll tell you about our experiences at various Tex-Mex establishments in and near Dallas every week. Please respond with your own thoughts--particularly recommendations for good joints, because that's much of the reason we're even bothering with this.