Buenos Tardes Amigos

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!

Matt's is suxors

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

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?

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

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

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

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...