El Fenix - Mesquite

Well we had some Friday afternoon bidness to do downtown Dallas, so it was our plan to eat downtown while we are there. So tonight we decided to bump and grind to El Fenix Downtown. I have been here many times and have many good memories here. Also, their chips are different from everyone else's. However, upon arrival there were a good number of cars circling the parking lot for a parking space. Seems something called Aerosmith was doing a concert at the AAC which is only 3 or 4 blocks from here. So I am guessing all 20,000 that are going to the concert, went to El Fenix first. After circling for 5 or 10 minutes, we gave up and decided to head east. After Chipper (aka Wifey) suggested we go to El Fenix Casa Linda, I suggested we just go to the one in Mesquite. So we did the Bunny Hop over to the Mesquite El Fenix. This restaurant was plenty busy but they were able to seat us immediately, of course it was in the bar right up against the bar. No worries, we are only going to drink the real Redneck Texan drink, Iced Tea. And I do mean Ice Tea. This may have effected our level service which I will discuss further later.

After a little wait a waiter came and took our drink orders. Of course when we ordered tea instead of some more expensive libation, he took off to do other things. So we had to wait a while for our drinks and chips and hot sauce. Their chips have a different texture to them from any other Mexican restaurant. They also have a good distinctive flavor and seem to be very light. Giving the chips a 7.518.

The salsa tonight was a little weak. I don't really understand it, but salsa can vary from day to day at the same Mexican Food Restaurant. The last time I reviewed El Fenix, the salsa was very tasty. But tonight it was weak. It had all of the pureed tomatoes you could want and there some green stuff in there, but it had very limited taste. Givin the chips a 6.25

Tonight I ordered the Saltillo plate. This comes with a meat taco, cheese enchilada and soft cheese taco (another cheese enchilada). The meat taco was pretty good size, had a good amount of meat. The meat had a little spicy taste, but not all that much. It also had plenty of lettuce and cheese. Overall the taco tasted pretty good. The two cheese enchiladas have a better tasting cheese than most. One had a chili sauce over it that was very spicy and one had nacho cheese sauce over it and it tasted pretty good. Overall the enchiladas get a 7.5.

The service was slow at every step tonight. I believe not ordering drinks from the bar may have effected the service, but they put me there without asking if I would be drinking any libations. So they should be prepared for a tea totaller!!! So givin service a 5.


Tonight El Fenix Mesquite gets a 6.5. Get to work on that salsa and provide service at every table in the restaurant!!!!

Mitcho
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