**** (4 stars)
Home cooked style Mexican food in a nicely decorated (but questionably lit) space.
Good margaritas and friendly service.
Las Lomas
800 E Altamonte Dr
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
Las Lomas
Category Archives: Mexican
Taco Bell
* (1 stars)
I like Taco Bell. This is the only Taco Bell near us. Unfortunately, this is the worst Taco Bell on the planet.
I think it's really unfair when people have a bad experience at a restaurant one time and leave a one-star review. But when you have a bad experience at a restaurant literally dozens of times, it means… well, it means you like Taco Bell, it's the only Taco Bell near you, and it is the worst Taco Bell on the planet.
Of course there are the expected staffing issues when you don't pay a decent wage, and the resulting not being open when you say you are. I can give them a pass on that.
But how can the tortilla chips be rancid 20% of the time? Do they have a special process for aging them to imperfection?
How can they be out of major ingredients like onions, or lettuce, or–get this–taco shells?
Oh, and here's a helpful note: if you want Diet Mountain Dew, be sure to order MTN DEW® Baja Blast™ Zero Sugar, because they've been out of the latter for years and never updated the menu.
Taco Bell
7970 Winter Garden Vineland Rd
Windermere, FL 34786
Garibaldi Mexican Cusine
**** (4 stars)
I've been to Garibaldi before, but this is the first time I've been to this location. I actually like it better than the original.
The menu is very extensive, with all the standard American Tex-Mex offerings. The fiesta sampler offers a pretty good selection of most of the menu, it is a very generous serving, more than enough lunch for two people.
This is one of the most extensive margarita lists in town. The house margarita is by far the best deal, and is an ample serving of a well mixed margarita.
Garibaldi Mexican Cusine
848 Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32809
The Mexican Camel
***** (5 stars)
The easiest way to describe The Mexican Camel is as an upscale Chipotle that also incorporates Middle Eastern options to create fusion dishes.
Our party of four had very different items, which illustrate the diversity available here. One person opted for a vegetarian, mostly Mexican bowl. Another had lamb in his. And a third had spicy shrimp on a salad. I, on the other hand, went far afield, and had nacho chips topped with Chicken Tinga.
Everyone really enjoyed their selections, so there were no wrong choices!
One thing that really stood out to me was the friendliness of the two servers working behind the counter. This was definitely not a robotic Chipotle performance, they were really into it. Service was also very fast.
We all thought the bowls were a bit pricey, but I guess that's true of everything these days, and everyone agreed we'll be back soon, so that's what really matters.
The Mexican Camel
5752 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
Vallarta Mexican Grill
**** (4 stars)
Good traditional Mexican dishes and combinations and excellent Margaritas. The namesake Margarita with a dash of orange juice was nice and fruity, and the Patron Margarita packed a punch.
The relleno was my favorite item.
Vallarta Mexican Grill
1301 W Wyatt Earp Blvd
Dodge City, KS 67801
https://www.yelp.com/biz/vallarta-mexican-grill-dodge-city-2
The Pantry Rio
***** (5 stars)
This is a nice place right near the center of old Santa Fe, with quite a bit of patio seating, most of it well shaded by umbrellas.
We had the breakfast sandwich and the breakfast burrito. Both were good, and fairly similar, except that the sandwich was grilled and the burrito was covered in green chili sauce (which is optional, but was very good).
Service was friendly.
The Pantry Rio
229 Galisteo St
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Elote Cafe
**** (4 stars)
This trendy place offers a new take on traditional Mexican dishes such as Carnitas and Mole. For example, The Mole Poblano features Buffalo. The sauce is quite flavorful, but the accompanying rice and refried beans would not pass muster at the most pedestrian of Mexican restaurants.
Given that the dish is the restaurant's namesake, the Elotes are a particularly good appetizer. They are served in the increasingly popular deconstructed style (essentially really good creamed corn), which makes them much easier to eat.
There are a wide variety of made-to-order Margaritas.
Service at the bar was extremely friendly and attentive.
It's expensive but, hey, this is Sedona.
Elote Cafe
350 Jordan Rd
Sedona, AZ 86336
Javier’s Century City
***** (5 stars)
Javiers has a truly striking interior. Even though the space is huge, it is divided up into enough interconnected areas so that it manages to seem both exotic and cozy at the same time.
We started with the Tuna Crudo, a generous portion served a bit like a poke bowl. Very fresh and flavorful.
For our main course I had the Enchiladas Mariscos, two delicious mixed seafood enchiladas in a tangy green sauce. They were great.
Chicken Quesadillas were a huge serving, accompanied by a giant mount of excellent guacamole.
The house Margarita was just okay. I'd explore alternatives next time.
Service was friendly and very fast.
Javier’s Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Azteca D’Oro Winter Garden
***** (5 stars)
I've always enjoyed the other Azteca locations, and this one is just as good, and even better decorated. What a transformation from the old Village Inn!
Open only a week, and really bustling, but the service and kitchen were mostly able to keep up.
Fajitas are the highlight for me here. This was the first time I tried them with carnitas, and the meat was tender and succulent.
The Cadillac Margaritas are also excellent.
The dining room is high ceilinged, but can be quite loud when full. For a somewhat less boisterous dining experience, ask for a high top in the bar, or a table in the room beyond the bar.
Azteca D’Oro Winter Garden
3130 Daniels Rd
Oakland, FL 34787
Toloache 50
**** (4 stars)
I'll admit to being very picky about Mexican restaurants, having grown up in Southern California. My experience with Mexican restaurants in New York City has been nothing short of abysmal. So I was prepared for the same here, particularly when the salsa showed up and was something closer to cream of tomato soup.
But then the short rib tacos with bone marrow arrived, and things changed completely. This was one of the best items I've ever had in a Mexican restaurant, and could easily have been served in many of the top fine dining small plate restaurants in the city.
I'm not sure this one item fully justifies the four stars, but since the guacamole, Margarita, and ceviche were fine, it's at least a 3-1/2 star place. Just be sure to have the short ribs.
Toloache 50
251 West 50th St
New York, NY 10012