I like a little Mexican every now and again

 

I like a little Mexican every now and again….

We’ve been told of this Mexican restaurant in Archer called Los Avina Mexican Restaurant many times.  If you are familiar with Archer it’s the bright orange restaurant on the corner of 41 and Archer Road.  Finally the other day my husband and I had the opportunity to stop in for dinner.  We arrived a bit early for dinner (it was about 5:00 pm) there was one other couple in the restaurant and another arrived as we were there.    We seated ourselves as there was no one to greet us and no indication that we needed to wait to be seated. 

Our waitress arrived shortly with a basket of warm tortillas and a small carafe of salsa.  While I have serious reservations that the tortillas were homemade, it is possible that the salsa was but it was probably made quite a bit earlier (maybe the day before?) and then refrigerated.  We ordered our drinks and asked for a side of guacamole, one of my favorites.

Again I was disappointed.  The guacamole was not any version I’ve ever had nor made.  In every recipe I’ve ever had or tasted there are several ingredients including avocado, onion, garlic, tomato, olive oil, salt and lime juice.  The ingredients found in the guacamole we were served had two – avocado (including a piece of the skin) and onion.  In fact, in order to make it half way to enjoyable, we had to add a little salt. 

We kept an open mind and ordered our meals.  My husband ordered the combination dinner #17 which consisted of a burrito and a taco with rice and beans ($7.95) and I ordered the Enchiladas Rancheras which consisted of three chicken enchiladas topped with cheese and special sauce, served with rice and a guacamole salad ($8.75).  Now I will be the first to tell anyone I “love” enchiladas!  After all the rave reviews we’d been given, we waited anxiously for our meals. 

Our meals arrived in a decent amount of time and we purposefully had not filled up on tortillas (a nice free appetizer or a ploy to fill you up before your dinner arrives? Oh, that’s another blog, another time).  There was no fanfare for the presentation but we were ready to savor what had been built up to us as a great Mexican meal. 

Sadly the adjective “Great” was far from accurate, more like mediocre.  My enchiladas were covered in a special sauce alright, more like a fairly bland mole sauce rather than a true enchilada sauce (see my recipe below) with a side of extremely bland rice.  If it was supposed to resemble a Spanish type rice the only resemblance was the color.  My husband’s description of his dinner was ok but boring.

Sadly while there were very few diners, our waitress sadly didn’t feel the need to come back to check on us until it was time to bring the bill. Ok fine, so on a scale of 1-10 our overall experience was a 4.  Will we recommend this restaurant, probably not.  Will we be back again, probably not.  To us Mexican food should have a little spunk to it; be a little spicy, not hot but embrace the spices of the country.  We were truly disappointed that Los Avina Mexican Restaurant failed to be one of the great “holes” we were hoping it would be. 

What will be our next food expedition take us…come back soon to see!!

Enchilada Sauce Recipe:

Place the following ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat

4 tablespoons corn oil                                  6 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder                      1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chili powder                           1/8 teaspoon red pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Cook for one minute while stirring the ingredients together.

Now add three cups of water and keep stirring until it has thickened (like a thin gravy).  Keep warm until you are ready to use.

Food, we all need it

Food, we all need it, we can't live without it.  It’s essential to our everyday living. 

Some of us were born with taste buds that crave inspiration while others can live on the substances that are found at the local fast food establishments that litter our highways and byways. Me personally, I can't stand what they pump out of those places to pass off to us as food.  I will agree that they have their place.  Heck, I started my working career at a fast food establishment and I've taken my children and granddaughter to them.  I will give them credit, they have a place.  I just prefer good food,prepared well. 

My preferred style of dining is a bit more refined, I’m a self defined food snob.  I really don't like the typical chain restaurants (i.e: Chili's, Outback, etc) as they are all basically the same.  The restaurant does not, I repeat, does NOT have to be a 5 star restaurant or Michelin Star Award winner (if I ever get to travel overseas!); nor does it need to be a black tie and diamonds type of setting. While I’ll admit that ambiance has a great deal to do with the over all experience, it’s not a deal breaker. 

What I'm simply talking about is good, tasteful, satisfying food, prepared not from a frozen state but prepared in the kitchen shortly after I have ordered it.  I’ve had the privilege of dining in some of today’s best restaurants owned by some big names in the industry.  I’ve also had some great meals at small, “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants that I will go back to time and time again; as we go I will be more than happy to share with you my secret little holes of fine dining.  Please feel free to leave me tips with your favorite holes of fine dining and we can compare notes! J

I also love to cook myself; well I should clarify that statement.  I love to cook, bake and decorate cakes!  Cooking I’ve always loved, baking I’ve always loved.  Cake decorating?  Well that has become an obsession of mine in the past couple of years.  I love it!  I love creating something that is not only a sweet treat but is also a delight to the eyes!  As I create some of these edible treats I’ll share them with you as well.  So let’s all settle in for some fantastic delights!