Frida Restaurant - Glendale, CA

I went to Frida's with a client as he recommended it and I tell you what, this place was fantastic. We sat out on the patio which is never wrong, especially in December when you can enjoy the SoCal weather in comparison to the sub zero weather in Chicago.

We couldn't have been more boring in our order as we both had Arnold Palmer's and Tacos de Cochinita Pibil; Slow cooked pork in an annatto seed (achiote) sauce, served with habanero relish on the side, but who cares because all i have to say is: WOW!!! The cochinita was amazing and succulent. The habanero relish was on fire but with a very mellow calm ending to it from its pickled sweetness.

I have been looking for amazing tacos in Cali and these were hands down at the top and I hope that I can make it back to Glendale for this treat soon. The good thing, beleive it or not, is that this restaurant is a chain. I know that chains usually can get a bad reputation but I am pleased to say that you can enjoy these fine tacos in Glendale, Beverly Hills, Brentwood and San Diego. Take your pick and visit Frida's.

Overall Rating: 5
Food: 5
Price $

750 Americana Way
Glendale, CA 91210
http://www.fridarestaurant.com/glendale/menu.html

Colibri Mexican Bistro - San Francisco, CA

Another day, another lunch......I had planned on going to a place called Asia de Cuba at the Clifton Hotel but unfortunately they were setting up for some event and the restaurant was very loud and very empty. I started walking back to my hotel and saw this Mexican restaurant and the menu in the window looked intriguing; not the standard Mexican menu you are used to consuming. The only items that were "typical" were the Guacamole, Chicken Relleno, Quesadilla and Carne Asada. The staff was friendly and very calm even as the place was filling up.

I ordered a water and the traditional Chicken Mole. I was tempted to order the guacamole but it was $10, very large and I did not feel like spending $30 in total on lunch. When my water arrived I was also served some mini tortillas, instead of the traditional chips, with three different salsas; spicy chile poblano, a mango and a tomatillo salsa. The mini tortillas were home made and excellent, both in taste and texture. The chicken mole was also very delicious, moist and juicy, served with succulent mole sauce and dirty rice. Overall a very well balanced and hearty meal focusing on the traditional central Mexican cuisine.

This is the place to go for the one who wants a different flair of Mexican food than what you normally would see. If traditional is not what you are looking for, there are plenty of tacquerias around the same neighborhood for you to enjoy.

Overall Rating: 4
Food Rating: 4
Cost: $$

438 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
http://colibrimexicanbistro.com/mylink.php?id=3669

Blanco Cafe - San Antonio, TX

Another client meeting another lunch.....this time in San Antonio, the heartland of South of the boarder cuisine. Great traditional Mexican restaurant with super speedy service. Probably 5-10 minutes from order being placed to food on your table. Exactly what you want when eating lunch.

I ordered the #4, Carne Asade a la Mexicana with rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole and flour tortillas. Everything was good but the highlight of this meal were the home made flour tortillas. These were some of the best tortillas i have ever eaten. They reminded me of a cross between a classic thin tortilla and a pita. It was a bit thicker, almost like a pancake, and a traditional tortilla taste with a hint of sweetness. When I think of it it almost reminded me of traditional Naan bread from an Indian restaurant I visited in London last year with my dear friend Karambir.

All in all, for a great Mexican meal when in San Antonio visit Blanco Cafe.

Overall Rating: 4
Food Rating: 4
Cost: $

419 N. St. Mary's (Downtown)
San Antonio, TX 78205
http://www.blancocafe.net/StMarysMenu.html

Jack-N-Grill, Denver, CO

Jack-N-Grill……what can I say. It is one of those perfect holes in the walls Mexican restaurants in the Hispanic neighborhood that you know immediately upon walking through the door that you will be in for a treat. It is usually a very authentic treat, but for some, the general grittiness and sort of worn/dirty feeling of those places is not the experience they want or eat in. Unfortunately that is your loss and not mine:) The place is divided into to two dining rooms; the bar with some higher bar tables and the main dining room where you can see the chefs in action. “A seat yourself” kind of service is completely compensated with a very humble and happy staff; a staff that I believe are all family members or at least friends of the family.

So how did I find this place???? I watched Man vs. Food on the Discovery channel and they have an item on their menu that has drawn many to this place to test their manly and/or womanly hood. It is the giant 7lb breakfast burrito which in short contains 1lb of potatoes, 1lb of cheese, 1 lb of ham, 12 eggs and more. The topping is the standard of any smothered burrito in this joint; Green Chile, Red Chile or Christmas (half green and half red).

What did I eat….well of course I opted for the giant burrito smothered Christmas style. As soon as it was ordered the heads started turning almost as they all overheard my order and now wanted to see the freak show I was going to put on. I knew this is something I had to try but not sure what to expect. I also had a side bet going with a co-worker for this challenge. As the server served me the burrito she gave me the instructions: 1. Take all the time you want 2. You are not allowed to go to the bathroom 3. No help from anyone 4. Finish it and your picture goes on the wall of fame.

She also gave me her personal advice….Eat as fast as you can otherwise your stomach will start to understand what you are doing to it. After that a few “Good Lucks” were shouted at me from the bar but it didn’t do too much for my confidence. After 15 minutes I was knocked out by the burrito. I had eaten a mere 1/3 of the monster and I had nowhere else to go. My stomach was at a breaking point, my mouth was watering kind of like it does after a bad shot of Jose Cuervo and all I could think of was to get this plate away from my view and give me the check. As you can understand I lost this battle and will never try it again.

Beyond that I also tried their guacamole which was out of this world and the plates of food, including Tacos, Enchiladas and Cocidos looked amazing. This is a place I will return to during my next visit to Denver and make my regular Mexican place once moving there….can’t wait to take someone else there..

Overall Rating: 4
Food Rating: 5
Cost: $$ (when including a traditional cerveza or margarita)

2524 N. Federal
Denver, Co 80211
http://jackngrill.com/

El Torito - Santa Monica, CA

After a long morning of meetings my last visit asked me to go with him to the local Mexican restaurant around the corner called El Torito. At first sight it seemed like any other large chain, currently 69 locations in California, Oregon, Arizona and Japan, yes Japan..., and as we entered the typical decor and huge space confirmed it. We had obviously missed the lunch crowd which made the space seem even bigger and the last buffet buckets were cleaned out. Buffet stations are another sign to lower your expectations. In the back a table with people congregating, most likely the staff preparing for dinner service and a couple of servers still on shift.

We sat down at a 4 top and the waiter hurried over to take our order. The choice of drink was a Tropical Ice Tea, house recommendation and it was really good. The dried up slice of decorative orange only plumped up once dropped into the tall glass of ice and tea. As I always like to ask the waiters what their choice of preference is I proceeded to do the same here. After the standard questions; level of spice, meat preference, level of hunger he proceeded to recommend the Mexico City Tacos. 3 corn tortillas with chicken, beef and carnitas sprinkled with cabbage, queso fresco, tomatoes and salsa fresca. On the side a portion of rice, frijoles de olla (spicy beans) and some home made guacamole. These tacos were just excellent and at one point I thought to myself; did my lunch guest notice that I devoured these like they were little amuse bouches or was he also lost in his lunch??? I guess you can ask my wife why this thought may have crossed my mind because I hear it from her every time I eat. My excuse: ever since having children I have adapted my eating to world record speed and mouthfuls’ not from this earth and I guess I sometimes forget that I am not in the house.

Overall rating: 3
Food Rating: 4
Cost: $$

3360 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://www.eltorito.com/menumain.asp