Thursday nights are always a
“delight”. I get to spend time with my family and try some delicious food.
Although my family usually eats at the same four places every single time, this
week we decided to go to El Mezcal, a
Mexican restaurant with two locations in Lawrence, Iowa and 23rd
street. After having several recommendations from other family members, saying
that their white cheese dip is far superior to any other, we decided to give it
a try. I know you would like to hear my expert knowledge of restaurants in
Lawrence. Being born and raised here, I have experienced the downtown lighting
and famous restaurants known to Lawrence. Yes, I have a pretty good idea of the
best places to eat. I will now discuss the atmosphere, menu, food, service,
expectations, and the price of our meal.
So let’s begin with the atmosphere.
If you are from Mexico and you are looking for a home away from home, this is
probably the closest thing you are going to get. The décor is in a quaint style
with paintings of various scenes from Mexico in muted greens, yellows, and
brown. The paintings are on all the walls and have a thick texture that is
almost three-dimensional. Their seating selection is mostly booths with long
backs with “pueblo” carved in black curvy letters. They have half booth/half
table options, but there are not any just table options. This doesn’t bother me
much because I prefer booths anyway. To top off their restaurant, they have
added decorative iron case over the lights. The curvy sleek black style adds a
slight elegant feel, making the restaurant seem a bit more “fancy” but still
matches the quality of food nicely. The only negative thing was that it was a
little on the loud side. The room is fairly small and when we were there almost
all the seats were filled, but that means it’s good, right?
Yes, El Mezcal’s appearance seems to be good, but can their food
selection match up? Their menu is approximately six pages long. They have a
huge selection of main courses with prizes ranging from $6- $12. These courses
include enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, and quesadilla, which all come with
beans and rice for sides, but they have other options such as french fries or
salads if beans and rice aren’t the thing for you. They also have a lunch menu
with the same items, but with lower prices, making it more affordable to buy
those fajitas you always want to buy but feel guilty getting. They even sell
some items such as soft tacos, burritos, and enchiladas individually. This is
helpful when you just aren’t quite hungry enough to eat an entire meal. In
addition to all their food options, they also have a wide variety of beers and
margaritas. With weekly sales of $.99 margaritas, this makes it a very popular
place to go.
THE FOOD! That’s the part I know you
care about the most. My dad ordered a chicken enchilada. He said he really
liked how it came with side toppings of lettuce, onions, guacamole, and sour
cream. The one thing he didn’t like about his meal was that the rice lacked
flavor. My brother ordered the burrito Gianate. This is one GIANT burrito
covered in their famous cheese sauce. My brother said, “It tastes good because
it has lots of cheese and steak, who doesn’t like that?” His complaint was that
there were too many refried beans, but he isn’t a big fan of those to begin
with. My mom decided to order the Pollo Hawaiiano, which is chicken and shrimp
skewers with a pineapple glaze and grilled pineapple on the side. She said it
was hot and fresh, but also thought the rice was not satisfactory. My meal is
by far the most delicious burrito I have ever had. Yes, it beats Chipotle, Taco Bell, and even On the Border. This burrito has not only
steak, but also refried beans, chicken, and shrimp. After it’s wrapped in a
fresh homemade tortilla it is smothered in THE cheese sauce. This cheese dip is
close to heaven. It is so creamy, but not too stringy where it leaves strands
on your face. It is the perfect in between state of just the right consistency.
The flavor is just impeccable. I’m not sure what kind of cheese they use to
make it, but I’m pretty sure they had to jump through hoops and go to hell and back
to make such deliciousness. If you thought this burrito couldn’t get any
better, they added a slightly spicy chipotle sauce on top. That sauce gave it
that little kick that made this burrito surpass all other burritos on earth.
Being seated right away is always a
plus, in this cute little restaurant. The service of a place can be a huge
factor on whether or not you come back a second time. The workers were extremely friendly and
accommodating. After being seated, we almost immediate
were asked what drinks we wanted and were served chips and salsa. However,
after we received our chips and salsa and our beverages, we did not have any
service until it was completely gone. That was my main complaint of the entire
experience is that our server wasn’t as attentive as he could have been. I
should not have to ask for a refill on my soda. I should have a second one
coming before I even finish my first. This could be partially due to the fact
that they were fairly busy, making it harder to give us the attention we
needed. Good thing they’re food was so good, it almost made me forget.
After we finished our meal, he
brought our ticket. It was $48.54 for four people. That included four main
courses, free chips and salsa, and four drinks (two of which were margaritas).
If we went to similar restaurants such as Carlos
O’Kelly or On the Borderand
ordered the same thing, those prices would probably be closer to $60. All our meals were under $10 and our drinks
were between $1 and $1.50. I think the price is very fair and even better if
you go at lunch time. It’s also not far from campus, so you won’t spend an
insane amount of money driving across town or to Kansas City to get a decent
meal.
As far as expectations go, I didn’t
really have extremely high hopes for this tiny local Mexican restaurant.
Although, I did have high hopes about the cheese dip because my grandma said it
was so delicious, and who doesn’t trust their grandma’s opinion on food? Not
only was the cheese exactly what I pictured it to be, but also the food
overall, besides the rice, also exceeded my expectations. The décor was
basically average, with a little twist of fancy, but the service was a little
below average in my book, at least on that day. I would most definitely go back
there again, and probably order exactly the same thing. That burrito was good
enough, that it could have been served 3 hours late and on a piece of cardboard
and I’d probably still order it again.
Overall I think that El Mezcal is a great place to eat. What
the service lacks on a given day, they make up for it in food. It was hot,
fresh, and quite delicious. The price of
the margaritas is quite the steal and worth going there just for that. It
really is a great place to go with your family, girl’s night out, or even on a
date. I give it four out of five stars for the food and a three and a half out
of five stars on the atmosphere and service. It’s definitely worth your time to
go give it a try, just maybe ask for a fries instead of rice.
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