Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Let your mind rest. Relax.
Imagine a restaurant that serves Mexican fare in the form of the grilled hot dog. A restaurant that offers a Happy Birthday sombrero. A restaurant whose staff could double at the Haunted Hoochie.
Now open your eyes and ask yourself: “Does this sound like a great place to eat Mexican food?”
If your answer is yes, then please do us all a favor and go to someplace like Chi-Chi’s.
If your answer is no and you are looking for authentic Mexican dishes at reasonable prices served by a bilingual staff, then head over to El Vaquero, located only five minutes from campus at 3230 Olentangy River Rd. (as well as five other central Ohio locations).
With around 150 items on the menu, anyone could find a meal to suit his or her individual taste and wallet size (most platters are $5-8). The restaurant offers food and drink specials daily. Lunch is served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. all week long, and dinner is served until late.
El Vaquero offers a traditional setting with colorful dining areas — including the thickest coat of paint I’ve ever seen — along with plenty of seating and strings of garlic and chili peppers on the walls.
The food, however, is the distinguishing factor.
Salsa awaits you at your table and the complimentary tortilla chips arrive faster than you can say, “Hey, these taste like they were made from real corn.”
Margaritas are served by the glass or by the pitcher and come in three flavors — lime, strawberry, and Texas. I tried the lime, and with the exception of my brain freeze, it wasn’t bad.
The drinks include a generous amount of alcohol and are served either frozen or on the rocks. They also have a full bar with a nice selection of Mexican beers.
Co-reviewer Ann tried the #71 combination platter ($6.80), a vegetarian dinner that includes a bean burrito with nacho cheese and a chalupa.
“The bean burrito was really good — filling but not too spicy,” she said. “The chalupa was good too. It had that shell, not a hard taco shell, but softer and chewier. There were lots of ingredients, and it was much better than Taco Bell’s.”
I had the Tijuana Special ($10.25), a make-your-own-fajita dish. And yes, that is the real name.
I’ve heard if you ask around for the Tijuana Special on the street in Guadalajara, you will get something completely different. I suggest sticking around here for this one.
The steak and chicken were cooked perfectly — not too dry, not too rare. It came with a plate of tortillas, thick grilled onions and tomatoes and a side of rice and beans.
I don’t even like tomatoes, but for some strange reason, I ate these and enjoyed them. The meal could have easily fed two.
The Enchiladas Suizas ($7.90) includes three tortillas filled with chicken, beef or cheese and is topped with green tomatillo sauce. It was assessed by co-reviewer Joe Milonario.
“The taste is subtle and savory even though the ingredients are simple,” he said. “The chicken is flavorful and enchanting. And the cheese is gooey good.”
As perfect as the meals were, we knew there had to be at least one flaw, and that was with the dessert. The Flan (a custard priced at $2.15) was a little soupier than I would have liked.
“I don’t think Bill Cosby would endorse this pudding-like substance,” Milonario said.
Oh well, luckily there are several other desserts to choose from, including Fried Ice Cream ($3.00), Sopapilla ($1.90) and the always pleasant Choco-Taco ($1.95).
It seems like Mexican food can be found all over Columbus, but it is often the case that the food is about as authentic as the Frito Bandito.
El Vaquero is both authentic and affordable. Spanish classes at every level should be required to go there at least once a quarter to indulge in the restaurant’s Mexican goodness.
Nicholas Gill is a senior in English and journalism. He can be reached for question or comment at [email protected].
