Cinco De Mayo

Very different from other Mexican restaraunts in this area. Good service, different menu than the others, happy with experience and food overall.

In Mexico, I ate Spanish food.  We were not in a tourist town like Cancun or Acapulco, but spent time in Monterrey.  Of course, it's typical in border towns and tourist towns to have tacos and enchiladas, and that's the kind of food Cinco de Mayo (and Hacienda El Camino Real) and El Rodeo served.

I was accustomed to northern California Mexican food, like beef tacos with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and the occasional cheese.  They don't do that in Richmond at all.  The most recent place I've had those kinds of tacos in Richmond I made them, and the more recent place ever was in Orlando, Florida--a place called Beto's on South Orange Blossom Trail.

A server met me at the door and showed me to a table immediately.  He asked what I wanted to drinkl (although I never got that drink), and someone else brought chips, salsa, and a glass of water with lemon.  They were both friendly and attentive.

I chose Steak Supremo, which was something I'd never had anywhere.

I cautiously tried the chips and salsa.  Maybe, I'm just too picky but if they re-fry the chips, they taste smoky and overloaded with oil.  They weren't smoky but they tasted of too much oil.  I'm sure if they used white corn, they would be better.  So, after about 5 chips and some salsa, I stopped.

As the food had arrived, and I was cautioned that the plate was hot, I tried the rice and the refritos.  Both were so good that I could have just eaten those.  I started on the steak in the sauce, not knowing exactly what I had.  There was no photo on the lunch menu, but I was experimenting.

The sauce was a cheese (manchego?) mostly and the beef was grilled.  It wasn't stew meat, but it didn't seem as though they cut up a steak, either.  It all had good flavor.  $7.25 for lunch seems expensive.  They never explained how to use the flour tortillas.

While I was eating, they were delivering food for another table, and one of the staff grabbed my glass of water to refill it.  They were definitely taking care of the entire dining room well.  As I was picking up to leave, they brought out my drink and the server looked around a bit and delivered it to another table.  At least, they didn't forget totally.

As I was waiting to pay, I noticed the bench with "Hacienda El Camino Real" emblazoned on it.  I was never sure if they were the same owners and just changed the name but that would suggest that only the name had changed.

It wasn't bad, and you might not find great places for real Mexican food, so why not go here where you get more personal service on the east side of Richmond instead of El Rodeo?

I walked in for lunch just a bit too late to order off the lunch menu, which I found disappointing, but I found so many great options on the dinner menu I got over it.

I always go to the tamales for my first meal at a Mexican restaurant. I figure if those are good, everything else will be too. Odd, perhaps, but so far it works. My $8 meal was huge. The beans and rice covered the plate and the tamales were enormous...and very tasty. The meat was savory and spiced, but not overwhelmingly so.

When I was there, the place was dead, so I can't speak to how the service might be on a busy day, but it was spot on when I was there. (Sometimes that can work against you-- servers can get distracted by an empty restaurant.)

I'll be back.