La Fonda

Wow. I don't know where these 5 star reviews are from, but clearly they must've visited a restaurant on a different planet than the one I've been to. Incredibly mediocre Mexican fare. Mole Mole is better by leaps and bounds; for "hole in the wall" Potown Mexican, El Charrito has it beat by miles.

Where to begin? Flavorless sopes. Refried beans that have either come out of a can or been refried 14,000 times. Margaritas from a mix. Ugh. Maybe one step up from T Bell, but at least T Bell infuses some flavor into their food!

And, to boot: not at all friendly towards the gringos. I have been to Mexico, attempted to "go native," and when pressed into service can use enough Spanish to order a meal. Even though I am 6' white dude with swoopy bangs, I always felt welcome in hole in the wall Mexican joints in the middle of the Yucatan...not so much at La Fonda here in good old Potown!

Took a chance on this place for lunch and man am I glad I did! I got 3 tacos plus rice and beans for just $8. The food quality is excellent, I would especially recommend the chorizo taco which had a perfect sear on really good quality chorizo. They also give you chips and 3 sauces, each of which is delicious with both chips and the tacos. They even have a great tequila bar and are one of the few places in the area to serve a margarita with an inverted beer bottle in it. Definitely looking forward to my next visit!

While ordering over the phone was a bit difficult (there's no menu to be found online so I went by the woman on the phone's suggestions), and getting my food to the correct spot was a challenge (though he's certainly not the first reliever guy to get lost), the food was fabulous. The chimichanga was HUGE, I could barely finish a third of it, and the floutas (sp?) were yummy. As a plus, the salads came with the regular salad toppings (tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, etc.) but also with nicely ripe avocado on top. The beans (brown) and orange rice was delicious, especially because I am not usually a fan of either.

While I am obviously no expert of Mexican cuisine, I know good food when I have it -- and this was certainly one of those times.

I will be definitely returning for dinner here again.