Maria's Mexican Restaurant

-ceviche appetizer very good
-Excellent fish and seafood platters
-Chicken fajitas very good
-Margaritas can be wicked

Maria's is just OK. Nothing to special about it. None of the food on the menu blows me away. However, the chips and salsa are the reason I keep coming back. I do appreciate that they use chihuahua cheese, that is a definite plus.

The waitstaff is always very friendly and nice.

This place is so up and down - it must literally depend on the night of the week that you come as to whether the meal will be awful or decent.  This being so close to the house, we keep giving it another try.  This time the food was okay and the service was fast - but we were here really early (like 5:30) and expect that as people started to pour in after 7, the quality of both would start to decline.  I had the carne asaada, which had too much seasoning.  Husband had the breaded steak and thought that it was too "mushy" - they did not keep the breading crispy enough, so it fell apart on the plate.  The portions were huge and the drinks were made very well (not too weak, not too strong), so they get a bump in stars.  And, our waiter was super nice and very attentive.  I still wish there was a better option (not in Oak Park) that was closer to the house.