The Best Mexican Restaurant

There are hundreds upon hundreds of Mexican restaurants.

Some are awesome, some are horrible. Some are authentic, some fake it.

Doesn't it seem that the "authentic" Mexican restaurants are kind of run down and the service is mediocre at best? At the same time, the Mexican restaurants that are faking it seem to have good service, but the food is awful.

So, unless you want Chipotle - what do you do when you want amazing Mexican food?

I'll tell you - Go to Chico's Wood Fired Grill.

I stumbled across Chico's about a month ago when I was a mission to find a new Cupcake restaurant (whole other story there) that just opened in Tampa, FL. When I was getting my cupcake I couldn't help but notice Chico's which is right next door. There was a sign outside that said, "Taco Tuesday: $2 Fillet Tacos."

Obviously the offer for fillet tacos for only $2 was interesting enough for me to go in and grab a menu.

You know a restaurant is worthwhile when the staff joyfully supports it. As I was grabbing my to-go menu I asked the host and the bartender what the best thing on the menu was. Both shouted at me at the exact same time, "Fillet Tacos" and "No, get the Fillet Chimichangas!"

As you can imagine, I was already impressed so I had high expectations when we went back in to eat. The atmosphere is rich with bold colors, fun lighting and a unique tex-mex decor. We got seated in a booth towards the back and a hip server greeted us with homemade chips and salsa. (Yes it was complimentary).

The salsa was spicy, bold and tasted amazing. I added on the queso for $1.79 because I simply couldn't resist. Ordering was extremely difficult because the menu is extensive with a large variety of appetizers, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, chimichangas and desserts. I settled on a Fillet/Chicken combo Chimichanga, my wife got a Chicken Enchilada and Aaron got the Fillet Tacos.

The food came out......wrong.

Well, jut my food came out wrong. I didn't get the Fillet/Chicken Combo Chimichangas....I just got Fillet Chimichangas (not a huge error and I actually wasn't that irritated). Before I could even think about complaining the owner of Chico's was at our table apologizing and said he would bring out Chicken Chimichangas.

I thought "Wow, ok he'll bring me a couple of Chimichangas". About 5 minutes later he brought an ENTIRE ORDER out - remember this is in addition to the order I was already eating.

That, is remarkable service.

Not to mention that it tasted phenomenal. The fillet was juicy, seasoned perfectly and the portion was huge. The fillet tacos were equally as good and the chicken enchiladas were cheesy and delicious.

Chico's is authentic, delivers a remarkable product that's priced right, and the service is unpretentious and efficient. In my mind, they are the best Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. Find more info on their website here.

Other Specials That You Might Find of Interest:

Monday: Buy Fajitas get one Free (after 3pm)
Tuesday: All Tacos $2 (after 5pm)
Saturday: Half Priced Sangria (I tried it, it's worth it).