El Patio restaurant is a venerable Tex-Mex shop, very tiny, very good. I have been going there for delicious Mexican/American food for twenty-five years, and have rarely been disappointed. The food is so savory and made with family recipes. Nothing is fancy, but a`lmost everything is good.
My friend and I went the other day, after some prompting on his part. I hadn’t been there in a long time. It was evening, a slower time of day (lunch can be chaotic), and we were seated immediately. As soon as we sat down, we were given a basket of hot corn tortilla chips and two bottles of salsa. The mild salsa was so good I could have eaten a bowl of it, like soup. The hot salsa was also delicious, quite spicy, green and nice and salty. I probably could have eaten the hot sauce like soup, but would have regretted it later.
I ordered the deluxe chicken enchiladas, and my friend ordered the smothered pork burrito. I was told we needed to try the puffy taco, so we got one of those as well. Ok. I’m on public radio and I’m going to say “puffy taco.” These tacos are deep fried, hand patted corn tortillas filled with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, and tomato. They are wonderful. Put some salsa on that thing and worry about calories later.
The enchiladas were flavorful, hot, and served with rice and refried beans. I ate every bite that my date didn’t steal from my plate. His pork burrito had a deeply meaty pork and chile flavor, irresistible. I might have stabbed his hand with my fork once, to get the last bit.
