Los Amigos, Atlantic City

Have I ever declared my undying love for Mexican food to you all? I have? Well allow me to do so again. I adore Mexican food. Spicy, cheesy, meaty, colorful... it's my ultimate comfort combo. Down in Atlantic City I am always impressed when places can make it without the help of being housed in a casino, and Los Amigos is one of them. The building itself looks deceptively small, and is painted up in crazy colors. It's located right across from The Walk, which is where all of the outlet stores are, and it's a great place to pop in after a day of shopping.

On a recent visit we played it safe and ordered old standards.... quesadillas and burritos, but Los Amigos does indeed offer a wide variety of delicious Mexican cuisine. This is going to be a pretty short description, because, as it turns out, the burrito and quesadilla that we happened to order were extraordinarily similar (can you tell which is which?). They were both stuffed to the brim with their beefy, cheesy goodness, ad topped with the signature garlic sour cream (so good). Beans and rice finished off the plate and we were in heaven! To me there are few things more satisfying and soul warming than Mexican food.

Our friend B was a bit more adventurous and went with the fish tacos. The fish in these changes daily depending on what is fresh, and he ended up with salmon. The blackening spice on the fish was delicious, and provided a really nice crust on the fish. The hunks of salmon were covered in an avacado cream, tomato, cabbage, and onion. The crunch combined with the soft and almost buttery fish was a really pleasant combination. B's only complaint was that he wishes there was a bit more food for the price (this plate runs about $17). While the tacos were fully loaded, he would have appreciated one more on the platter.

The other friends we were with ordered similarly to Matt and I. MR ordered a burrito and MS ordered ground beef tacos. They were all enjoyed, as were the homemade chips and salsa, as well as the pitchers of margaritas. Good food with good friends always equals good times in my book.

If you're looking for a Mexican meal in South Jersey you would be hard pressed to find a better place than Los Amigos. In addition to the standard classics that we all enjoyed, they offer options like Southwest crab cakes, chipotle pork tenderloin, and shrimp and crab enchilladas. They have a full bar (which is a HUGE plus when eating Mexican food, at least in my eyes! What goes better with spice than cerveza?) It's colorful, it's friendly, and it's super close to the action that Atlantic City has to offer.... walk to the casinos or shopping with your belly full of burrito!

Los Amigos

http://www.losamigosrest.com/

1926 Atlantic Ave

Atlantic City- 08401

609- 344- 2293

Chapala, Hamilton

I crave Mexican food at least once a week, and ever since we moved to this area it's been a hard craving to satiate. I know that we can go to Mexican Village but it's a bit of a schlep for a week night, and we were hoping to find something a touch closer.... and then we did. Chapala is right on Route 33 in Hamilton (I wouldn't call the section of town sketchy, but the building and parking lot look like they have potential to be). It's super weird looking on the inside.... really reminiscent of a pizza place or burger bar... looks nothing like what I picture a Mexican place to look like. I mean they hung the standard colorful art and sombreros on the wall, but it just looks... off.

We first tried the place with ME and her friend D, who is not only a local, but the one who reccomended the place to us. We ordered guacamole for the table upon D's reccomendation and it was awesome. Creamy and cold and a little spicy and a little chunky... even Matt tried it (remember... he is anti avacado! This is a big step!) He not only liked it, he has been asking if we can go back just to order it. So ha. Guacamole from Chapala :1, Matt's preconceived notions of avacado hatred :0

D ordered the chicken flautas in the Chapala sauce. She swears that the Chapala sauce is the way to go, but it wasn't for me... it was a brown sauce and tasted very meaty and rich... I think it tasted like it belonged on a pot roast, not a flauta. Hey... she likes what she likes. The flauta's themselves, though, were very good. Crispy and tightly rolled, these were very nice.

ME ordered the taco salad with chicken. This was LOADED with chicken.... I mean LOOK at it! The chicken was practically pouring out of the bowl! The salad was delicious and stuffed with a ton of delectibles... the standard lettuce, tomato, and cucumber were joined by black olives, mushrooms, green pepper and onion as well as cheese, salsa, and sour cream. The dressing on the lettuce was odd though... it had an Asian feel to it... it was very similar to the ginger sesame vinagrette I have at home. It somehow managed to work with all of the components, but it certainly was not expected! The chicken was cooked very well.. a bit citrusy, a bit spicy, all tender. This dish also came along with quesadillas.... soooooo much food. ME couldn't come close to finishing everything on her plate.

Matt ordered the fajita platter, and as his proteins (you can choose two, if I remember correctly) he chose the steak and chicken. Usually when you order fajitas you get your meats on a sizzling bed of onion and pepper.... and that's fine. Chapala didn't agree. Their theory seems to be 'more is more'. The plate was literally overstuffed (seriously... look at the shot I took!) with huge portions of each meat (a bit sinewy on the steak, chicken was delightful) and then a load of veggies. Peppers and onions were now joined by broccoli, carrot, squash, and cauliflower. Actually, thinking about it, this also seemed to have a bit of an Asian flare.... those are pretty typical stir fry veg, yes? Whatever. Long story short it was good and super generous. He got the Chapala sauce on the side and smeared it all over everything. I guess this meaty sauce made more sense on this dish, but I still didn't like it. Matt loved it though.

I ordered the beef burrito with Roja sauce. The burrito was a bit smaller than I expected after seeing the rest of the dishes, but it was seriously dense with filling. Strips of steak were mingling with peppers and onions, all of which were seasoned with a bit of garlic and a touch of heat. The sauce was thick and surprisingly sweet. It had a nice end kick, but I couldn't get over the sweetness... it was downright odd.

We will be back to Chapala.... most of the dishes were well seasoned and delicious, even if I wasn't a fan of either sauce that I tried (and despite the wierd Asian thing that they may or may not be trying to force!). The service was really great and the price was reasonable, especially considering the sheer amount of food that we each received. I will do a follow up on this baby next time we go, and let you know if there is a sauce that I enjoy after all!

Chapala

811 Highway 33

Hamilton- 08619

609-631-0062

Tortuga's Mexican Village, Princeton

Oh Mexican food, how I love you so. Spicy, cheesy, meaty, carb-y... what's not to like? Cousin J (you remember her, yes?) introduced me to Tortuga's Mexican Village a few years ago when she was working in Princeton, and I have been a believer ever since. Its bright and colorful on the outside and inside, with awesome modern art on the walls (along with the necessary yet cliche sombreros and maracas), and the people are super friendly. Also they have the best salsa. Ever. Period. It's not in a swimmy puddle mess of tomato glop; it's good, honest chunks of tomato, onion, herbs and pepper in an almost vinegary base. Too yum. Craving it now... eek! It is SO good in fact that the first bowl is on the house and then they make you pony up for seconds (which I always do... it's magical.... I dream of this salsa... sad but true) Now when J first took me to this place she introduced me to the California burrito... I have since tried everything else on the (pretty extensive) menu, but I always go back to this dish. It is a grossly oversized burrito stuffed with a meat of your choice (on this day I chose beef but you can do pork, chicken, steak, chorizzo... pretty much anything they have), beans, rice, guacamole, cheese, tomato, lettuce (yes the lettuce is INSIDE), and sour cream. They they top it with red sauce and more cheese and bring it over on a burning hot plater of happiness. It's weird.. although the lettuce does get a liiiiitle wilty, it's still pretty cool and crunchy even though it's been through the salamander. Same with the sour cream... it stays cool and delish. This is my favorite item on their menu... it is sideless (the rice and beans are shoved into the burrito itself!) but super filling... I don't recall having ever finished one in a single sitting.

Matt ordered the Chile Relleno, which is basically a Mexican stuffed pepper dipped in egg batter and cooked up. I think he opted to have his filled with chicken. It was done really well... the batter wasn't too thick, the filling was nice and soft with a touch of heat and loads of cheese. The platter was huge, and overflowing with rice and beans. The cheese and sauce on top made it gooey and rich... it was definetley not considered a low fat meal. While it's not very pretty to look at, it was delicious to eat!

I love this place, and I wish I was able to get there more often. Their menu has all sorts of delicious options, and no, not everything is covered in cheese and sauce (although, why shouldn't it be? SO GOOD). They have salads, soups, and house specialties, which include seafood enchillads, lime marinated catfish, and pollo mole (my Mom's favorite dish... I should take her here!) One thing to note,though... Tortuga's Mexican Village is a cash only place... no credit cards wil be accepted. It's a small inconvenience to an otherwise fantastic place. Go there! Tell me how much you love their salsa!

Tortuga's Mexican Village

http://www.tortugasmv.com/

44 Leigh Avenue

Princeton, NJ

Phone: (609) 924-5143