Agave - Oberlin Tanqueria

With the good weather this last weekend a little road trip on the motorcycle to try to find some good food sounded like a good idea, so I headed West to Oberlin, Ohio to see what a nice liberal college town would have to offer. On the main square at 19 W College St, Oberlin, OH 44074 I found Agave Burrito Bar and Tanqueria. For those familar with Chipolte or the late lamented Que Tal, you know the basic set up, you order a burrito, plate or salad and then tell the person what items you want off the steam table, however Agave presents some very good and very high quality choices. I had a vegetarian burrito in a spinach tortilla. For $6.50 I got a giant burrito stuffed with rice, beans, roast veggies, sweet potato puree, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, salsa and a couple of their sauces. In addition to the usual items, you will have choices like the sweet potato puree and a couple of home made sauces. I believe they had a tomatillo cream, a red pepper sauce and another one. Overall, this was one of the more tasty burritos I have had in a while and well worth the price. All of the items were excellent and the salsas had some real zing to them and contrasted nicely with the velvety guacamole. It was also nice to get distinctive flavors from each item. I wanted to try the Chipolte Pecan Brownie for desert, but they were out. Maybe next time. Decor is nice, with a number of Mexican masks on the wall and cacti and succulents in the front window with some warm earthtone walls. A very nice, relaxed place with food made from scratch and seasoned well. Agave also has beer and a small bar selection, so you can wet your whistle. If you are out Oberlin way and looking for a good quick meal, give Agave a try.

El Tango Tanquira - Another Lakewood Find

So after a rough start I am finally having some success on quest for good inexpensive Mexican food in Cleveland. My latest find is El Tango Tanquira at 14224 Madison Avenue in Lakewood. This place has built a nice reputation and has gotten some great writeups online so I figured I would give it a try. The outside is nothing special, but easy enough to find. Once inside I was struck by the decor, kind of a funky Southwest feel, with a nice tile floor, wooden tables and wrought iron chairs and plenty of colorful decoration. A really fun place and kind of has the feel of the places I find in Western ski towns, funky but clean. Instead of heading to a table in the small dining room on the left, you head over to the counter in front of the kitchen on the right and place your order. Once you have picked your food and paid you sit down and from there you get table service with full plates and silverware. The menu is not overly long, but the items on it appear to be very good. I ordered the Green Chili Stew with Vegetables and the Burrito with fish added to it. All items were fresh and made to order. The stew came out first and it was exceptional. A thick bright green chili stew was studded with vegetables including onions, squash, broccoli and beans; and to add a suprise and extra flavor note there was a wedge of fresh pineapple as well. The flavors were excellent, well seasoned and complex with just enough heat. I would highly recommend this. The fish burrito was next, good sized and filled with Spanish Rice and beans; the fish were very nicely grilled pieces of a Snapper. All of the ingredients were very good, but as a whole the burrito didn't come together. It needed a sauce or salsa to get everything to combine. It also seemed a little too simple in the food combination, I would like to see some vegetation (onions, peppers, tomatoes and/or lettuce) and some cheese to make the burrito complete. Now for my mini rant, El Tango does not put out the chips and salsa, it is $4.95 for them and they looked good on a nearby table. They do not have water by the glass and they do not have hot sauce, at least not in a bottle, they were willing to sell me some of the salsa for $1 extra. While the food here is very high quality, well prepared and reasonably priced ($4.50 for the chili stew, $6.95 for the Burrito plus $1.00 to add the fish) I start to feel like I am less a customer and more of a income source when I have to pay an extra charge to make the meal suit me. I can understand the chips and salsa, but not serving water or having any sauce included in the burrito does not seem right to me. Now that is just me, I generally don't like to pay the high price for drinks when eating out, unless I am having something alcoholic and I like to be able to doctor the flavor of my food, but that is me, your mileage may vary. Overall a very good place, fun decor, good service, high quality food, some of which is exceptional (try the Green Chili Stew), at what should be reasonable prices until you start having to pay for all the extras. If this was closer I probably would visit again and try the Fish Tacos, but I am just bugged enough by the extras issue to not make a special trip across town.

Fat Taco - Bainbridge Mexican

UPDATED 6/24/2010 - I was by Fat Taco and apparently they are out of business.

Well I finally had a partial success in my inexpensive Mexican food quest. I think part of my ongoing hunt involves the loss of Que Tal on Coventry. Before it closed I could count on it for good, tasty, big and reasonably priced burritos. Well I may have found a pretty good substitute. Fat Taco at 8564 E. Washington Street in Bainbridge (the corner of E. Washington and Route 306 in the same little strip as Cowboy Food) is a very nice little Mexican fast food place. I have been here before, but it has been a while so I figured it was time to give them another try. Fat Taco is clean and simply but nicely decorated. You order at the front counter and you can eat inside or there are a couple of tables out front. The menu is not extensive; basically Burritos, Tacos, Nachos and Enchiladas, but the food is good and the portions are generous. I had the Fat Burrito; a vegetarian option which includes sweet potatoes, onions and peppers along with the rice, bean, lettuce, pica di gallo and cheese. The burrito was well made with generous fillings. I would note that while the menu described the onion and peppers as grilled, they seemed almost raw and the peppers were quite hot jalapeño slices. The overall taste was good, with a nice contrast between the sweet soft yams and the crunchy and hot peppers. I did need to add a combination of some hot sauce and taco sauce, but that is not unusual for me. Since it was Tuesday, I got the special, which is if you buy a burrito and a large drink, you get the chips and salsa free. The chips were obviously made in house, and while they may have sat for a day or two, they were good. The salsa was a nice fresh dice, with good flavor and texture, but it needed more heat. Overall, Fat Taco delivers high quality Mexican food at a reasonable price. While it may not knock your socks off, it will fill you up and satisfy your taste buds. If it were a sit down restaurant with a full menu my hunt might be over, but for now it continues.