Cilantro's

A few weeks ago, we were invited to go to Cilantro’s Mexican Grill by our friends Tim and Suzy. Tim spoke highly of the place, and we decided that we should give it a try. (This review was written a few weeks ago, but somehow was not published) The interior is nice and well lit, and the booths are hand carved.

Their menu is unwieldy, offering many, many different variations of Burritos, Chimichangas, Quesadillas, Salads, Fajitas, Soups, TWO sections dedicated to specials of the house (Especialidades De Casa, and Especialidades de la Noche), a combination/mix and match section, and a small section for “Tradiciones de Mexico” (Traditions of Mexico). It is a staggering menu, and honestly I wondered if the differences are really noticeable between each variant of main courses. I also wondered why “Especialidades de Noche” are just specialties of “the night”, why “Tradiciones de Mexico” only is four items when we are at a restaurant that claims to serve Mexican cuisine.

All of that said, I had the Tacos Al Pastor, which were surprisingly very tasty. The meat was tender, and the flour tortilla held everything together, but the creaminess of the avocado really made the flavors pop. I was hoping for more spice, but it was quite delicious. This Al Pastor taco was better than a few others I’ve had in bigger cities.

My wife had the Puerto Vallarta Shrimp Tacos, and she said they were very good. She enjoys shrimp and fish tacos and was very happy with the taste and texture.

For dessert, we had the Fried Ice Cream, which was well… Fried Ice Cream. It came in a huge sugary edible bowl, just covered with so much whipped cream, I felt like the Ice Cream was an afterthought. After digging through an endless amount of whipped cream, the ice cream was small compared to the size of the desert, and coated in Corn Flakes. I really felt, that the star of this dessert was definitely not the ice cream.

I enjoyed the entrées I had, the food was good, but the food could have been better if they had a smaller and more focused menu. I really disliked the Fried Ice Cream, because I wouldn’t have ordered it had they called it what it was: Whipped Cream in Edible Bowl with some ice cream.

Final Thought: I’d go back, because it wasn’t bad, but I wish they’d make some changes to the menu and make a few items truly shine from other Mexican restaurants in town.