I feel like I write about Mexican food too much. Are you tired of hearing about margaritas and guacamole? I don’t think I could ever tire of those two things… And so I have another Mexican restaurant review for you today. Sorry I’m not sorry.
As I mentioned last week when I told you about my visit to Nino’s of Boca, my little sister and her BFF were in town for a bit. Naturally, this means many nights of going out to eat. It was the perfect excuse to try out a new place that just opened in Delray Beach, El Camino. It’s right next door to The Office off of Atlantic Ave. Downtown Delray has a huge variety of restaurants, but the one thing they have been severely lacking in is Mexican food. I’ve heard pretty good reviews of El Camino, which only made me want to go more, so of course I got a group together (another one of Bec’s BFFs lives down here with her fam too, so they also joined us) and we all got to experience El Camino in all of it’s opening-month glory.
The bar was super-packed with an extremely lively atmosphere — and it was only 6pm on a Thursday night! That’s a great sign, especially when a restaurant hasn’t even been open a month yet. There was a wait for tables, but thankfully I had made us a reservation. The service was impeccable; now who knows if this will fade after they’re open for a bit longer, but at least in this stage of the game they are making sure that each and every one of their customers is 100% satisfied. The GM, Matt, came to our table a few times toensure we were being taken care of. Multiple baskets of chips were brought to the table along with our guacamole and salsa. Like I’ve said before, I judge Mexican restaurants based on the “crisp factor” of the chips and the chunkiness of the guac. I guess the fact that I could not stop eating the chips throughout dinner is a sure-fire sign that they passed…
I ditched my love for margaritas for the night and tried one of their specialty cocktails: the 50/50. Mezcal, Blanco, Lime and Agave… I love the smokiness of mezcal. Some of the dishes on the menu are pretty different from your standard Mexican fare. Like the Squash Blossom Quesadilla with herbed mushrooms, Oaxaca cheese on a house-made blue corn tortilla; I didn’t get it this time, but the next time I go I’m totally ordering that. What I did get was equally as unique, and so freaking delicious it’s making me hungry just thinking about it! The House Salad… sounds super boring, right? Wrong! It had roasted pumpkin, pepitas, queso fresco, and radishes on a bed of mixed greens and tossed in a maple dressing. Does that sound like the average “house salad” to you? Uh, nope, I don’t think so.
Other dishes scattered among the table were the Cheese Enchilada, Barbacoa Tacos (brisket), Chicken Quesadillas, Carne Asada, and sides of their Green Herb Rice.
Another appealing part about El Camino is the very reasonable prices. For 7 of us, the total was really not that bad at all. And Happy Hour prices are even better; at the bar, select margaritas and cocktails are $5 and you can get appetizers for next to nothing! I’m talking $1 chips and salsa and $2 Gringo Taco. There’s even a late night Happy Hour with even better specials! It’s about time Downtown Delray got a little Mexican flare!
