El Rinconsito De Chapala

Another week has passed and we set out to sample the cuisine at the 2nd Mexican place on our list: El Rinconsito De Chapala at 1601 W. Wyatt Earp in Dodge City. We lost K-Dawg due to his overbooked schedule but luckily we found a worthy substitution in "Duke", a friend of The Scotsman.

Though our quest has only lasted about two weeks, I can already see a change in our group. The Sarge walks with even more confidence. The Scotsman has confided in me that soon he will try a tongue taco. And my pants are fitting a little tighter than I'd like. But don't think of us as heroes-we're just four Anglos who will not rest until we have sampled every Mexican place in Ole Dodge City!

I was a little apprehensive about this place. I had not hear any buzz and this building has gone through several different restaurants in the last year or two-so many, in fact, that I thought it might be possible that it could change to a different place while we were actually eating there...

...so I took a close-up of the sign before I went inside!

Once we went inside, I appreciated the colorful decor-it was much nicer than I expected, clean, and spacious. The waitress spoke very good English and answered all of our questions. She also gave recommendations and provided really great service to us throughout our meal.

Here is a photo of the chips and salsa. Both were distinctive: the chips were triangular and very thick and hard and the salsa was very spicy!

Sarge ordered chili relano. Unlike many places that just give one, El Rinconsito doubles up!

Chili relano: 4 (good but not spectacular. She commented that the relano could have used a little more flavor.

Chips and Salsa: 3 (too spicy!)

I had Camarone de Diablo (or something like that). Think "shrimp in some bright red sauce). It was very good, though not nearly as spicey as I had been led to believe.

Camarone de Diablo: 3.5 (pretty good but I wanted those shrimp to pack a more fiery punch)

Chips and Salsa: 4 (very spicy. Would have gotten a 5 but those chips were a bit TOO crunchy!)

The Scotsman had two gorditas, filled with ground beef. Note I did NOT say he had "tongue tacos" but I'm sure he'll make good on his promise to try them before we get to the end of our quest.

Gorditas: 3.5 (not a big fan of corn tortillas)

Chips and Salsa: 4 (also thought the chips were too hard)

When Duke's meal came out, I had a little "Diner's Envy". He had ordered Carne Asada (or something like that) and I expected to see a small pile of meat strips that he would load into a tortilla along with some other stuff. Instead, he got a steak with a mound of reddish chorizo sausage and a side of cactus. Wow!

Carne Asada Steak Chorizo Plate: 4

Chips and Salsa: 3.5 (chips just too darn crunchy)!

Overall we all enjoyed the meals and were impressed with the service. The waitress also told us that they vary the salsa that accompanies the chips, which really makes me want to go back and see if they do! They also have three kinds of dessert, including some kind of of caramel apple and some flann.