Tacos Jalisco

Jalisco Mexican Restaurant (at 2601 Central in Dodge City) is better known as "that Mexican place in the mall" or to some "that Mexican place with the really good margaritas". I had heard that they have a similar (the original, I guess) in Hays, KS but I am not certain.




The Scotsman
Chips and Salsa: 4 "The Chips are warm-I like that".
Chimachanga Plate: 4.5 "This place is very good-not too spicy. I really like the cheese sauce and I will order this again".




I had the shrimp fajitas. The fajitas were okay but I could have used a little more flavor from the shrimp. It came with a lot of goodies (foil wrapped tortillas, sizzling meat and veggies, beans, guacamole, etc)...but I felt like the flavor just wasn't there. I like it spicy and this place is clearly more geared for folks that prefer tame foods like mashed potatoes, white gravy, and corn. I score it a 3.
Chips and salsa: 3. They were decent but nothing remarkable.



K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 3 "It's average".
Burrito Deluxe: 3 "I've had better at this place but this burrito is a '3'. I am not a fan of their hamburger meat and this was full of it".



Sarge:
Chips and Salsa: 4.5 "This is my kind of salsa. It is not too hot and I can taste the veggies".
Tamale Deluxe Meal: 4. "The flavor is good but I really don't like the burger".

This place has a lot of fans and good service. Additionally three out of our four either really liked their meal or have had really good experiences here in the past. In fact, if K-Dawg ordered something different and I wasn't present, I suspect that Jalisco would have scored as one of the best Mexican places in town-so if you are a fan of a mild Mexican food, I think Jaliscos would be a great choice.

Tacos Jalisco

Tacos Jalisco is located at 412 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd. The metal building is a stark contrast from the tiny little run-down shack that was Tacos Jaliscos a few years ago...and it is one of my favorite Mexican places in Dodge City. I expected it to score well compared to the other places in town and it did not disappoint.



The chips and salsa were promptly delivered. Tacos Jaliscos differs from other Mexican places in Dodge in that it has a little "relish bar" where they have pickled spicey peppers mixed with carrots and onions and such. It's spicey and "dilly" but pretty good. They also have radish slices, which I find help cool things off.


Sarge
Chips and Salsa:5. Keep in mind that the Sarge never gives "5"'s. She's tough that way. She said "the interplay of the various flavors is great". She never talks that way-I almost reached out to tear off her "Sarge Mask" and see who was posing as Sarge but then I remembered that if it WAS Sarge, she would probably execute me-so I let it slide. Suffice it to say, she liked the chips and salsa.
Flautas: 4. "They are nice and crunchy-and I like the garnishes".


I too enjoyed the chips and score them a solid 4. The salsa is flavorful and a bit spicy and the chips are always good.
My meal was a pork torta (sanwich) and a carne asasa taco (combo plate). The combo plate was really good (4) but I would have preferred a little more of the cheese covered refried beans. Every time I go to TJ's the bean portion shrinks a little. Are they trying to tell me something?

I also washed it down with a Mexican-Coke-In-A-Bottle and some flan (kind of a caramel-butterscotch custard). When I was finished I wanted nothing more than a long nap!


K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 4. "I love their salsa".
Hot!Hot!!Hot!!! Torta: 4. K-Dawg ordered the Hot!Hot!!Hot!!! Torta (sandwich) after I assured him that I had ordered it before and lived. I may have exaggerated some of that (I don't remember my torta being 100% immersed in hot sauce and delivered in a lake of fiery goodness). Watching K-Dawg's face turn bright red and tracing the beads of sweat as they rolled down his forehead provided great entertainment to all of us.


This is what remained after K-Dawg called it quits-he did some major damage on that thing! "It was very good, but MAN it is hot".



Pioneer Woman:
Chips and Salsa: 5. "It has the right flavor, seasoning, and cilantro".
Chicken Taco meal: 4.5 "It was pretty good but I was hoping for a fried shell. Good flavor, though."

There you go-the lowest score on our foursome was a 4-making Tacos Jalisco one of the best Mexican food places that we've found in Ole Dodge City yet!

Mariscos Nayarit

Mariscos Nayarit is located at 509 N. 2nd, hidden away upstairs in the old Eckles building. Several of our intrepid band used to eat here a few years ago but we all kind of forgot about it. Mariscos Nayarit's lack of signage and advertising probably contribute to this...but I'm really glad we rediscovered it because we all had a really good meal here.

We entered the building, scaled the stairs, and found ourselves in a more or less empty eatery. A waitress came out and immediately got us going on our orders. K-Dawg talked me into going "off the reservation" a little on my ordering-more on that later. I am starting to think he's a bad influence, though.

Sarge remarked (on the eclectic decor) that "this place has strange artwork. Reminds me of some random yard sales". The service was good, though, and (unlike a couple other places we've been), was a quiet and relaxing dining experience.



Here are the chips and salsa. Chunky!



Sarge:
Chips and Salsa: 4. "A little hot but has personality. Also big chunks. I like big chunks in my salsa."
Chili Releno: 4.5. "Excellant. Really good chili relano."



The Scotsman:
Chips and Salsa: 4."Good sauce. I like it."
Beef Enchilada and Pork Tamale: 4 and 3. The Scotsman didn't have much to say about his meal but did spend a lot of time eyeballing and snatching my soup!




I enjoyed the chips and salsa-the salsa is (you guessed it) chunky and flavorful. I rate them a 4.

Pictured above is my Marinero Soup-it came with a sterno thing inside and (though my camera did not capture it) had a blue flame shooting out the top that kept it warm. The soup was awesome as a conversation piece-in addition to the blue flame (flaming meals ROCK!), it was chock full of various pieces of seafood including shrimp, clams, fish, crab, and some weird stuff that I could not identify. It was so popular that several of my dining companions snatched some up and enjoyed it. It wasn't cheap ($12, I think) but it was delicious, a full helping, and something that two people could easily share if they wanted. I rate it a 4.5 on our 5 point scale.



K-Dawg
Chips and Salsa: 4 "Two-thumbs up".
Devil's Shrimp: 4 "At first I didn't think it was that spicy but it catches up to you!".

Overall, Mariscos Nayarit was a really good experience. We all rated it high and I am certain it will be voted in the top 5 Mexican places in Dodge.

One word of caution though: they do not accept any plastic so bring cash or checks!