Location: 360 Brown St., West Lafayette (map it)
Phone: (765) 250-3060
Cuisine: Mexican

Recently there was an article in the Journal and Courier about a new Mexican plan over where the River Rock Grille used to be. Then I got a slew of emails from people requesting I go check it out. So being the good blogger I am, I did just that. I went to Poblanos on Monday (sorry I’m late with my review, I’ve been busy with my job that actually pays me.)

Located in West Lafayette, in the same strip as BW3 and the Neon Cactus, Poblanos is a very nice place. The inside has been redone, and it’s very clean and well organized. The decor is tasteful, the eating areas are nice, and the ambiance is also good. I was impressed.

Immediately we were brought two baskets of chips and two bottles of salsa with four salsa dishes. This is nice, because everyone had their own salsa dish and we could double dip as much as we wanted. The salsa was very good, but the chips were a bit lacking. Not warmed, which I prefer. The menu was expansive, with lunch specials as well as a regular full menu with everything you could possibly want.

From the JC article, it seemed to me that the fajitas were something of a specialty. I’m not one to normally order fajitas the first time I go to a restaurant. I like fajitas just fine, but I saw on Anthony Bourdain once that fajitas are what people who don’t like Mexican food eat. And I like Mexican food, all kinds. So my usual test is something a little more traditional, but since the fajitas were a specialty, I felt like I needed to try them.

The fajitas arrived on a sizzling platter with a separate plate of beans, rice, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and pico. They looked fantastic. Unfortunately, I have to say they were not all that great. The chicken was pretty bland and dry. So I was definitely disappointed in the chicken fajitas. My friend who ordered a lunch special reported that all of her items were great. I am a big fan of refried beans, and the beans were quite tasty.

Perhaps the bland fajitas were a fluke, or else there’s some room for improvement. I’ll definitely go back and try again. The servers were really friendly and the manager or owner made his way around to greet the patrons, which is always a nice touch.

Kid Friendly: Yes.

Price: Very reasonable, lunch specials around $6-9.

Location: 1005 Main St, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-742-4793
Cuisine: Wine

I was SUPER excited when I saw this article in the Journal and Courier the other day titled Check out Uncorked, Lafayette’s new wine tasting room. It details how Main Street Wine and Cheese has expanded into the next door office space to create a wine tasting room and wine bar. Truly, this is something that has been sorely missed in Lafayette, for those of us who enjoy a glass or three of wine. For a while, we had a wine bar in West Lafayette (anyone remember Windows on the Levee, above the Capp and Ginos?) but they didn’t do wine tasting, if my memory serves. So having a wine bar in downtown Lafayette is very exciting and I couldn’t wait to go try it!

I convinced a bunch of my friends to join me for drinks and food last night to check it out. I was really impressed with the ambiance. They did a fantastic job of converting an office space into a wine bar. They had a large bar on one side with shelves on wine behind it, tables all around. The decor and lighting was really nice and it was super clean. Even the bartenders and servers were in uniforms which you really don’t see that much anymore. I immediately liked it. Oh, and it was busy. Considering I had never heard of this place (and it only opened December 11th) I was not expecting that.

We went in and got a table for our group (six of us) and the waitress brought us all water. And here is where I stop to show you a picture of my water glass.

Clearly, I am easily amused. But how cool is that water glass? Maybe the picture doesn’t do it justice, but it’s like a leaning tower of water. Truly, it’s the little details like that that always excite me the most.

Our server told us we could either go to the bar to taste wine, or she could bring it to our table. Of course, we opted for delivery! They have a list of all the wines available for tasting, and you can choose three one ounce “tastes” for free, then after that it’s $1 a taste or $4.99 for a glass of any of the wines available for tasting. They offer 10 different wines for tasting at a time.  Update: I went back tonight (1/4) and they only had 5 wines available for tasting and the cost per glass went up to $6.99. While $6.99 per glass ultimately isn’t bad, it was kind of a bummer. I did speak with the owner, who said they are keeping the cost of the bottles low by raising the cost of the by the glass wines.

They don’t have a full menu, but a wide selection of appetizers and some desserts. We decided to each order an appetizer for the table to share, so we had a wide selection of options. Among our table we had: steamed mussels, bruschetta, baked brie, stuffed mushrooms, spanakopita, steak tartare, and then some fondue as well. I am a sucker for appetizers, so this type of eating is right up my alley. I really enjoyed everything I tried. The brie was delicious, and the fondue came with a wide selection of options for dipping, including apples, bread, asparagus, and a meat that I’m not entirely sure what it was, but had a bit of a kick to it. The food was good. My only complaint was that for sharing and for the price, the dishes were pretty small. The stuffed mushrooms only came with 4 mushrooms, which makes it hard to share among six people. (They were really delicious though!)

Our server was super friendly, funny, and helpful. The delivery of the wines for tasting was pretty slow, but I imagine that has more to do with being a new place and that kind of kink will hopefully get worked out as they grow into their new business.

Overall, I was really happy with my experience and I will definitely be back again.

Kid Friendly: No, it’s a bar.

Price: A little on the pricier side for the appetizers, but very reasonable for wine by the glass. It’s rare to find a glass of wine for $5 a glass.

Menu is available on  their website and other info on their Facebook page.

Location: 408 Sagamore Pky N, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-449-0270
Cuisine: Mexican

A friend of mine told me that El Meson was pretty good, and since I think I’m running out of places to try, I decided yesterday to go give it a try and was not disappointed. This restaurant is over across from the Home Depot plaza on Sagamore Parkway. Clearly it is located inside a building that was once a fast food restaurant, but I have no idea what it originally was. Maybe a Hardees? I can’t remember what was there. It’s been decorated completely with festive tables and chairs and wall decor. (Actually, I have eaten at an El Meson in Indianapolis before, and from looking at their website, they have many locations all over Indiana.)

I walked in and there were a number of people already seated and eating. I waited to be seated by and was called “amiga,” which is a nice change from ma’am or miss. I like being someone’s friend! I asked for water and it came out quickly with chips and salsa. The salsa, while not made from fresh tomatoes, was really quite good. Spicy enough, but not too spicy.

The menu was extensive. It had all of your standard Mexican fare as well as multiple lunch and dinner combinations, an array of fajitas, and a few things that stood out to me such a the Mexican Pizza, an item made with chicken, steak, and shrimp with kudos on FourSquare. I wasn’t quite brave enough to try the pizza, so I opted for the tacos de carne asada. My friend ordered the El Meson Burrito.

The tacos were awesome. I love steak tacos, but too often they are tough and flavorless. These were tender and full of flavor. The pico de gallo was really good on them as well. Double thumbs up for the tacos de carne asada. My friend who ordered the El Meson Burrito, reported that it was really good as well.I didn’t get rice with my meal, and I’m not really a big fan of Mexican rice, but my friend got rice and assured me that it was even good.

Our server was friendly and attentive. The restaurant was clean. The floors there are standard fast-food restaurant floors with the ubiquitous brown tile, and usually when you see that places it’s almost always disgusting but they had it well taken care of it. The food was fast to arrive as well.

If you are out for Mexican, I’d definitely recommend El Meson.

Kid Friendly: Yes

Price: Very reasonable, my lunch was less than $8.

Location: 2151 Sagamore Pkwy S, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-448-3100
Cuisine: American

Let me start this review by saying we had a celebrity siting during today’s dining excursion! We went to the Breakfast Nook over by the mall, and as we were sitting there chatting one of my friends pointed out that Bob Rohrman was sitting at a nearby table. Yes, folks, it’s true. You can be jealous now. 

The Breakfast Nook is over in the mall parking lot, in what used to be the White Castle. And I will disclaim this now, knowing what the inside of a White Castle looks like, I did not have high hopes for this place. In fact, I had really low expectations and I really think I need to go into all reviews like that. Of course, we got there and it’s cheesy colored logo with a cheesy font was just glaring at me from the parking lot, but still, I went in anyway!

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was inside. Sure, it’s no fancy upscale place, but it was very clean, tasteful decorated, and most importantly, did not look like a White Castle.

It was not busy, in fact we were one of three tables with people at it. The menu is pretty extensive. They advertise that they’re “more than just breakfast” even though they are called the Breakfast Nook. They have specials for every day of the week and the regular menu has everything from breakfast to sandwiches, to seafood and more.

Since it’s called the Breakfast Nook, I felt like it was my duty to get breakfast (even though they advertise the “Best Tenderloins in Town”). I saw something called a skillet breakfast and decided to go with that, even though there wasn’t a clear description of what it was. What I ended up getting was hash browns with ham, onions and peppers topped with gravy. That was topped with a slice of American cheese. And that was topped with two eggs du jour.  (Health food!) Honestly, though, I can’t tell you if it was really good or not. It pretty much all tasted like gravy. And I’m not sure American cheese on top of gravy and under eggs is the way to go. It certainly wasn’t bad and I ate most of it, but I’m not sure it’s something I’d order again. Now I want to go back and try all these things separately.

One friend did me a solid by ordered the “Best Tenderloin in Town” and she reports that it was really good, although she’s not sure she’d give it the “best” award, but right up there and good. My other friend ordered a burger and friends. She said that it was nothing outstanding, but tasted fine. Both friends reported their fries were undercooked.

The service was quite slow, and the food took a really long time to come out, even though there were only 5 people eating in the entire restaurant. Overall, I’d probably go again if I was on that side of town and really wanted breakfast. That area by the mall is devoid of any breakfast spots aside from McDonald’s.

Kid Friendly: Yes

Price: Very reasonable. Most entrees $3-$8.

Location: 1400-3 Sagamore Pkwy North, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-448-1715
Cuisine: Mexican

Last week there was an article in the Journal & Courier titled, “No shortage of Mexican restaurants in Greater Lafayette.” I knew this was true already, but then I read the article and there were several restaurants I’d never heard of or never tried. So I figured I’d better get a couple more in here. Today I picked Mango Loco, which is directly across Sagamore Parkway from Taco Rico, so there’s some stiff competition.

It’s located in a little strip mall just south of Greenbush on Sagamore Parkway (on the east side of the road) and is surrounded by a Mexican bakery and a Mexican grocery. So if you need anything Mexican, this is apparently the place to be.

The place itself is set up in just one long area. Colorful bright walls and booths line up the wall, then the kitchen area is walled off to the other side. It is not a big place.  We arrived and a server brought us some menus and we picked a spot. There did not appear to be many people working there, or eating in there actually at the time. We sat down and perused the menu. I actually think when it started it was mostly a smoothie venture, with a few options to go with your smoothie, and it has morphed into a full restaurant. The menu had two sides, one side in English and another in Spanish. That was a very nice touch.

The menu consisted of your regular Mexican fare: tacos, burritos, tostadas, etc. as well as smoothies. My standard order at any new Mexican place are tacos de carne asada, so I tried to order those but was told they were out of steak. So I switched to a chicken burrito. My friend order chicken tostadas. I also asked for some chips and salsa, which were not immediately brought to the table.

The wait for the chips and salsa took a while, and the server apologized for that, but the they were very good. The salsa was on the thinner side, but I like thin salsa with good flavor, so it was just fine. The chips were extra salty which I like.

Then out came the food. My burrito was huge, so big  that I knew immediately that eating all of it in one sitting was not going to be a successful mission today.  The burrito had in it rice, chicken, lettuce, some kind of cheese sauce, and an interesting bean option. I ordered beans on the side, because I really like refried beans, but these weren’t the same. It was like a cross between black beans and refried beans. Like refried black beans perhaps. I really liked it in my burrito. I was not as much a fan on the side. The burrito also had avocado slices in it, and that’s really unusual and was extra tasty. It looked like the burrito had been grilled a little on all sides. It was really good and I’m looking forward to going and finishing the other half after I write this review.

My friend had the chicken tostadas and they were each loaded with a big hunk of avocado. She reports they were delicious. (They looked really good.)

The service wasn’t spectacular. Our water went dry and things kind of came out slowly and in no particular order. The restaurant itself is small and the Mexican MTV on the TV in the back was a little loud. There was only one other person eating in, but there was a steady stream of people coming in for take out orders the whole time we were there.

I would definitely recommend going and trying Mango Loco. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. But I think next time, I’ll get it to go. (Next time, I need to try a smoothie. That was a mistake I made today.)

Kid Friendly: Yes

Price: Very reasonable. $8 for a large burrito and a side of beans.