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.

Location: 3500 E. Indiana 38 Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: (765) 838-1975
Cuisine: Asian

I had a lot of people recommend Fortune House as a place to try, and everyone on Facebook was very complimentary so I decided to head out there today to check it out. It’s located over where the Old Country Buffet used to be, by Michaels and Staples and Petsmart. I was skeptical at first, because a number of restaurants have tried and failed in this location.

Upon entering, we were directed to our table and had our drink orders taken. The place is pretty nice inside, with large buffets arranged in the buffet area. The restaurant is clean with lots of tables and there were plenty of people there for lunch.

Our drinks arrived and then we were left at our table with no directions or instructions about how everything works, so we eventually just got up and started wandering around. I wasn’t sure when we got there what the cuisine type was – Chinese? Japanese? Mongolian? And apparently, the answer to those are yes.

The first buffet table was sushi, and I was happy to see two sushi chefs behind the counter, making the sushi and dishing it out. There is nothing less appealing to me than a sushi buffet with who knows how old sushi sitting on a cold plate. At least here, you could tell it was being made fresh and put out for you to try.

There were also several buffets of mostly Chinese food. You had your regular fare of lo mein, chicken with broccoli, and sweet and sour chicken as well as some other options that were new, such as Hong Kong Chicken, Mongolian Pork, and a lot of sea food options as well.

Then the last buffet was a raw meat and veggie station where you can get your stir fry cooked to order.

After wandering around, I chose to start with the Chinese fare and got a plate of that. It was just okay. While I was impressed with the selection, the food itself was nothing spectacular, and the lo mein noodles were really not good at all. I was underwhelmed with the Chinese food.

Next I hit the sushi buffet. It is well documented here that I am no connoisseur of sushi. I always try it, and often like it, but it’s never my first choice and my palate is not very discerning. I got a plate of various choices and they were all okay. Again, nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either.

Finally, even though I was getting very full, I needed to try the Mongolian stir fry area. I had to ask another patron for the procedure here, because there were no instructions. Just a bar of raw meat and veggies and a guy with a grill. So the basic premise is that you fill up one plate with your meats and veggies that you want stir fried, then another plate with your rice or noodles. Then you take them over to the grill and set them down and the grill guy cooks it all up for you. Some people stood and watched, others went off to get other food and come back. I watched him cook. It was cool. He asked if I wanted spice, and I said a “little” and wuhoo, was it spicy. It was good though. As far as the food I ate, that was the best part.

They also had salad, fresh fruit, and desserts as well. There was definitely a lot of everything as far as selections go.

It doesn’t stand out as best sushi, or best Chinese, but if you can’t decide what you want, or have a group that wants different options, it will definitely fit the bill.

Friend’s opinions: From @kristenrielly, “fortune house – 1st Chinese buffet but thought it was good, chicken & steak were tasty. Will try the ‘make your own’ next time.”

Kid Friendly: Yes. There were french fries and other kid friendly items on the menu.

Price: Lunch buffet ist $6.25 – full pricing on their Facebook page.

Restaurant Name: HuHot Mongolian Grill

Location: 100 S. Creasy Lane, Lafayette, IN 47905 (map it)

Phone: (765) 447-8903

Hours: Lunch: 11AM-4PM, Dinner: 4PM-close

Cuisine: Mongolian, Asian

Restaurant was okay, but not great.

When we were ready to eat, the waitress started to walk us through the process like we were all 2 years old at which point I attempted to preempt any further explanation and said “so, it’s just like BD’s Mongolian Grill”.  Her response: “No, not at all”, and she proceeded with her painful step by step demonstration.  Make no mistake, it’s just like BD’s.

differences compared to BD’s Mongolian Grill:

• No one-trip pricing.  It appeared you could only get all-you-can-eat:  $8 or $9 for weekday lunch;  $11 or so for weekday dinner, $13 or so for weekend dinner.   According to the menu, they have expanded food selections for dinner and even more for weekends to go along with higher prices for both;  not sure what that entails.
• The bowls at the buffet were larger than BD’s, which was nice. Didn’t feel like I had to cram every last ounce into the bowl.
• The selection of meats/veggies/etc on the main buffet was comparable to BD’s.  Most of the selections appeared fresher than I recall at BD’s.  Probably helped that it was early on day 1 and food had not been sitting out for hours.
• No dry herbs and spices to choose from.  I guess their selection of sauces and oils is supposed to replace this.
• Since there were no dry herbs and spices, the choice of sauce and oil is very important, but this is where I felt they fall short.  They have a nice variety of 20+ sauces/oils, of which they advise to put in 5-7 ladles (compared to 2 at BD’s).  But, I found the sauces to be very weak.  I combined 5 ladles of teriyaki and soy and another ladle of something more spicy (I don’t recall what) for my first trip and the outcome was B-L-A-N-D!  Adding salt afterward barely helped.  My second helping was much better when I did 50% soy/teriyaki and 50% spicy kung pow/hot chili.  I’m not big on hot foods, but even with that mixture it barely qualified as hot or spicy (and it still needed salt).  Others said the same about the sauces being weak.  I’d suggest bringing along a salt shaker to add some before the food is cooked.
• A nice touch after your meal is cooked is a small station with nuts, coconut, chow mein noodles, wasabi, and maybe another item or two to garnish/top off your dish.
• Each person received their own dish of rice or tortillas, which I liked, so you don’t have to watch the community rice bowl quickly empty as it goes around the table leaving the last person with scraps.  Not sure if it was limited today or just at lunch or what, but you could get either rice or tortillas, but not both.  We didn’t ask for seconds on that.
• No salad bar.  It might be one of those “expanded” dinner/weekend selections.  More likely that there is no salad bar and you’d order one off the menu at additional cost.
• They do have a full-service bar.  But, I didn’t see any stools or chairs to sit around to enjoy a drink which would be nice if it were busy and you were waiting for a table.

Overall, the food itself was fresh and looked good, it just needed some extra kick that I didn’t find in my selection of sauces.