Jalisco, Harrisonburg, VA

Jalisco

October 22, 2016

The moment we walked in I was stunned.  It was a delight to all my senses and at first was too much to take in.  The décor was incredible, dense and thought-out.  Selena sang upbeat classics from somewhere behind the foliage. The lighting was dim, the plants were REAL.  There were tiles and murals and wooden booths everywhere.  Fajitas sizzled in the background.  The air was completely saturated in ATMOSPERE and shrouded in mystery.   We were only in the front room and with the mirrors, Jalisco seemed to go on forever.

It was a comfortable kind of beautiful.  I had no idea!  This is the best themed restaurant in town and I had no idea.  It is located in a strip mall behind the Valley Mall and I just never thought a place like this could exist near a place like that. 

It was only second in my experience to Denver’s Casa Bonita.  It is the Casita Bonita.      

The booth was tiny but provided plenty of privacy from the other diners.  My mouth was already watering despite there being no pictures on the menu.  My attorney and I were served ample chips with salsa and coleslaw.  The coleslaw tasted like it should taste – cool, herby, and creamy.

“MMMM, delicious,”  my attorney said, chip in hand, pinky out, big smile.  I was still in a daze.

Our waiter was a young man who tried to hide his hurry.  Well done, dude.  I ordered the first thing I read.  It sounded great.  Burritos stuffed with chicken, onions, and chorizo, si, por favor!

My attorney ordered chimichangas.  

“Chicken or ground beef?”  

“Soft or fried?”  

The memories flooded back.  Those two questions I remembered well from my first job as a server at Pancho Villa’s Mexican Family Restaurant in Culpeper, Virginia.  They were the only questions I ever remembered to ask.  

How can you have one experience without being reminded of another?  

I remember that I was a terrible waitress.  

Hola and como estas!?  To my Buddies from That Time.  Thanks for taking me seriously as I butchered your native tongue, trying to learn.   You guys were like family. My last night working at Pancho Villa’s was one of the most special nights of my life and I will never forget it.

By now I was sucking a pineapple chunk off of a mini umbrella, which was precisely what I needed to just chillllax. It was no longer a biting cold fall day.  We were in Mexico!  Viva!

In the next room, a group of servers sang Happy Birthday to a customer in Spanish.  It reminded me of the time we did that for a young Mexican man at Pancho Villa’s and he cried, lonely for home.

Jalisco, just like Pancho’s, gives you free fried ice cream on your birthday.  They both also pop a big sombrero on your head. 

(I won’t say anything about the college girls who walked out wearing the restaurant’s sombreros because I don’t have anything nice to say.)

The food was so much better than El Charro. (El Charro, show me what you got!)  The guacamole was creamy.   In fact, the whole dish was creamy, not the dry-ass rice and crusty beans you get at some Mexican places.  The chicken and pork mixed well, post-mortem.  Typical Mexican food, prepared expertly.

We ordered a “xango” for dessert.  What a name.  Reminded me of Quentin Tarantino and Kurt Vonnegut.  Ice cream and cheese cake, what could go wrong?

The dessert was sweet and nutty and even though it was sweet I was tempted to describe it as savory because I was savoring it so much.  Chewy cream cheese with soft skin and cinnamon sugar and a big fried ice cream ball drizzled in honey.  MMMM, indeed.

Across the room a fajita steamed to a table like a comet, like a fish, like Willie Nelson, screaming, sauteing in flight.   We were in another land, I thought as the poor guy nervously forked the hot mess in front of him.  I continued savoring the xango and the rest of my margarita, which by the way, is named after Rita Hayworth if you ever need to impress an old person with a factoid about booze.

In conclusion, TRY JALISCO!  For dinner, the price was certainly not bad.  The seats were comfy.  The atmosphere was mind-boggling.  There was even a guy with a long wispy black mustache, if you can believe that.  It was a treat.  

Jalisco: Harrisonburg’s own out-of-city-experience.  Thanks for reading!  Amanda out