El Mariachi - Dyer

El Mariachi
2013 Hart Street
Dyer, IN 46311 MAP
(219) 322-9566
Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

February 23rd, 2007. 1:00 p.m.

Not to be confused with El Mariachi in Lansing, Illinois, this restaurant operates under different ownership and has been open only a matter of months (as evidenced by the temporary signage).

El Mariachi has quite a nice interior which led to me hoping I wouldn’t be entering another restaurant that did not offer a steak burrito ala carte. Fortunately, this was not the case. The menu items are higher than most (Carne Asada Dinner - $15.95, my Steak Burrito - $7.49), but the burrito turned out to be well worth it.

The steak burrito weighed in at over 1 2/3 pounds and contained steak, beans, lettuce, tomato, diced onion, and sour cream. The steak had excellent flavor and was cut into fairly large, thin pieces. The overall flavor was excellent and was only slightly hampered by a small piece of fat and an over-concentration of sour cream in the middle of the burrito.



The chips were excellent and had a good crunch to them. The salsa was mild and had a very good flavor.

El Mariachi appears to be a good restaurant to dine at with family and friends. I’ll definitely be going back.



Weight: 27.3 ounces
Length: 8 inches
Circumference: 10.5 inches
Price: $7.49 or 27.4¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 9/10 sombreros
Value: 8.5/10 sombreros

Los Magueyes

Los Magueyes
2562 45th Street
Highland, IN 46322 MAP
(219) 922-9720
Hours:
N/A

Update: October 11th, 2008.

CLOSED!

February 22nd, 2007. 4:00 p.m.

A quick Google search informs me that magueyes are a species of agave plant from which tequila is made. Rather interesting since no alcoholic drinks are served at Los Magueyes. Maybe they’re working on their liquor license.

This relatively new restaurant offered up the usual chips and salsas as well as a free cup of luke warm broccoli cheddar soup. The chips were unsalted and had a good crunch. The salsa was good with a nice kick, and the pico de gallo very good.



As evidenced in the picture, the burrito was served suiza style (cheese on top). It contained merely steak and beans. The steak was rather greasy but of decent flavor. This burrito was merely average and would have benefited from a few extra ingredients inside as well as less grease.

Time to move on…

Weight: 15.5 ounces
Length: 8.5 inches
Circumference: 8.5 inches
Price: $6.50 or 41.9¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 5.5/10 sombreros
Value: 6/10 sombreros

El Charro

El Charro
5031 East 81st Ave. (Route 30)
Merrillville, IN 46410 MAP
(219) 947-1737
Hours:
N/A

February 19th, 2007. 6:00 p.m.

El Charro, similar to other establishments I reviewed, does not specifically offer a steak burrito a la carte on their menu. This is usually a sign of bad things to come. When the waiter said they could do a steak burrito for $4.50 (chicken or beef burritos are $3.49), I knew I was in for it.

Chips were crispy and of a bright yellow corn variety. They seemed fresh and were unsalted. The salsa had a mild but good flavor.

My burrito arrived swimming in red sauce and covered in cheese (insert wrong answer buzzer sound here.) It is at that moment when I went to take a picture that my flash card took an apparent dump. If you need an idea of how it looked, click here and picture more sauce covering the entire bottom of the plate. Weighing/measuring proved messy and are as close to precise as I could get without getting sauce everywhere. The “burrito” contained only steak that was of decent flavor. I’d call this more of a steak enchilada and it was definitely not my thing.

After an over 5 month hiatus from this blog, this is what I get? I’ve got to hit a few more places…and quick.

Weight: 10.0 ounces
Length: 8.75 inches
Circumference: 7.0 inches
Price: $4.50 or 45.0¢ an ounce
Beer availability: Yes

Flavor: 5.5/10 sombreros
Value: 5/10 sombreros