Texican Cafe - 11940 Manchaca Rd 3.8/5

 It was the day after Christmas and all through the house it was time for enchiladas! The boys headed to the Texican Cafe with visions of lunch specials dancing in their heads. While the service was a bit spotty it was friendly nonetheless. They were doing a brisk business and probably on skeleton crew, being the holiday season. Rusty was disappointed they only served unsweetened iced tea. Hard to keep the sweetness level right when the glass gets regularly topped off with unsweetened tea. That wasn't a big problem today as the teas were only refilled once and both were empty before the meal was finished. 

 No problems with the food, though. The chips were the yellow corn variety, not the boys' favorite, but not overly thick as some of the worst offenders. The chips were warm when served and the salsa was tasty with a nice heat to it. Salsas tend to go in one of two general directions. Chunkier versions with a prominent pico de gallo element and a "fresher" taste albeit usually heavier on cilantro flavor. Then there is the the more pureed, less chunky style which tends to have a richer flavor with less of a cilantro element. The Texican's salsa is more the latter style and not a bad salsa. Steve leans toward the fresher, chunkier salsas while Rusty tends toward the smoother, richer salsas. Steve found the Texican's salsa to be a bit heavy on the salt while Rusty thought it had the perfect burn to it.

El Paso Enchiladas

with beef

Sour Cream Enchiladas

with chicken

 Steve ordered the beef El Paso Enchiladas, a classic enchilada with a smoky red chili sauce that was deep red, rich, and deliciously savory! The filling was a tasty, spiced ground beef and nicely melted cheddar cheese topped it all off. The flavors all worked well together and Steve made short work of his plate. Rusty ordered his favorite sour cream enchiladas with shredded chicken. These enchiladas were an especially large portion stuffed with tasty chicken and covered with a more than generous amount of the creamy, rich sour cream sauce and white cheese. The sour cream enchiladas are the house specialty, claims the Texican menu, and it would be hard to argue that point. So smooth and creamy and bursting with chicken. They were decadently delectable! The rice was very tasty with a nice spicy flare. Quite fluffy and flavorful. The refried beans were especially boring compared to the overall deliciousness of their plated companions. When given a choice Steve prefers to steer away from refried beans, while Rusty prefers them when they are done well. Steve and Rusty both liked the small tortilla bowl of fresh pico de gallo that came with each dinner. The pico de gallo added a nice touch especially to the El Paso enchiladas.

 At $7.99 the lunch specials were a good deal and guacamole could be added to any lunch special for $1.99. Unfortunately the drink is not included and at $2.25 it is priced higher than many other places. A bit steep especially with no sweet tea available. All in all the scrumptious enchiladas got Texican Cafe in the "worth another visit" and "good enough to recommend" categories and puts them a good step above your typical strip mall fare. -¡!-

¡Muy bien!

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