El Jalapeno

This little Mexican restaurant is rather new. It’s located just south of Detroit on west 117th street. The building tends to blend into the surroundings rather than draw you in, but that is left to the architect blog. This is not the type of place I would go expecting a quality experience, but looks can be deceiving. Kari and I had a wonderful meal there last week. The tequila was flowing, the pina colada could not come in a bigger glass, and the food was tasty, wholesome, and filling.

I ordered the "camarones el pacifico" which consisted of 10... yes 10 shrimp wrapped in bacon and cooked to a turn. This was served over a very generous amount of sauteed bell peppers and onions, that where very fresh tasting, not oily at all, and very filling. My dish alone was served with rice, beans and soft tortilla. Wow! The only turn off was, with my perfect sweet accent, and rolling tongue with the, "camarones" the bartender countered with a, "ok, what number is that" as the menu is numbered for easy ordering for those less cultured individuals.

We also sampled a burrito, a tamale, a chimichanga, and the pablano chili reno. The pablano fell short only in that it had a fishy aftertaste, as if it was cooked in the same fryer as other seafood. By no means was it bad, it was just the most off item we ordered, and all the other samples where spot on!

For a bargain Mexican meal that rates high on flavor and low in cost, El Jalapeno is the spot. Chipotle might be a close runner up, but EJ menu is quite extensive, and from what I’ve seen, pleasantly surprising.