Nothing special, but it'll satisfy if you don't feel like travelling
El Charrito is located in a stand alone building along Railroad Street, one block off Main Street, behind a park. It's easily visible from the main road, too, thanks to the bright colors on the outside.

Inside, the decór is decidedly downmarket, with a few brick-lined murals and some southwestern-styled lampshades hinting to the culture of the food. Outside of that, this could be any small restaurant - the tables are generic hard plastic, there's ketchup (ketchup!?) instead of hot sauce on them, and each table has a napkin dispenser like a diner.

A server attended to us quickly, bringing sweet tea, chips and salsa. The salsa was kind of "blah", a standard concoction that had little texture and even less bite. The chips were thick and orange. Some folks like thicker chips, because they hold dips and salsas better. (Me, I'm a thin white corn chip kind of guy.) The chips were served warm, at least, and the server replenished the basket before we made it to the crumbs, which was a nice gesture.

My dining friend and I decided to try the queso fundido as an appetizer. Their version has the standard white cheese dip that all Mexican restaurants offer, with crumbled chorizo sausage mixed in. The chorizo adds a nice little kick to the otherwise bland cheese dip; as the sausage's oils blended with the cheese, it turned darker and the spicy chorizo flavor intensified. It was good, but it needed something else. A layer of refried beans at the bottom would have added more to the texture and flavor of the dish. Despite that, this was some of the better chorizo I've had at area restaurants. It wasn't stringy and was very tangy.

For our entrées, my friend picked a combination dinner and I chose the chimichanga with chicken, an advertised special. The combination platter had a taco, beef enchilada and chili relleno. He noted that the relleno wasn't crispy on the outside, as he prefers, with a chewy skin. It was, however, rather large. The enchilada was just average, as was the taco. The taco shell appeared to be the same style thicker tortilla as the chips.

As for my meal, I was quite pleased. The chimi was served with rice and beans, guacamole, sour cream and tomatoes. The chimi was perfectly crispy and the chicken had a good marinated flavor. It didn't look very big on the plate, but it managed to pack in a ton of chicken. The beans were average but the rice was very good... Surprisingly so. Usually beans and rice are just something to take up space on the plate; an afterthought. It was nice to see at least one of them coming through on taste. The guacamole was pretty good, slightly chunky with onions and avacados.

Last but not least, the tea. It was good but not great. At first it actually tasted canned, but it got better over time.

Although I personally enjoyed my meal, overall this restaurant is about average. The floor and a few booths were somewhat dirty. Considering we arrived during a slow period, there should be no excuse for an untidy dining area.

If you live in the area, it is a decent alternative to driving all the way to Batesville or Oxford; each town offers something better in the way of Mexican dining, but each is also a fair drive away.    [20 Oct 2007 20:05:31]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Chicken chimichanga, queso fundido

     ­Tom Servo, ChefMoz - MS editor