First Impression

John: If you were to ask the average American what their three favorite holidays are, they would probably say: Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday. However, over the past 10 years, I've noticed a strange trend: Cinco De Mayo is quietly sneaking up the favorite holiday chart. Think about this, I can name at least seven holidays that Cinco De Mayo has passed on the favorite holiday chart since 2001: Labor Day, Arbor Day, Grandparents Day, Columbus Day, Sweetest Day, President's Day and Flag Day. In only nine years, Cinco De Mayo has gone from 31st on my favorite holiday list up to eighth. That's a chart jump that only a new Lady Gaga song has experienced. Now why would I bring all of this up? Because Cinco De Mayo is Wednesday and to celebrate, Tim and I headed to Monterey, a Mexican restaurant. I think we went there on the busiest night of the week too. And I should probably add that Monterey had Tim's three favorite things: trivia, margaritas and giant sombreros hanging on the walls. If you're looking for a quiet dinner, Monterrey may not be what you're looking for.

Tim: Americans have a recent history of taking other countries' holidays (St. Patrick's Day, for example) and using them as a reason to wear what our stereotypical notion of what people from that country wear, and drink a lot of beer from that country. Cinco de Mayo is a thriving part of this new trend. What we as Americans have to do with whatever Mexicans celebrate on Cinco de Mayo is beyond me. Which makes me wonder if other countries do this as well. What about on the fourth of July? Has this hit the international scene yet? Do people from other countries go to American bars and dress up in stereotypical American garb and drink Miller Lite? What is traditional American garb? Jean shorts?

Anyway, Monterey was clearly getting geared up for Cinco de Mayo when we went because the place was packed and they were playing a game called "trivioke." As the name suggests this is a game in which you get points for both being smart (trivia) and acting stupid (karaoke) in the same game.

John: 9
Tim: 8

Appetizers

John: Tim's appetizer was a margarita that might have been the size of a fish bowl. On the other hand, the food appetizer was the Queso Fundido and some Chicken Nachos. The fundido was a mixture of  Mexican beef, poblano peppers, grilled onions and mushrooms. And when I say mushrooms, I am talking about an amount that the Smurfs could build a thriving metropolis with. (If you weren't alive during the 80's, the Smurfs make their houses out of mushrooms.) The beef really is what makes this dish. Because of the way Monterey cooks it, all the ingredients take on a light beefy flavor. So if you don't like the way beef tastes, you may not like the dish. Oh and if you don't like mushrooms (like Tim) you may not like it either. The nachos were covered in shredded chicken which is so much better than diced chicken.

Tim: I'm glad Breech brought up the margarita because you must heed my warning. My fish bowl sized margarita was the medium size. Apparently there was one size bigger, but I never saw it, presumably because it would have to come to your table on a fork lift.

Monterey puts the "fun" in fundido because it really could serve as a meal unto itself. It comes with flour tortillas for you scoop all the cheesy, sausagy, peppery deliciousness onto. And the mushrooms are large enough to easily avoid.

I was kind of expecting to see some more toppings on the nachos, but I'm a meat and cheese guy so just seeing the chicken and queso was no problem at all.

Fundido: John 8, Tim 8
Nachos: John 7, Tim 8

Entrées

John: For the main course, we went muchas grande. We ordered the Texas Fajitas, the El Combo Special Combination and the El Burro De La Roqueta. The El Burro is a tortilla wrapped chicken burrito that's simmered in beer, which I think is half the reason Tim wanted to order it. Whatever the reason though, it was definitely the best thing at the table. The burrito was filled with melted cheese and pico de gallo which gave it a very fresh taste. The Texas Fajitas were probably the best deal. Usually when I order my fajitas with all the meat (shrimp, chicken, steak), it costs about $20 and it's not that great. At Monterrey, it cost us $11.75 and it was that great. Make sure you top the fajitas with lots of guacamole and Monterey's secret sauce. I'll let Tim talk about the El Combo because it consisted of about 17 things and I could probably take up three pages in the paper writing about it.

Tim: If you want a little bit of everything, get the El Combo Special Combination - taco, burrito, enchilada, beans, rice, one other flat thing with guacamole and a whole heap of toppings for just under $11. Here I should note, I got to the restaurant about 15 minutes before Breech and in that time I polished off an entire bowl of chips and salsa. Needless to say, after the giant margarita, the fundido that could have been a meal and the chips and salsa, seeing the 43 plates full of food that arrived at our table at entree time was a little intimidating. But you'll be proud to know that I forged ahead valiantly and managed to get a good taste of everything. And Breech is right. The El Burro was the highlight of a very filling course.

El Burro: Breech 8.5, Tim 9
Fajitas: Breech 8, Tim 7
El Combo: Breech 6.5, Tim 7

Desserts

John: For the tastiest part of the meal, we went with Sopapillas and Fried Ice Cream. I love fried everything, so I knew I would like the fried ice cream. Now the Sopapillas are a different story. When I was 10 years old, I used to cut up tortillas, fry them and then toss them in cinnamon and sugar. That's basically what the sopapilla is. Here is who is going to love the sopapilla: kids (it's sugary, kids love sugar) and people who want a light dessert. I fell into neither category. Keep in mind though, the sopapillas are a dessert, so even if you don't like them, you'll like them. Does that make sense?

Tim: I'm not high on the Mexican notion of dessert. I don't like corn flakes on my ice cream. I don't like tortilla chips with sugar on them. The whole course made me really thirsty. I think dessert should be rich, moist and decadent and none of those words will ever be used to describe either of the desserts that we ordered. Am I whining? 

Fried Ice Cream: John 8.5, Tim 4
Sopapillas: John 6.5, Tim 3

Final Impression

John: Since we showed up at Monterrey on trivia night, I thought it would only make sense to ask a Cinco De Mayo related trivia question. Ready? What is Cinco De Mayo a celebration of? Here are your choices: A. Mexican Independence B. Pancho Villa C. Mexican forces toppling France in some obscure battle D. It doesn't celebrate anything, Corona and the tequila companies invented it to sell alcohol and get people drunk. While D. makes sense and I'll give you a half of a point if you guessed it, the answer is C. If you're in the mood for a fiesta type atmosphere at dinner, then Monterey will be a perfect place to check out.

Tim: Okay, to sum things up I'll quickly list a few things that Monterey has:  outdoor seating, solid service, tasty food, affordable prices, arid desserts, giant margaritas and weird bar games. If that doesn't sound like a place to spend your Cinco de Mayo, then I don't know what to tell you.

John: 7.5
Tim: 8