Enrique’s Restaurant Review

Good Ole’ Mexican-Erie Comida

Enrique’s Southeast Mexican Taqueria & Tortilleria

A Restaurant Review

Okay, here’s a fun fact I heard on the radio when planning my first visit to Enrique’s: Guess where the last remaining Chi-Chi’s restaurant is? (Remember Chi-Chi’s and its Mexican cuisine at the Millcreek Mall? Ahh, memories.)

Vienna, Austria!

Hey, I wonder how you say Be careful, the plate is hot! in German? The only other thing I recall about Chi-Chi’s is the urban myth that the restaurant’s name meant boobs in Spanish.

I’m done now.

The interior of Enrique’s was certainly festive: with walls and wainscoting painted bright green, red and yellow colors, the restaurant certainly exuded a happy environment; I just wish more people could appreciate it. When my dinner guest and I attended, we were the only patrons. Since it’s a relatively new business, I kept hoping other diners would visit during our time there, but no luck.

Before we looked at the menu, we both decided we wanted something authentic, exotic, not something we could get through a drive-thru. No tacos, no quesadillas. So, I chose the Chicken with Chile Guajillo (see picture above) as my entree; my guest ordered the Beef Mexican Plate.

While the menu offered drinks for gringos (Pepsi, orange juice, bottled water, etc.) we again wanted to try something different, distinctive. I remember someone ordering a Horchata on TV once and even though it didn’t describe what it was on the menu, I thought I’d give it a try.

Big mistake. Should’ve Googled it. Turns out wasn’t my cup of tea, so to speak. Horchata is a mixture of milk, cinnamon, vanilla. With ice cubes. I’ve never been a big fan of milk and it certainly didn’t seem to pair up at all with my spicy entree’.

I tried my dinner guest’s drink to wash the taste of milk from my palette and was slightly less let down with the Agua Fresca melon they ordered. The few times I’ve tried a melon drink its always had a bland, blah-blah taste; so was the case this time. Thus, throughout our supper, I stuck with my complimentary ice water.

And with my meal, it turns out I needed it.

I have to say I was warned by the waiter that the dish was spicy. The Chicken with Chile Guajillo, while tasty, was very spicy. So much so I had to develop a dining strategy to consume the meal. To temper the fire of the chile-d chicken, I ate each soft tortilla with the side dishes, yellow rice and black beans, which, before now, I never had much of a use for. However, a side order of cool sour cream also allowed me to make the best of the meal.

The Beef Mexican Plate was a more pleasant experience and not a challenge to munch. With strips of beef, mild spicy green peppers, cubed tomatoes, yellow rice with peas and black beans, the entree’ filled us to the point of foregoing dessert.

A new-ish restaurante definitely worth visiting, next time I’m hungry for Mexican cuisine, I know where I’m going.

Vamos a Enrique’s!

***Tony B

Enrique’s Southeast Mexican Taqueria & Tortilleria is located at 1801 Liberty St., Erie. For more information, visit enriquestaqeria.com