Friday, January 7, 2011

the golden age of mexican restaurants

When I was in grad school, one of my professors hailed us as living in "the golden age of mexican restaurants in Utah Valley".  Then he went on to name about 15 establishments and their specialty.  The scary thing was that he was spot on.
Fast forward two years . . . Cody & I had decided to come to Iowa.  One of his cousins who had lived in Wisconsin warned us that the further east we traveled, the worse the mexican food would be.  For most people, that wouldn't be a big deal.  But it was a little scary for two mexican food junkies like us.  I hoped that Cody's cousin was wrong -- but he was 100% right. 
We have been trying really hard to find a good mexican place here.  Tonight, we may have had success.  Just take a look at Cody's $10 dinner:
The salsa was fab; the chips were delish; my diet coke was adequately caffinated; and the food was the best we have had here (with Taco Bell coming in a close second). 
To top things off, the to-go box had 'gracias' embossed on the lid.  Lovely!
Gracias for reading!  And commenting :)

7 comments:

Tammi said...

Forget the size of the meal...look at the size of that soda! What the heck?

Bethany said...

I bet I know which teacher you're talking about :). Did he then go on to label every part of the sentence regarding the Mexican establishment?

Stephanie said...

No Names at Ixtapa were my favorite when I was in Washington. Nothing else has ever come close.

Brett - Rachel B said...

So true! The further east the worse it gets. Just try eating Tex Mex in Japan! Buh!
Good job on your findings!

Camber said...

Where is this place? We NEEEEEED some good Mexican food bad!

wendy said...

Yeah spill the beans Larkin! I need a name here!

Larkin said...

The restaurant is called El Cactus and it is behind the Walgreens in Coralville. Enjoy!