Casa Villa

I know it's crazy but I was addicted to this taco truck in CT awhile back. I've calm down since then but the last time I went to CT, I tried out another Mexican place. This time it was an actual restaurant.

Complimentary Chips and Salsa

The salsa was great. It had a nice kick and was flavorful. It also wasn't water down like some salsas I've had in the past.

Sangria - I think it was $8?

Decent but I still like Pio Pio's white win sangria better (the one on Northern Blvd in Queens)

Hot sauces - I forget which one was the spicy and which one was mild but both were decent hot sauces.

Cocktail De Camarones - $10 - Shrimp with onions, tomatoes, cilantro in a citrus cocktail sauce

It had a good amount of small shrimp in this cup. I didn't eat this so I'm not sure how it tastes.

Sopa De Mariscos - $8 or $15 -- Seafood medley and vegetables in a red seafood broth.

The person that ordered this enjoyed this. It had all sorts of seafood and the broth was good.

Flautas De Pollo - $6 -- Two crispy corn taguitos filled with chicken and spices. Served on a bed of shredded lettuce, black beans, onions, with tomatillo sauce and crema mexicana.

This was disappointing. The chicken was bland and the garnish on top of it didn't do much. Overall, if it was for the hot sauce, I don't think I would have enjoyed it one bit.

Chicken Burrito with Rice and Beans - $10

I think the picture speaks for itself. The burrito was quite disappointing. The chicken just didn't have any flavor and there was nothing inside of it to make up for the tasteless chicken. It looks like the chicken wasn't even grilled properly.

Overall, I'm not sure I would ever go back here. It just isn't worth the trip to CT.

Casa Villa
866 E Main St
Stamford, CT 06902

Phone number (203) 348-0622
casavillarestaurant.com

JV's Mexican Food

I almost didn't post these pictures because they really don't look all that appetizing.

....but here it is anyway!

The rice and beans were not bad. The burrito though? Eh. I was so disappointed. The meat flavor was lacking and I found it a bit chewy.

Ah well.

JV's Mexican Food
1112 Morena Blvd (at Buenos Ave)
San Diego, CA 92110

(619) 276-0758
http://www.jvsmexfood.com

Fiesta de Reyes

Mexican Mexican!

Pina Colada

I don't understand how restaurants can mess up pina coladas...

Standard chips and salsa

Overall, a decent restaurant but I've definitely had better mexican.

Fiesta de Reyes
2754 Calhoun St (at Wallace St)
San Diego, CA 92110

(619) 297-3100
http://www.oldtownmexicanfood.com/

El Charrito - Taco Truck

My favorite burrito truck...I went back again last Saturday. 

I got my usual chicken burrito and it was yummy as ever. The person that took me there got the below. I believe it was their two meat platter. We got shrimp and spicy pork.

Shrimp was good. Had a nice flavor and didn't taste old. The rice and beans were good as well.

The spicy pork this time was a bit disappointing. I remember it being better the last time.

I am ready to go back!

El Charrito
On Richmond Hill Ave in Stamford, CT
203 - 940 - 0922
www.elcharritollc.com

El Charrito - Taco Truck

I was watching a food show on Netflix one day and saw an episode of Best Food Ever. The episode was called "Fab Food Carts".

A few of the carts piqued my interest but one especially caught my eye...El Charrito. It's a mexican truck located in Stamford, CT.

Well, I decided to go one day to check it out! (It's really not that far so I'm not that crazy)

Shabby truck but who cares as long as the food taste good (and I don't get sick) right?

I really wanted to try the spicy pork that was on the show but when I looked at the menu, I couldn't figure out what it was. In the show, it looked like it was shredded pork but when I asked them if they had shredded pork, they said no. I ended up getting a chicken burrito and my accomplice got a pork skin taco and their soup of the day.

Cueritos Taco

I'm not a big fan of corn tortilla so I didn't eat this but I did taste the pork skin. It was yummy!

Chicken Burrito

This picture doesn't do the burrito any justice. This place makes a burrito the way I like it. The filling just consist of the meat, beans and cheese. No veggies or any other crap. I don't care for rice and lettuce and tomatoes just makes a burrito too watery for me.

This thing was pretty darn good. After they wrapped up the burrito, they placed it on the grill so that the wrap is slightly crisp and the cheese is nice and melted. Once of the best burritos that I have had.

(They also have a hot and mild sauce that you get on the side. The hot sauce has a weird taste but the mild sauce is pretty good.)

Oh! That soup of the day didn't look good and didn't taste it. It was a watery base soup with some veggies and a couple of pieces of beef? Or pork? Either way, the meat didn't look all that cooked.

Take 2:

Yes, just a few weeks later, I went back again! I got the chicken burrito again but my accomplice let me get something new for him so I can try ;)

(The below 2 pics were taken from my phone in a somewhat dim room..forgive the quality)

Huaraches - Spicy Pork

I don't think I am a fan of huaraches, which I believe is made of some kind of Mexican dough. The fried "dough" was pretty bland. The spicy pork though was good! Good flavor and moist. The next time I go to this place, I think I will have a hard time deciding between a spicy pork burrito or a chicken burrito.

Anyway, if you are in the area or want to take a little road trip, go out and visit this truck! The one thing that is bad is the parking. You kinda have to park in some store's parking while you order the food. At least that is what we did. It wasn't a problem though. The area is not highly congested.

P.S. One thing I forgot to say about this truck is that the ingredients are pretty fresh. The food that comes out of it really doesn't look like something that would come from a truck.


El Charrito
On Richmond Hill Ave in Stamford, CT
203 - 940 - 0922
www.elcharritollc.com

El Jalapeno

Checked off another item from my "Restaurants to Try" list.

I wanted to eat out last night but I couldn't pinpoint where I wanted to go. After thinking about it for a couple of hours (really), I found something from my "Restaurants to Try" list.

Here it goes..

Got here around 10pm and the place was empty. Usually, that worries me but given the time and the fact that it was a long weekend, I didn't think much of it. I actually liked it. Eating in a empty and quiet restaurant is really nice.

Pretty cozy inside. I would say there is about 10 tables? Not a big restaurant.

I didn't try all of them but my friend did and said that the Chili Habanero (green sauce) was the best. I put some on my food and liked it. It has a good kick.

I love Mexican soda.

Fresh chips and salsa. Good. The chips were warm and the salsa tasted very homemade. We put some of that green sauce in it and boy, it became really spicy.

Side of sweet plantains. This was good too. It was sweet and the majority of the pieces were fried so that it was slightly crispy. Yum.

Seafood Platter (I think it was called Seafood Chipotle, Shrimp & Today's Fish)

My friend's dish. There was a filet of fish and shrimp. The shrimp was pretty good. It had good flavor and wasn't dry. The fish wasn't bad either. I think my friend liked it overall.

Chicken Chimichanga

This was not bad. I threw out most of the fried burrito and ate mostly the shredded chicken. The chicken tasted good but I wouldn't say it had great flavor. I can see the portion being too little for some people but for me, it was just right.

Overall, I would recommend this place.

El Jalapeño

641 President St (between 5th Ave & 4th Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11215

(718) 636-6333

De Mole

Ordered white wine sangria. I personally didn't like it. It had a weird taste to it. Pio Pio so far has had the best sangria.

P.S. Ignore the Vita coconut juice container ;)

Guacamole and chips. Good guac. Tasted fresh. I wish it had some spice to it though.

Salsa and chips. Not good at all. Not sure how salsa can be bad but this was. I remember it being a bit sweet and sour...not sure though.

This was my friend's "mini quesadilla". I'm not sure what kind of quesadilla this was because it sure doesn't look like your typical quesadilla.

Friend said the sauce in it made the outside layer pretty soggy. I don't remember her saying anything extraordinary about it. 

Enchilada. Friend said it was alright.

This was my other's friend Enchilada. She said it was good. I was thinking of ordering this but I didn't feel like eating that much that night. This would have been way too much food for me.

Friend's taco. Not sure if she liked it or not.

This was my baby right here. Chicken Burrito.

This was pretty good. The chicken was cooked well. It was moist and had decent flavor. It probably wasn't the best burrito I've ever had but definitely good enough.

I was full with the first half of it but kinda forced myself to eat half of the other half. I shouldn't have done it though..

I am usually not a big fan of flan because it is usually just too sweet for me. However, this was pretty good. I think this was their coconut flan. It wasn't super sweet and it had a nice taste to it.

Pastel de tres Leches. I didn't really like this one. The cake wasn't that moist.

So overall, pretty good restaurant. I would go back. So far, it's the best Mexican restaurant I've been to in awhile. 

I kinda wanna go back soon to eat the burrito and guac again...


De Mole
4502 48th Ave
Woodside, NY 11377
(718) 392-2161

www.demolenyc.com