Ay Caramba

Visually, the restaurant is nothing spectacular, not so different from any other strip mall eatery, aside from the few pieces of Mexican flash. Ordering is done at a counter, and you carry your own food to the table. The food selection is very basic: burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. But, oh, the way they make them!

The people here make almost everything by hand. I watched as they chopped vegetables for the pico de gallo, and I understand they even cook their own tortilla chips (which were spectacular, by the way). I had the vegetable soft taco, and my boyfriend had the pork soft tacos. Three toasted taco shells were filled for each of us with our choice of a wide variety of toppings. I remember rice, black beans, sour cream, cheese, sauces, and most notably, cilantro. (If you haven't tried cilantro in your Mexican food, you really, really have to.) We had ordered the lunch special, and since the price for the special includes a meat, the woman threw in a cup of guacamole, which normally costs an extra dollar or so. The tacos were accompanied by a generous portion of tortilla chips with pico de gallo.

Everything was delicious. Seriously, I know Taco Bell ain't five-star dining, but Ay Caramba blew Taco Bell past Pluto. And really, it's even better than Tequila Cancun, a full-service sit-down restaurant. I would seriously consider driving the hour just for a weekend lunch!

Price range: $5.00-$10.00 per person

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