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El Serape - Ajijic - revisited


jkgourmet

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After reading on this forum of our unsuccessful visits to El Serape for chamorro, we were delighted and honored when several other posters from this board invited us to join them for dinner on Friday at El Serape

We were delighted with the service (friendly, helpful and eager to please), the strong margarita (oh my!), the decent red wine by the glass and the salsa and chips (a bit chunky and thick and certainly on the spicy side, just as we like it!). About half of our group ordered the chamorro, which was a very large portion of pork shank in a red, slightly spicy, chile sauce (maybe there's a little chipotle in that sauce?) I think anyone walking in the downtown Ajijic Plaza could hear the ooohs, ahhs and yumms from our table.

Sides included refried beans and rice. Rice was also quite good, Husband cleared the plate of his refried beans. He later confirmed that they were excellent, and admitted that he would have liked to have licked the plate clean of that red sauce.

I'm very happy that I can say that this dish (and the salsa) was as good as we fondly remembered from our first visit to Ajijic two years ago (yes, I remember good food like good movies - if I liked it once, I probably will want it again.)

We both would also like to thank Bournemouth, Atlas and Gringal (and their partners, spouses, friends) for their kind invitation and friendly conversation. I'd long forgotten why I sometimes liked blind dates when I was single - sometimes, they turn out to be wonderful and fun.

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I know I speak for many when I say "thank you" for all of the informative and objective reviews of area restaurants that you've written during your stay this summer. I sincerely hope you'll return next year and I know there will be new places for you to try. Perhaps over the winter you could occasionally share a review of a Phoenix area restaurant, just to let us all know you're dining well!

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Oh SIGH! I would so love to go to El Serape, because though I love authentic interior Mexican cuisine, my roots are in south Texas, I loves me TexMex!!!! And a made-from-scratch margarita, no dulce, oooh my! But the "No Perros" sign will send us elsewhere, as the Divine Miss Pea never leaves my lap, and good though it is, they is better things on this planet than TexMex, Pea bein' only one of 'em.......

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Oh SIGH! I would so love to go to El Serape, because though I love authentic interior Mexican cuisine, my roots are in south Texas, I loves me TexMex!!!! And a made-from-scratch margarita, no dulce, oooh my! But the "No Perros" sign will send us elsewhere, as the Divine Miss Pea never leaves my lap, and good though it is, they is better things on this planet than TexMex, Pea bein' only one of 'em.......

There is a table out front where you can sit and have your dog with you. If it isn't out there, just ask. Marcos is very accomodating.

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Oh SIGH! I would so love to go to El Serape, because though I love authentic interior Mexican cuisine, my roots are in south Texas, I loves me TexMex!!!! And a made-from-scratch margarita, no dulce, oooh my! But the "No Perros" sign will send us elsewhere, as the Divine Miss Pea never leaves my lap, and good though it is, they is better things on this planet than TexMex, Pea bein' only one of 'em.......

I forgot to say that the restaurant was very kind to wrap up ALL those shank bones for a doggy who stayed at home. Our dog does not get bones, but I was glad to see them enjoyed by somebody else's pooch.

I'm betting that sweet pea would be quite forgiving if you Brought home a bone and shared. Or if you shared at that table outside that atlas mentioned.

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Several weeks ago I asked at Hole in One about bringing our Chihuahua with us and they said "no problem". We haven't made it there yet but based upon what they told me then, it is fine to bring your pet.

Enjoy!

Valerie and Sushi :D

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I forgot to say that the restaurant was very kind to wrap up ALL those shank bones for a doggy who stayed at home. Our dog does not get bones, but I was glad to see them enjoyed by somebody else's pooch.

I'm betting that sweet pea would be quite forgiving if you Brought home a bone and shared. Or if you shared at that table outside that atlas mentioned.

Is El Serape still not serving glasses of water but making you buy a bottle if you want water?

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  • 2 weeks later...

We returned to El Serape again - this time without the well-known regulars that invited us for our prior dinner. I do not believe we were recognized or treated differently than any other diner on this visit.

Salsa and chips were good, as they had been during our prior dinner. Salsa is a bit hot and slightly chunky here, but we like it that way.

I went primarily because I had a hankering for soup, and I remembered El Serape had chicken soup and Albondigas soup. As the latter is one of my favorites, that's what I ordered. The bowl arrived, looked small on the first glance, but contained about seven meatballs. When I started to eat, I realized that the bowl holds more soup than I realized, so the serving is actually quite a good size. The broth and vegetables (carrots, zucchini, chayote and probably some other stuff) were delicious. Broth was flavorful and vegies not mushy. The meatballs were, quite likely, the 2nd best I've ever had in this soup. (The best was made my the Guatemalan mother of an ex-boyfriend, so perhaps the comparison is unfair. Sometimes, I wonder if I stuck with the boyfriend so long because I liked him or because I liked his mother's cooking.) Just a terrific dish.

Husband ordered Tio's Burrito, and quite frankly I forget all the specifics of what it contained (Sorry - my brain is starting to get a bit fried). What I do remember, clearly, is that it was not overloaded with beans (which we unhappily find happens too often around here) and it was delicious. And LARGE. It was offered with red or green sauce, and when husband couldn't decide, the waiter suggested "divorced". Red on half the burrito, green on the other. Husband preferred the red, which had a distinct chipotle flavor to it. I preferred the green, but then I usually do. Both were good, homemade tasting sauces.

Again, I can't remember the exact prices, but we left marveling that it was so reasonable, especially considering the size of the servings.

I'm going to HAVE to go home and figure out what the heck they put into those meatballs for the albondigas soup. . .

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Fabulous! The "one outside table" works so well for us! The Pea has been with me since age four weeks and does not agree on separations of more than a few minutes.How is Hole In One on parties con doggies? I read the words "lamb liver" and started drooling.....

Hola Camille...we brought our 2 Brussels Griffons to Hole in One and it was fine with the management. Enjoy!

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There is a table out front where you can sit and have your dog with you. If it isn't out there, just ask. Marcos is very accomodating.

This is wrong. We were very rudely shooed away this afternoon. We asked for a table to be put outside but no. So we went to Quekas and had the best margaritas ever. Delicious quesadillas too....

Byebye, El Serape.....

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This is wrong. We were very rudely shooed away this afternoon. We asked for a table to be put outside but no. So we went to Quekas and had the best margaritas ever. Delicious quesadillas too....

Byebye, El Serape.....

Why do you need to bring a dog to a restaurant? No question that Quekas is good, but so is El Serape.

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