North Jersey Mexican

[201]

Indeed.

[RockADS21]

Has anyone been to or heard anything about a small hole in the wall named Pecos Grill? It is located on North Avenue close to the border of Cranford and Westfield(not sure which town it is actually in). I am often in the neiborhood but have not ventured in as of yet. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[thereuare]

Tommy, I think it was in a PM, when you were refering to Los Dos Rancheros.

[tommy]

Tommy, I think it was in a PM, when you were refering to Los Dos Rancheros.

don't ever pay attention to my PMs. i talk nonsense.

[jhlurie]

tommy, did you ever get to El Gran Mexicano, or did the worry about the cheese keep you away?

[tommy]

haven't been yet. soon though. the possibility of there being cheese there hasn't *completely* turned me off. :)

[thereuare]

Tommy,

Bypass El Gran Mexicano and give Mission another try.... i'll meet up with ya and bring along some beer.

-thereuare

[Jason Perlow]

bypass?

You have got to be kidding. Dude, El Gran Mexicano is da bomb. Especially their Enchiladas Mole Poblano. If you can point me to a single mexican restaurant in the entire northern new jersey area that makes it better than they do, hell, I'll buy you dinner. Their mole and their steak tacos is my sole reason for going there.

[tommy]

thereuare...we've been through this: i just don't like mission *burritos'* style of food!

but feel free to bring me beer any time you want.

[CooksQuest]

In Hoboken, Charrito's (on Washington Street) is brand new and offers some great Mexican home-cooking.

The owner travels around Mexico looking for great regional dishes and then features them in his restaurant.

I had "gringa", a spicy pork, on grilled cactus. Really outstanding.

[tommy]

charrito's sounds interesting. where exactly is it?

[CooksQuest]

charrito's sounds interesting.  where exactly is it?

It's at 121 Washington St. (between 1st and 2nd). Tel: (201) 418-8600.

I think it's only a couple of months old.

[thereuare]

I'll try Charrito's next week.... it took over the old location of Carmalita's Cafe (another mexican restaurant which has moved someplace else in NJ, but i know it's west of Hoboken).

Tommy, i know you don't like Mission, which is why i mention it.... i'll let u know when they add a foi gras burrito and at that point i'm certain you'll give it another try.

I'm also certain you'll now love El Gran Mexicano now that i mentioned how underwhelmed i was with the place.

[Poots]

Don't know if it's the same place, but Carmelita's of Hoboken, opened up not too long ago in Maplewood. Have only tried it once, and wasn't too impressed.

[thereuare]

Yup, that's the place, he moved to Maplewood (i had forgotten the location).

I ate there in Hoboken a few times before other similar Mexican places opened. Carmalita's was the first to open in that "style", and soon after another 4 places opened.

[Rachel Perlow]

Click to read Lima Bean's review of 3 Chicas Mexican Kitchen in Wycoff.

[jhlurie]

I called El Gran Mexicano tonight (thinking I could have the food waiting for me) and got a message about it being "closed for renovation". Since that's often code-talk for "we're closed and trying to see if we can scrape together enough cash to re-open", does anyone know anything definitive?

The phone message DID say "we will be open next week" though. Normally I might find that reassuring... except that they didn't specify WHICH WEEK either "this week" or "next week" were.

Please don't make the only good Mexican food left in the area go away. Please.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jon - You're current sig seems very appropriate given the previous post.

[201]

I called El Gran Mexicano tonight (thinking I could have the food waiting for me) and got a message about it being "closed for renovation".  Since that's often code-talk for "we're closed and trying to see if we can scrape together enough cash to re-open", does anyone know anything definitive?

I drove to El Gran Mexicano last week... I believe it was Thursday and saw that it was closed. I'm really, REALLY hoping that it opens back up, but I don't have any definitive information as to whether or when that's going to happen.

However, as for "the only good Mexican food left in the area", I say you should give the Potrero Grill another shot, ordering off of the specials menu rather than sampling the all-you-can-eat menu. I'm a fan of the place but definitely not for the all-you-can-eat Wednesdays. Sometimes I crave El Gran and sometimes I crave Potrero.

Come to think of it, I tried going to the Potrero Grill last Monday or Tuesday at about 9:30 and they were closed. They normally close at 10. Maybe they just had a slow night or maybe there's some sinister force decimating the Mexican restaurants in the area!?!? It seems to have started in Teaneck, but it's SPREADING!!!

[jhlurie]

It's the Great Mexican stand-off of Bergen County. Eeep!

So this is indeed at least the second week El Gran is gone? I'd only been speculating based on the suspicious phone message.

Maybe Fink knows about this. If I remember correctly, he originally steered us to this place, and knew the owners somewhat (at least until they sold it to their cousins, or whatever the heck the exact story was...)

I've had the non-all-you-can-eat El Portrero. It's better, but it was still nowhere near El Gran.

[thereuare]

Now that El Gran is potentially closed, i will reiterate my recomendation of Mission Burittos in Hoboken (4th St b/w Park and Garden), which has a very similar (uh-hum) atmosphere as El Gran.

On a similar note, i tried Churittos (mentioned above) last Sunday. The food seemed authentic enough, and was "ok". Nothing terrible, but nothing i will rave about or crave either. You can tell the employees are excited about the restaurant, and although the service was friendly, they still have some kinks to work out. We sat for quite some time with our menus closed before somebody came and took our order, we had to ask twice for our BYO bottle of wine which sat in the back room when we left it along with our name for the short wait, while we ate they ran out of wine glasses and the table next to us had to drink wine out of water glasses, and i also hear the order next to us get messed up (he asked for "no rice" and it came with "no beans"). Also, i think they lost a bottle of wine for a time being and although we were 3/4 of the way done w/ our bottle and the label had my name written on it, a nervous waitress approached us and asked, "did you bring this bottle?"

I had a chicken dish served inside 3 corn tortillas, covered with mole sauce, while my bride had a chicken buritto. Both of these came with rice and refried beans filling the rest of the plate. Perhaps it's the "authentic-ness" of this mexican region, but it was a little too "wet" for my tastes (hopefully you understand what i mean by this).

Cash only, BYO, and only about 8 tables in the place. I'd probably try it again 6+ months down the road, but i'd sooner go to Mission Burittos if i wanted Mexican (although a different style than this place) or if i wanted a small restauarnt atmosphere i'd head to La Isla which is somewhat across the street from this place.

[joi h.]

tinga's in upper montclair is one of the best mexican places around. they have a california-tex mex twist to their food. they only use healthy cooking methods (grilling and steaming, not frying) which does not not sacrifice the flavor. its byo, take out and delivery. finally, to have good mexican food in town!

[finker99]

The last time I was at gran mexicano they mentioned that they were getting some new stuff, but they never mentioned closing up for it, I saw the sign in the window a couple of weeks ago. That fact that they have a phone line in operation with a message on it leans towards reopening rather than looking for cash. I will ask a cook of mine that knows the husband of one of the women that owns the place and report back if I get any news.

Fink

[bp1123]

I have to disagree with joi h that Tinga Taqueria in Montclair is anything close to the best Mexican in this area. Their style is more California wraps than authentic Mexican, but if you are looking for a fast and inexpensive lunch, go for it.

I have been to Mexico numerous times and as far as the cheese issue goes, it is very common to find simple Oaxacan cheese tacos on a menu. You certainly would not find shredded cheddar or other cheese packed into a taco or burrito, like you see in your typical theme (Chevy's, etc.) restaurants. I used to eat in Montclair's Mexicali Rose on occasion, but find their food bland and also not close to what is found throughout Mexico.

My vote would go to Toro Loco in South Orange or El Bandido in Orange (used to also have a place in Fairfield). I recently had shrimp with pippian sauce (made from pumpkin seeds) at Toro Loco & it was outstanding.

I would love to see more suggestions for places I have not yet tried.

[Rachel Perlow]

Thanks for reminding me of a pleasant memory. Toro Loco in S. Orange is very good.