Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Pueblo Grande (Mooresville)

Yesterday I decided to drive up to Mooresville to try something new. As we were driving up Hwy 115, I spotted a mexican restaurant, and made the first left turn possible. Unfortunately, because I was in downtown Mooresville and the restaurant was on the other side of the railroad tracks, I had to navigate through three stoplights within 50 feet of each other. But after some white-knuckle driving, I was in the parking lot, and ready for some mexican food!

My friend and I entered, and seated ourselves. We were quickly brought some salsa, chips, and a menu. I started munching on the salsa and chips. But I decided against munching on the menu, and opened it to the Lunch Specials section instead. :)

There were several options, and I picked lucky number 13. Which according to the menu consisted of an "Enchilada, taco and chalupa." Keep in mind the chalupa part, it'll come up again later. Remember... chalupa.

As we waited for our order, I enjoyed my Diet Coke and the salsa and chips. The salsa and chips were very good. The chips were light and crunchy. I think they had more flour than typical corn chips -- which is a good thing. And the salsa was a nice and thick sauce. Not too chunky, and not too liquidy. The more I think about it, I REALLY liked their salsa and chips. But this man cannot live on salsa and chips alone. I need enchiladas too!

The plate arrived, and it was loaded. I started on the enchilada first and all I can say is YUM! Ok, I can say more... it was ground beef rolled inside a corn tortilla covered with red enchilada sauce and melted cheese. I plowed through the enchilada, it was delicious. The meat was flavorful and moist, and the enchilada sauce added a nice spicy zest.

Next came the crispy taco. It was a standard crispy taco shell packed with the same ground beef that was in the enchilada. It was topped with lettuce and cheese. It was ok, but was lacking some flavor, so I put some extra salsa on it. This bought it up a notch, and I was happy with it.

Then came the tostada. It was good. A flat and round crispy corn shell (just a flat and round version of the taco shell), topped with refried beans, lettuce and cheese. It was nothing special, so I loaded lots of salsa on it, and then it was good.

We waited a long time for the check, and then waited some more for the change. Between when we were done with eating, to when we finally got our change was probably about 20 minutes. Waay too long in my opinion. That's a LOONG time for two guys to sit around and talk. Really, after some talk about sports, weather, and the economy, we were out of topics! I mean what else are we supposed to talk about -- our feelings?? *shudders*

It was when I got to the car I realized (with the help of my friend), that I ate a tostada. But I ordered a chalupa! This is one of my pet peeves, and it has happened to me in this area before.

The restaurant probably had the tostadas already made, and was hoping that I wouldn't notice the difference. Tostadas and chalupas are made of almost the same things. The major difference being that chapulas are made with a fried dough, not a taco shell. Those flat taco shells are for tosadas.

Small thing, I know. But really, why put both things on the menu when you're only going to serve one of them??

Score:
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 3/5 (Enchilada, salsa, and chips good. Wrong menu item, not so good)
Service: 3/5
Total: 9/15
Price: $ (everything including tip was $10. For dinner expect to pay $3 to $5 more)
Kid Friendly: Yes. There is even a very cheap kids menu.

Conclusion:
This place has potential, but the wrong menu item and slow service hurt it. The enchilada, chips, and salsa were good. So, I'll go back to try dinner and see what happens.

Restaurant Info:
Pueblo Grande
241 South Broad St.
Mooresville, NC 28115
p) 704-799-8499
http://pueblomexicangrill.com/

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