El Niagara doesn’t “fall” short

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

The Dining Duo has lived here in the beautiful confines of Del Webb for 10 years now. We have seen restaurants come and go, which makes our job so much easier. The location for the restaurant we are reviewing today was once Mimi’s Cafe, then Lume’s Pancake House, and now it houses El Niagrara Mexican Restaurant in Algonquin.

The holidays are over, the leftovers are gone, the resolutions broken, and it’s the dead of winter. There is no better time for a Mexican fiesta than now. We jumped into the Dining Duo mini-mobile and off we went.

Walking in, the decor has not changed much from the previous restaurants, except for the addition of a bar and a few Mexican touches.

When we sat down the waiter, who couldn’t do enough for us, brought over a basket of their homemade tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa complete with a plastic spoon to prevent double dipping. The salsa only measured a 2 on Jim’s “Sweathead Meter,” but it was tasty and we finished the whole bowl. No appetizer required tonight!

After being married to this moron for over 45 years, I can pick out exactly what he would order, and I was right. He chose the Bisteca De La Casa ($17.25) which was strips of skirt steak topped with chorizo, bacon, special hot sauce, and covered with melted cheese. It was garnished with shredded lettuce, guacamole, and sour cream. It was love at first bite. He said the steak had a great char to it and even though the menu indicated it was hot, his “Sweathead Meter” only registered about a 4.

Nancy, being the adventuresome foodie that she is, only orders one of three dishes at a Mexican restaurant. It’s either the Chile Relleno’s, Shrimp Fajita’s, or the Chimichanga. Today was time for a Chimichanga ($11.95). This was a deep fried burrito filled with beans, shredded beef, covered with ranchero sauce, and melted cheese. It was served with rice, refried beans, sour cream and shredded lettuce. Of course, Nancy had to have it her way. She did not want the refried beans either inside her entree or next to it. Since all the dishes are made to order, this was no problem. She also fell in love with this dish, saying it was the best Chimichanga she has had in decades. The meat inside was not shredded, instead it was chunks of beef, but it was oh so tender and tasty. She asked for more rice since she nixed the refried beans. I don’t know why she doesn’t like refried beans, they are so much fun later in the evening.

On to dessert! Jim, as usual, had to have something sweet. You’d think I’d be enough…He saw one of his favorites, Fried Ice Cream ($4.25), and had to have it. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw it. The ice cream was served in a fried flour tortilla cup coated with sugar and cinnamon. Of course, it had whip cream and a cherry on top. Okay, I actually had some dessert tonight, too. I ate the cup and Jim ate the ice cream. He couldn’t figure out what the coating on the ice cream was made of, so he asked our waiter, who retreated to the kitchen to find out what the mysterious coating was. It turned out to be granola. Jim didn’t see that coming, and because of this, in his eyes he ate a healthy dessert tonight!

We’ve been disappointed in Mexican restaurants in this area until now. This restaurant exceeded our expectations, and we’ll be going back often. The food was seasoned to perfection, and the dishes were imaginative.

The price for our mid-winter Mexican fiesta was $38.21, olé!

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.

Jim’s take: The combination of all the ingredients made my dish a winner. Don’t pass up the fried ice cream.

Nancy’s take: Now I need to try the Chile Relleno’s. Note to the owner: Add Shrimp Fajita’s to your menu, please…

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.

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