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.
It’s been very hot and humid lately and we have been sweating like the pilot in the movie “Airplane.” As long as we were sweating anyway, we decided to go out for some hot and spicey food at a Mexican restaurant. We consulted our super-secret list of restaurants to review and found No Manches Mexican Grill in Carpentersville.
No Manches Mexican Grill
140 N. Western Avenue
Carpentersville 60110
(224) 699-9655
nomanchesmexicangrill.com
Directions: Take Route 47 to Main Street, turn right on Huntley Road, West to Western Avenue (Rte, 31), left to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 20 minutes
Time to roundup Rosie. After chasing Rosie around the house, we were able to yank her out from behind the couch and put her in jail, aka, her crate. Due to the big chase, we were hungry and sped off in the Mini-Mobile. When we arrived at the strip mall, right next to the restaurant, we saw the cutest food truck we have ever seen. It was brightly painted in a Mexican motif.
We walked into the restaurant and were surprised to see six tables, three high top tables, and seven booths. The inside was just as brightly painted as their food truck. The ambiance made you feel like you were at a Mexican fiesta.
Of course, we were presented with the obligatory chips and salsas. The chips were fried to a bubbly crispness and they gave us three dipping sauces. Watch out for the deep red sauce, it almost burnt off the few remaining hairs Jim has left on his head. This was obviously a “10” on his sweat head meter.
We decided to forego an appetizer today and went straight to the entrees. Jim saw the Burrito Traditional ($12). This was stuffed with beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. He got his choice of meat and there was a lot to choose from. There was asada, pastor, picadillo, tinga, cochinita pibil, or chorizo. He didn’t want chorizo and the only other meat he recognized was asada (beef) so he went with that.
Nancy wanted the Chimichanga ($12) which was stuffed with beans and cheese topped with melted cheese and chipotle mayo. She also had her choice of meat and played it safe and also got the asada. She requested no beans. We also ordered a $4 side of refried beans and rice for each of us.
While munching on our chips we saw our waiter struggling to carry our entrees over to us. As he set them down in front of us, Nancy took one look at it and yelled, “it’s huuuge!!!” (That’s what she said). Seriously, these were two of the biggest burrito/chimichanga’s that we have seen. The asada proved to be a good choice. The steak was tender and packed with lots of flavor. Nancy loved the ample amount of melted cheese that her Chimichanga was resting in. The chipotle mayo was the crowning touch.
Jim, as usual, had his sweet tooth on today and ordered the Churro’s ($6.50). These were (3) churro’s served piping hot, covered in sugar/cinnamon, and filled with a caramel sauce. This was served with whip cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I wasn’t too crazy about the caramel filling, so I at half a churro and Jim was forced to finish the rest.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
Believe it or not, we took half of our $12 entrées home for another meal. I hope we see their food truck in the neighborhood soon.
The price for our “huuuge” lunch $49.61. Getting to use that old “that’s what she said” joke, priceless…
Jim’s take: I didn’t expect to see the rice, tomato, lettuce, etc. inside my burrito. It was awesome.
Nancy’s take: This was by far, the tastiest asada I have ever had in a Chimichanga. Plus, it was “huuuge.”
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