Chefs Fresh Mexican Food

Update 2014:  Now called Su Casa Cafe and located at 6200 Padre Blvd. inside the Travelodge South Padre.  Phone number 956-761-0744 ext. 297.  Same great chef/owner - check them out!



I've been trying to get to Chefs Fresh Mexican Food on SPI for months it seems.  I finally made it!  My friend and I decided to meet for a long venting "girls lunch" last week and since neither of us had gone to Chefs, it was the choice of the day! 

So many of my friends had raved about the freshly prepared food, the service, and the good breakfasts that my first attempts were to get there for breakfast.  Getting my crew anywhere for breakfast (beyond the immediate vicinity of the kitchen) is a big trial...I'm the only early riser in the house and I've had breakfast by the time the rest of the lazy bones have arisen.  I tend to just shrug my shoulders and go on with my day!

Anyway, Mary and I hit Chefs at 11:30 on an off-season Friday.  We were the first customers of the day, followed by a slow but steady stream of patrons.  It is a very small place - not a lot of tables - but it worked perfectly for us at a comfortable table by the window. 

We started with chips and salsa and drinks while we caught up.  We warned our waitress we would be there a long time - we had lots to "vent" about!  The freshly made chips and a generous bowl of salsa arrived very promptly (these are not complimentary by the way) .  Now, this is a traditional Mexican food restaurant...and down here, that means cooked, served warm, yellow/orangish salsa.  It is not my personal favorite.  I vastly prefer the red tomato salsa that has fresh un-cooked onion, cilantro, etc. as the highlight.  That said, it was tasty.  It was pleasantly spicy to my white-girl palate.  I am not a fan of the grab-your-drink hot salsa served in some of the restaurants.  The good part of that, I guess, is that neither of us filled up on chips and salsa :-)  However, if you like that kind of salsa, I'm betting you'll love Chefs' salsa.

After we'd been there nearly an hour, we finally ordered.  Our waitress was very respectful of our desire to chat (the restaurant wasn't filled so I didn't feel guilty hogging the table) and she didn't bug us.  That is always a nice thing.  Mary decided on the chicken fajitas.  She said she figures that's a good standard to evaluate a restaurant.  Something simple like "can you cook chicken" without it being dry and tasteless.  She said the chicken was both moist and tasty...so thumbs up.  The plate consisted of grilled chicken, charro beans, rice, and a small pile of lettuce and tomato.  She had her choice of corn or flour tortillas.

I selected my baseline for evaluating Mexican food - beef enchiladas.  The menu term was Enchiladas Rojas and I had the choice of chicken, beef, or cheese.  Three generous enchiladas, topped with a delicious sauce and grated melted cheddar cheese were served on a plate filled to the brim with the sides of refried beans and rice.  It was such a huge plate, I took half of it home.  It was A+ deliciosa!  Slightly more spicy than a traditional plate of Tex-Mex enchiladas, but certainly comfortable enough for my tongue. 

All-in-all, a nice casual dining experience, happily enhanced by a friend I can share all of my woes with who absolutely understands and doesn't judge or condemn my whining.  Thank you to my friend for the conversation and to Chefs for the excellent service and tasty food.  I will definitely be back!

You can find their daily specials posted on their Facebook page - listed ChefsFresh MexicanFood (note the lack of spaces to get to the correct page).  The owner is friendly and wants to ensure you enjoy your food and your time in her restaurant.  If there's a problem, let her know.  She's very nice!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

4 – Lip smackin’ - good quality – flip flops will definitely be parked under their table again!