Monday, September 22, 2008

Where have all the panuchos gone?

I admit, I was spoiled. Back in Boston, I had the best little Mexican restaurant down the street from my apartment called Yucatan Tacos. They advertised themselves as "Mexican Food Made By Mexicans!" and, let me tell you, they always delivered. They even introduced me to the Yucatan dish known as the panucho: refried bean-stuffed crispy tortilla with an array of lettuce, chicken, onion, avocado, sour cream and salsa on top. Much like the way Mitch Hedberg described Ritz crackers, the panuchos from Yucatan were beautiful "edible plates."

And, man, I'm jonesing for a panucho. But, being in West Hartford, I'm completely lost.

Where's a good Mexican place around here? I've had a burrito at Moe's in Blue Back Square, but that doesn't count. Burritos are a dime a dozen at this point. Honestly, anything McDonald's can not only make but make and then call a breakfast food immediately lowers that food on the grand scale of cuisine. The Professor and I even went to On The Border in Rocky Hill to try to quench our urges. And, surprisingly, for a chain owned by the same company as the dreaded Chili's, the place wasn't that bad (though the cheese on the "just okay" enchilada I had in my sampler was really liquidly. Kind of "liquid Terminator" liquidly, if you need a visual). Of course, comparing any restaurant to Chili's kind of automatically makes the place seem amazing, doesn't it?

Isn't there an ACTUAL Mexican restaurant out here? One that doesn't belong to a conglomerate? If so, let me know. 

I can't hold out for much longer . . . 

. . . And this picture of panuchos that I stole from the MattBites website here just doesn't help.  

Mmmmmm . . . Panucho . . .

6 comments:

Emily said...

Monte Alban on Farmington Ave in Hartford. I don't think I've seen panuchos on their menu, but you won't be disappointed otherwise.

Ben said...

Thanks for the tip! This place isn't too far from my apartment, either.

AmyBergquist said...

Coyote Flaco in Hartford is excellent. It's on New Britain Ave. Not sure if they serve panuchos. You might also want to take a drive/stroll around Parkville, as there are some great hole-in-the wall restaurants there too.

Anonymous said...

I second Coyote Flaco

Anonymous said...

Agave in downtown Hartford is good

www.agavehartford.com

100 Allyn St
Hartford, CT 06103
(860) 882-1557

Ben said...

So many places to choose from!