Cuisine Review

By Kinnon Phillips

Cuisine editor

Like the culinary Don Juan that I am, I strode into Los Arcos – on Old Shell Road near the University of South Alabama – with my family a few Thursdays ago. Filled with soccer mom-ruled families and college students, the atmosphere was quite festive and bustling with conversation.

Los Arcos is kind of tucked away, not yelling its name from the rooftops to say “I’m here” like their neighbors. They are right next door to a bicycle shop and across from the sandwich “artists” at Subway. A former pizza joint (long, long ago when I was about twelve), there is not much atmosphere for me to gush about. It is clean and comfortable however.

Our waitress was a bit harried, but attentive and focused when she was at the table. Despite having a large number of tables, she was adept at getting everything right and not forgetting anything. She also made good suggestions. Whenever I am torn between items, I ask which would be the best and if they have tried them. She was honest and told me which of my choices was the best to order.

White cheese dip ($2.75) is a necessary item with my children. They start requesting it the minute they find out we are going to a Mexican restaurant, before we can even leave the house. The only disappointment of the evening, it was watery, likely on purpose to stretch it out a bit. You had to use your tea spoon to put a little on the chips. The salsa on the other hand, tastes house-made and plenty is brought to your table with a constant supply of light, warm chips. Guacamole ($2.75) is made fresh each day at Los Arcos. I highly recommend you start with a bowl. Smooth, yet chunky, the smashed avocado slides into your mouth with a subtle, rich flavor.

Like every other Mexican restaurant menu, Los Arcos’ is extensive. There are nachos; combo plates ($6.50, $6.75); house specialties; vegetarian and kids. The $6.50 combinations consist of items such as one taco, one enchilada and a chile relleno, or one beef burrito, one enchilada and a tamale. They will also substitute chicken for beef.

For the $6.75 combinations, examples are a taco, a chile relleno and beef burrito, or a beef burrito, enchilada and chalupa. All of their burritos are made with beef and beans unless you request something else. I guess you could get into some heavy threesomes with these combinations.

I passed on the combinations so I could try a house specialty and encouraged my wife to do so as well. I will describe some of the ones I considered. The first was carne picante ($7.25) beef chunks in a spicy red sauce with corn, rice, beans and tortillas. I saw at another table the pollo loco, two plump, ample breasts prepared in herbs and spices with shredded white cheese, guacamole, tomatoes and rice. Items such as the chimichangas ($6.75), burritos supreme, tamale deluxe and a few others can have shrimp added for 75 cents.

I thought about choosing the carne picante, the burrito jalisco ($6.00) which is a pork-stuffed flour tortilla in pico de gallo, cheese sauce, lettuce and tomato, or the pollo loco. But my taste buds had been seduced by the sizzling skillets of fajitas parading out from the kitchen. So, I chose the beef and chicken fajitas ($9.50) and shrimp could be substituted for either.

I was impressed with the quality and quantity of meat. Thick chunks of chicken and tender strips of beef took over the plate. In fact, I almost thought that more onions and peppers were needed, but quickly threw that thought out. These were not the mealy fajitas found in other places. They also do not skimp on the accompaniments. A heaping scoop of that fresh guacamole, pile of cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes all stood ready to slather on the warm tortillas. If you like fajitas, try these.

My son is really into nachos these days, which typically come in a huge pile that he cannot even begin to finish. He chose the nachos with beef ($5.25), a mountain of chips covered in what seemed to be a pound of ground beef, cheese and jalapenos for every bite. He could not eat them all, and in total disregard of how full I was after cleaning out my fajita pan, I found myself picking one up after the other. They are basic, so keep this in mind. In fact, all of the food is basic, not upscale in any way, but it is tasty, fresh and of good quality. My daughter received her usual, what I call a Mexican grilled cheese, and the cheese quesadilla with rice ($3.50).

My wife chose the most adventurous meal of the group, the shrimp quesadilla ($6.00), grilled shrimp in a grilled flour tortilla with cheese and fresh pico de gallo served with rice and beans. For six bucks, there was an ample number of shrimp. The shrimp are placed in the pico and then grilled. She was very impressed with the quesadilla, but did request more pico de gallo to moisten it up a bit.

Overall, we were very happy with our meals and the price was right. No, Bob Barker was not there having your pet spayed or neutered, but you ought to come on down, the hill that is, and give Los Arcos a try.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. E-mail him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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