One has to realize that Mexican food to my wife is a medicinal refuge at certain times of the month, and it has to be a certain way, or she ain't a happy camper.. Not just any old Mexican restaurant will do.. So it's important to keep Momma happy..
I also realize that taste in food is extremely subjective and I have followed a few of the recommended places here on this very site and have found some marvelous meals, all the way to "What the hell were they thinking that this is good food??" So I come here and look and there is nothing about it.. So I figure, we'll be "trail-blazers" Live dangerously..
We arrived at 5:40 on Friday and it was starting to get busy already. The greeters were very courteous, polite and showed us to a very clean, comfortable and cozy booth by the wall.. Good sign..
The restaurant is relatively new (February 14th) and appears that they are still in the midst of gathering their decor, but the overall color scheme, lighting and decorations were pleasing and easy on the eyes. I felt they could use more decorations, but an uncluttered atmosphere can be very effective as well.. The noise level is low, even with ten tables occupied, and mostly murmurs are heard and no loud crashing, clanging and loud conversation, like a lot of restaurants suffer from..
Menus and drinks were a tad slow, but the staff was cognescent of the wait and apologized profusely.. We were fine with a wait, but if you were in a BIG hurry i could see where it might be a problem.. I would imagine in the next few weeks after the staff gets used to working together and get their "rhythm", things will be fine.. And that's about where anything remotely negative ends..
I ordered a beer (not being a fan of wine margaritas) and it came with a nice cold mug and fresh lime.. The chips were served, fresh, hot and plentiful.. They are of the thin variety (our favorite) and the salsa is very flavorful, yet not too spicy for our Anglo palates.. There was a slight smokiness to the salsa that was quite enjoyable, scoring big points with our harshest critic, my wife.
We ordered our "new restaurant standard test" dinners, my wife, her cheese enchilada and beef taco, and I, my perennial favorites of pork tamale, chile relleno and beef taco.. and our young son, a cheese quesadilla..
So we are enjoying the chips and salsa (two baskets fulls and two bowls of salsa) and while I'm sipping my cold cerveza, our dinner arrives and I quickly realized that there was enough food to serve a party of three on my plate alone!! And it all looks VERY delicious!! So I order up a second cerveza, crack my knuckles and accept this challenge....
Well I have been let down by the majority of Mexican restaurants by their versions of rellenos, so I dive into that first.. I have found that they can be watery, mushy, undercooked, overcooked and/or basically flavorless. I was spoiled early in life by the "perfect" relleno, served at a tiny hole in the wall, at Playland at the Beach, in SF in the 60's before it was all torn down for condos.. That is my "gold standard" which I measure all others by..
I cut into this relleno and it's the "perfect" consistency.. Hmmmm.. Not too soft, not too hard.. pop it into my mouth and all of a sudden the flavor just explodes.... The sauce has obviously been cooking for hours, and while it's hard to describe, it's almost like a hearty vegetable soup-like consistency (the sauce).. Very rich with lots of vegetables and the flavors of the ingredients have obviously been blending together for a few hours.. Never have had a sauce on Rellenos like that, but I find myself thinking about right now wanting another one..
Next to the Tamale, it's was covered with a verde salsa, that was not too hot nor not too bland and had a LOT of flavor.. It throughly met my criteria of being moist, loaded with shredded pork that was VERY flavorful, but not "too"! There was a LOT of pork and the masa shell was firm yet, moist.. (For you traditionalists, it was not served with a husk, but I personally find that annoying as it intrudes between me and my intended victim.. So I was good..
)I look up from my plate and see my wife is eating quietly.. I think "Oh Oh, not a good sign".. I ask her and she says it's delicious, but she's not sure about the enchilada sauce.. It's "different" she says.. So I take a dip with a chip and I find it's thick, rich and tasty.. At this point I suspect her recent cold has thrown her taste buds off, so I completely discount her opinion from this point on, and bury my face back into my own plate...
So we come to what has to be probably one of the biggest beef tacos on the planet.. Not dimensionally big, but SERIOUSLY stuffed with meat, lettuce and cheese.. Huge, I tell ya!!
I bite into that bad boy and it's full of flavor, just like everything else..
Of course I am obliged to eat every bite, being the total glutton that I am.. So I'm sitting there
and I see the rice and beans on the plate.. I *NEVER* like the rice and beans at *ANY* Mexican restaurant.. Too dry, too cooked, too "everything"..
So I figure that I'll go ahead and take a bite as I know I'm not gonna like it anyway.. But I am surprised and really enjoy the rice, and the beans.. and of course, I eat all of that too.. So about now I'm starting to swell up and I figure I'd better start looking for my sweats when I get home, as I'm gonna blow up later, because I'm enjoying this way too much!!..
All the while, during our meal, the staff are stopping by to see if everything was OK, how do we like it, need anything else.. Not too much, but enough to make you feel looked after..
So about now I look over at my wife and she has inhaled the enchilada, taken a huge bite(s) out of the taco and pretty much decimated the rice and beans... She's a happy camper.. So I guess she hit her stride, too..
The best part of all, was our son's "kid's portion" arrived with perfectly portioned rice and beans along with his quesadilla.. It was the perfect amount for him to enjoy and eat, and feel like he ate all of his dinner.. Very important when you're trying to work your folks for Tasty Time after dinner..
So I know that some out there may not agree with me, but I strongly urge you to give Felipe's a try.. It's not the tongue singeing, melt your eyes and blister your lips kinda place and leave you drenched in sweat from the extreme Scovill ratings.
It's very family (and Anglo) friendly, tasty and great portions and as I asked my wife as we were leaving, "Do Over??" and she responds, "Oh Yeah... And it's right here in Folsom. I'm a happy camper.." (Just watch out for the endless hot chips and salsa before your meal.. They'll fill you up.. Especially after two basketfuls!!)
We were pleasantly surprised to find Felipe's VERY much to our liking.. Even better than our previous favorite....
So we give a hearty thumbs up with a Yum!! and a snap..
Check it out..
