Andales ( pronounced ahn-duh-lays) Tex-Mex Grill & Cantina is one of our personal favorites, we eat there two or three times a month. The food is uniformly good, the prices reasonable and the service is prompt and courteous. They have a large menu with all the things you expect plus a few items you might not find other places. They make a big deal out of the fact that they start with fresh ingredients every morning using recipes that have been handed down for more than a hundred years. Does all this make for good eating? Phoebe and I think it does.
On our most recent visit, Phoebe ordered a taco salad while I got an enchilada dinner. The salad was LARGE and filled with lots of grilled chicken (she could have chosen beef) lettuce, cheese and tomatoes spilling out across her plate from a light, crispy shell. Usually it comes with Pico de Gallo, but Phoebe prefers it without. With a salad entrée, the emphasis on FRESH ingredients really stands out.
My enchiladas, came with a choice of four sauces as a topping. I chose yellow queso. It had a great, cheesy taste with a lot of flavor. I could have chosen (and probably will, some time) either sour cream or verde (a spicy green sauce cooked with fresh tomatillos, jalapenos, onions, and cilantro), ranchero (a spicy red sauce) or the traditional chili con carne.
My enchiladas came with rice and beans, of course. I think a lot of Mexican restaurants spend all their attention on their entrees and the rice and beans are just along for the ride. I’m kind of picky about my rice. The rice at Andales reminds me of Goldilocks and the three bears: She tasted the rice at El Chico and it was too boring, she tasted the rice at El Guapo and it was way too spicy, then she tasted the rice at Andales and it was JUST RIGHT! That’s the way I feel about it! It’s got a nice flavor but it’s not overpowering.
Oooops! I almost forgot to tell you about the “ambience.” Well, it’s not your usual Mexican place. It’s tastefully decorated and they don’t play Mexican hillbilly music. They play some great-sounding jazz. Originally, at Andales you placed your order at the counter then sat down and your meal was brought to you. Now, it’s a full-service restaurant and also has a full-service bar.
Phoebe’s meal was $8.99, mine was $7.99. With drinks, tax and a 20% tip, we were out the door for less than 25 bucks. Not a bad deal for a great meal. We managed to resist their wonderful “Bunuela” dessert which I’ll tell you about later. Andales, a locally-owned restaurant, is in the KingsPointe Village Shopping Center at 61st & Yale, across the intersection from Saint Francis Hospital. Ciao!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Ghengis Grill
While our intent is to review local eateries, we went to this new restaurant on the day we first decided to start this blog. Located in a new building on scenic Cherry Street (15th), there was ample parking behind and you get to do a little walking to get to the front door. Not unusual in this area.
Ghengis, a franchise from Dallas, is a "Mongolian Grill" (more about this later) and is a little confusing at first. They gave us a couple of small metal bowls and a menu. Well, sort of a menu. We started reading it when a young lady came over to lead us into the line for ordering where she explained that we select our "protein" (she's talking MEAT here), from chicken, beef, pork, turkey or shrimp displayed buffet-style. Put whatever you want into your bowl. Next, you select spices such as salt & pepper, garlic and more exotic and "spicy" offerings. Next, you select your veggies from a wide selection including peppers, carrots, brocoli, water chestnuts and many more. Next, you select a sauce from about a dozen selections including teriyaki, sweet & sour, Hosin, and more. Next, you choose your "starch" which is the type of rice, noodles, etc. that you want underneath your meat and veggies. You deliver your metal bowl, now filled or heaped, to a cook at the really large circular grill in the cooking area. Then you sit down. At this point, we realized we had no idea what the prices were.
In about ten minutes, we received our dinners in red bowls which slanted to one side for easier access. It was really quite tasty, and pretty filling. The seating was almost all banquette style with a padded booth on one side and small, wooden, (pretty uncomfortable) chairs on the other. The noise level was high. I ordered a flavored tea and they were out of it. When she brought several bottles of other flavors to choose from, I chose a Coke. (I can easily drink three glasses of tea at a meal. Three BOTTLES of tea would cost $7.50.)
The meals are $11.00 and drinks about $2.50. With a 20% tip (which Phoebe and I believe in giving) we paid about $32.00 for two bowls and 2 drinks at lunch. Was it worth it? Hmmmm, we'll have to think about this. Within two blocks, for instance, there's Tei Kei's where a delicious, full service meal in a great environment can cost less. We'll probably give them another try before forming an opinion.
So what did the Mongols REALLY eat?
Temujin, was declared the undisputed leader of the Mongols in 1206. He then launched a military campaign that, by 1227, put him in control of the largest empire in history: from China to Turkey, and from Siberia to India. Temujin and the Mongols considered their conquests to be ordained by the sky god, Tenggeri. The conquests led by Temujin were legendary, and to celebrate them the Mongols posthumously bestowed on him the title “Fierce Ruler,” or Chingis Khan. Today, thanks to an imperfect Arabic transliteration of that name, he is widely known as Genghis Khan.
Chingis Khan recognized that his people, accustomed to lives of hardship, deprivation, and perpetual motion, were natural warriors. They traveled with huge numbers of spare horses, and by using them in rotation managed to travel up to a hundred miles a day. As nomads, they knew how to live off the land and the peoples they conquered, but during times of privation and hard travel they could sustain themselves by drinking the blood of their own horses - and, if necessary, by eating them. “The men are inhuman and of the nature of beasts,” an English monk of the time reported, “rather to be called monsters than men, thirsting after and drinking blood, and tearing and devouring the flesh of dogs and human beings.”
OK, so this sounds really delicious, right? Admittedly the guys ate some “protein.” But do you really think they added spices, veggies, “starch” and sauce, stirred around on a metal shield over a campfire? Oh, for sure.
Ghengis, a franchise from Dallas, is a "Mongolian Grill" (more about this later) and is a little confusing at first. They gave us a couple of small metal bowls and a menu. Well, sort of a menu. We started reading it when a young lady came over to lead us into the line for ordering where she explained that we select our "protein" (she's talking MEAT here), from chicken, beef, pork, turkey or shrimp displayed buffet-style. Put whatever you want into your bowl. Next, you select spices such as salt & pepper, garlic and more exotic and "spicy" offerings. Next, you select your veggies from a wide selection including peppers, carrots, brocoli, water chestnuts and many more. Next, you select a sauce from about a dozen selections including teriyaki, sweet & sour, Hosin, and more. Next, you choose your "starch" which is the type of rice, noodles, etc. that you want underneath your meat and veggies. You deliver your metal bowl, now filled or heaped, to a cook at the really large circular grill in the cooking area. Then you sit down. At this point, we realized we had no idea what the prices were.
In about ten minutes, we received our dinners in red bowls which slanted to one side for easier access. It was really quite tasty, and pretty filling. The seating was almost all banquette style with a padded booth on one side and small, wooden, (pretty uncomfortable) chairs on the other. The noise level was high. I ordered a flavored tea and they were out of it. When she brought several bottles of other flavors to choose from, I chose a Coke. (I can easily drink three glasses of tea at a meal. Three BOTTLES of tea would cost $7.50.)
The meals are $11.00 and drinks about $2.50. With a 20% tip (which Phoebe and I believe in giving) we paid about $32.00 for two bowls and 2 drinks at lunch. Was it worth it? Hmmmm, we'll have to think about this. Within two blocks, for instance, there's Tei Kei's where a delicious, full service meal in a great environment can cost less. We'll probably give them another try before forming an opinion.
So what did the Mongols REALLY eat?
Temujin, was declared the undisputed leader of the Mongols in 1206. He then launched a military campaign that, by 1227, put him in control of the largest empire in history: from China to Turkey, and from Siberia to India. Temujin and the Mongols considered their conquests to be ordained by the sky god, Tenggeri. The conquests led by Temujin were legendary, and to celebrate them the Mongols posthumously bestowed on him the title “Fierce Ruler,” or Chingis Khan. Today, thanks to an imperfect Arabic transliteration of that name, he is widely known as Genghis Khan.
Chingis Khan recognized that his people, accustomed to lives of hardship, deprivation, and perpetual motion, were natural warriors. They traveled with huge numbers of spare horses, and by using them in rotation managed to travel up to a hundred miles a day. As nomads, they knew how to live off the land and the peoples they conquered, but during times of privation and hard travel they could sustain themselves by drinking the blood of their own horses - and, if necessary, by eating them. “The men are inhuman and of the nature of beasts,” an English monk of the time reported, “rather to be called monsters than men, thirsting after and drinking blood, and tearing and devouring the flesh of dogs and human beings.”
OK, so this sounds really delicious, right? Admittedly the guys ate some “protein.” But do you really think they added spices, veggies, “starch” and sauce, stirred around on a metal shield over a campfire? Oh, for sure.
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