Fuentes - San Angelo

Since I'm back into traveling for work, I thought I'd start postings of restaurants across the state because I can never find any reviews online and I mean really, who better to give you food advice than me? ;) That is in case any one ever reads this besides me. If not, then it'll simply be a reminder of the good (and not so good) places to eat.

For the readers, let me start by telling you what I look for in restaurants and food in general. I generally tend to stick to non-chain restaurants when traveling out of town. I love a cozy atmosphere where I can feel welcome no matter if I'm dressed up for work or in jeans and a shirt relaxing. I like food to be spiced nicely. I hope the never have to add salt or pepper.

As for Mexican food, I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD. You might even say I'm a connoisseur. Let me rephrase though, I love Tex-Mex. I like seasonings and bold flavors. I expect cheese with my beef tacos, enough enchilada sauce to mix with rice and salsa good enough to eat with a fork! (yes, a fork, I like chunky salsa). So I might be a little overly picky with Mexican food, so take that into account. My mediocre might be okay for you.

Here is my review of Fuentes in Downtown San Angelo:

Cheese Enchilada - Great sauce!, cheese not melty, not enough sauce given on the plate
Beef Taco-No cheese (which sucks), sliced tomato (how am I supposed to eat that on a taco?), DRY beef (I like a little juice running out of my taco)
Rice-dry (bleck)
Beans-okay
Tortillas-good, homemade, but she charged me 85 cents for 2! What a stinking rip-off! I could make fifteen tortillas for that rate. Jerks.
Queso-Just okay, came out late, actually AFTER my dinner was served. No extra stuff in it, just cheese.

The atmosphere was very nice and typical Mexican. Mexican style decor was everywhere, including brick archways inside. The waitstaff was very rushed and hardly friendly. It was decent Mexican food, but not something to write home about. If it was cheaper, I'd go back, but it won't be at the top of my list.

Overall: 3.5/5 stars

http://www.fuentescafedowntown.com/pages/home.html

Opa! It's Greek Night!

So if you don't know, I live in a very secluded area of the Gulf Coast. To give you an idea, the nearest Wal-Mart is an hour away, so needless to say a Greek restaurant is NOWHERE to be found. So when I had a craving for tzatziki sauce, I couldn't run down to the local Greek restaurant in town. I decided instead to hit up the local supermarket and try and make it for myself, which turned out to be quite the success. To compliment my tzatziki sauce, I decided that I actually needed something substantial for dinner and used things I had lying around in my kitchen (seriously, I only bought the feta cheese) to make Greek Turkey Pitas. Dinner tonight was truly greek-tastic! (And comparable to any Greek restaurant you'll find in your corner of the world.)

Tzatziki Sauce

8oz. nonfat PLAIN yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, finely diced
4 springs dill
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 T. fresh lemon juice, (or more/less to taste)
salt, pepper

Line a colander with cheesecloth (you can also use coffee filters or multiple paper towels). Dump yogurt into colander and let sit over a bowl for at least 30 minutes (or you can leave it overnight inside the refrigerator). While yogurt is draining, place finely diced cucumber on multiple paper towels and salt. Let cucumber set for at 30 minutes to remove excess water. After cucumber and yogurt have drained, combine together in a bowl. Add dill and garlic. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with warmed pita bread.

Greek Turkey Pitas

Cooked ground turkey (leftover from the turkey burger mishap)
Handful of Feta cheese
4 Sun-dried tomatoes
2 cloves of Roasted garlic
8 Kalamata olives
1 whole pita, sliced in half (place in microwave for 20 secs to warm before stuffing)
Tzatziki sauce

Mix turkey, feta, tomatoes, garlic and olives together. Stuff into pita halves. Serve with tzatziki sauce. *Makes 2 pita halves.*

An easy and excellent Greek dinner for any night of the week. (I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures, but I'm sure I'll make this again, so I'll repost then!)