‘El Sol’, “Authentic Mexican Cuisine, Family Owned Since 1982”, is our latest stop in our journey to find the ‘Ultimate Chile Verde’ dish. We did not travel far on this culinary excursion. In fact we could have walked from the Mad Meat Genius meat cavern. We have visited EL Sol in the distant past when we first moved into the lovely town of Rodeo. Our experience left us with a feeling of blandness. Many years have passed and it was time to re-visit our local Mexican food dispensary.
El Sol is operated and owned by the Orozco family. They are very involved in community activities. The Orozco’s are one of the sponsors of little league and host a ‘Cinco de Mayo’ block party. The restaurant has a good lunch crowd of regulars from the community and surrounding businesses. Let’s order some chile verde.
Dr. Biggles and I agree that a good indicator of the food to come is the chips and salsa that are provided before the meal. The chips were fresh, crisp and just salty enough to keep your doctor in business. The salsa was bland and disappointing. This salsa came straight from a can. The heat was just not invited to this party. Little plastic containers of a habanero sauce were offered for the asking. This sauce did have some heat and flavor once you got past the over seasoning of salt.
You place your order at the counter and your food will be brought to your table. The employees were very friendly and made us feel welcome. Our food was brought promptly. This large plate of pork and chile looked wonderful. The meat was tender. The beans and rice were filling. The beer was icy cold. These are the only positive things about this plate. Bland and blander was the verdict. All of the salt must have ended up in the habanero salsa. The chile taste and flavor that I crave missed this bus. Ms. Goofy enjoyed her enchiladas.
El Sol is a popular local restaurant. The Orozco family is very involved in the community. The employees are very friendly to make your dining experience pleasant. We wanted to love this establishment so very much. The verdict of Bland will stand. The journey to find the “Ultimate Chile Verde’ will continue.
El Sol
224 Pacific Av.
Rodeo, Ca. 94572
510 260-0163
10 comments:
Such a pity! There are few things better than a good neighborhood restaurant within walking distance.
Boo. I have a place in my territory that I'm afraid to name, because I'm not an autorized BBQ chile verde judge. But I liked the chile verde. Too scared to take the Doctor.
Zia, We are disappointed. A lot of people do not agree with our opinion because they do a good business.The Orozco's are good people.
Cookiecrumb, Is that the same restaurant that has burnt ends that are not called burnt ends.The most important thig is,you liked it. I also think the Doctor wood be honored to go.
Isn't that the same family that opened a branch over here? Also bland here, but sometimes that's okay.
Zoomie, Yes it is. Bland is bland. We enjoy the spice and gusto that good Mexican food should embrace.
The photos sure make it look good. Bland probably pleases many,sadly.
It's not the chain BBQ place in the mall. It is on the west side of the freeway, opposite the Civic Center. Pretty Mexican, in a "Feed me now, I'm a lay daborer" way.
Greg, How true! We have tasted and experienced good Mexican food. We can not settle for bland.
Cookiecrumb, "Feed me now, I'm a day laborer" way." is a food genre or category of Mecican food, that I am guessing, must be experienced in the shadow of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Nope, haven't tried it yet. Maybe, we can have a field trip with the Doctor to experience this Marin experience.
Good luck on your search. Those plates of food look like exactly what I hate about so many Mexican restaurants. Big plates of sloppy food all running together. Actually a pet peeve of mine. Don't get me started! :-)
highlandsranchfoodie, It is a lot of fun to have a quest that you eat the spoils. Are you still under snow?
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