El Charro: Quaint and Authentic Mexican Food!

Information:

Times of Operation:

Monday- Thursday, and Sunday 11am to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday 11am to 11 pm

Location:

1779 S. Glenstone Ave.Springfield, Missouri417-886-1444

El Charro has the charm of just about every Mexican restaurant where I’ve eaten.  The decorations were delightful and had the traditional Hispanic flair, with bright colors and a touch of southwestern décor, and Hispanic music playing softly on the speakers throughout the restaurant.

My group went  at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 for an early dinner. There were only a few parties in the restaurant at the time and we were seated promptly. We ordered drinks and the waiter brought some chips and salsa. The salsa tasted homemade.  Having an early dinner seemed like a great idea before the dinner rush. We were served quickly and our drinks never ran low.

Three waiters shared the service for our table, which is an interesting trait of the restaurant. It seemed as though they shared the tables and helped each other out and they took good care of their customers.  This is reminiscent of the Hispanic culture. They are very family oriented and many Mexican restaurants  are owned by a single family. It was nice to see that they were happy to share.  The restaurant is family oriented, with Hispanic music playing softly in the background and a cheery atmosphere with plenty of natural lighting.

There are four locations to choose from , two in Springfield and two in Ozark. The restaurant visitied is located on Glenstone and Sunshine next to the Midnight Rodeo. I was interested in the restaurant because I drive by it many times a week on the way to work.  I never had the chance to stop. It seemed like a nice friendly place to eat Mexican food.

To start we ordered the guacamole dip with chips. The guacamole tasted fresh and delicious. The salsa was served (free of charge), as it is at many (though not all) Mexican restaurants.  The chips were served warm and fresh. Sometimes my family would joke that we went to the Mexican restaurants for the free appetizers that half-filled us up by the time we got our food.

I tried the taco salad fajita shrimp.  The menu lists the item as having 15 shrimp cooked with sautéed onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, covered with lettuce sour cream and pico de gallo ( fresh salsa delicioso!) . Though I’m not sure there were actually 15 shrimp on the plate, I will forgive them. My two favorite Mexican specialties are fajitas and taco salads. This item was a fusion of both which caught my eye quickly, and after a couple of bites I decided that the fusion worked well for the dish.

Alex had the Aranada’s cheesesteak. This is quite a unique plate. When you think of cheesesteak, one thinks of Philly cheese-steak, but here is it a unique twist of an American favorite!  This plate has grilled steak with  onions and special cheese sauce served in three flour tortillas. These are served with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and rice. I tried a piece of his and the flavor was not what I expected. It was much better than I had thought and different at the same time. It is interesting how they can make anything tasty in a tortilla shell.

Martha ordered the tacos de carne asada. This plate I am familiar with because it is what my father always ordered at the Mexican restaurant we near his house. This plate is three tortillas stuffed with steak or chicken and served with beans, pico de gallo and a tomatillo sauce. The flavor was unique, though it was not the same as the ones my father always ordered, the dish was good, but not quite the same. Worse, no, different yes. The difference lies in the flavor, however, I cannot pick out exactly what makes it different in the flavor.

We ended with two different desserts the flan, a Mexican dessert and the fried ice cream. I don’t particularly care for the flan, I’ve tried it before, and the texture bothered me. However, I did try the fried ice cream. I’ve always wondered how they fry ice cream seeing how it melts so quickly at room temperature. The ice cream is in rolled in a crunchy pastry and served in a sugared tortilla shell, topped with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and sprinkles with a cherry to top it all off.  It was actually quite tasty. I’ve only ever tried it once, but this one was served a bit differently and was much better than the first time. Maybe next time I go to a Mexican restaurant I will ask how they fry the ice cream.

The slogan on the sign says Authentic Mexican food. The options on the menu proved the slogan to be true. There were several items that I had never seen before on a Mexican restaurant's menu. For example, flautas, I had never heard of, nor had I heard of pollo tapatio.  Both sounded very tasty and definitely authentic. I have just recently found a liking for Mexican food, so I am new to some of the more exotic delicacies.

With Lunch specials starting at $4.99 for some tacos or tamales, you cannot beat the prices. The most expensive Lunch menu item is only $7.29 for some yummy fajitas or plenty of other options in lunch-sized portions.

With authentic Mexican food, you can’t go wrong. The food was delicious, the service was better than average and the atmosphere quaint and familiar. The prices are low and the location is close to home.  Would I recommend the place to a friend? Absolutely, friends, family, children, or just an acquaintance, parties or just a luncheon, it seems like a great place to go for a quiet get-together.

Each Hispanic restaurant have different recipes from different parts of Mexico and different parts of Central and South America, and that  is what I think entices Americans with the food. This restaurant, though in a small location serves great food. Sometimes you have to search for great food and sometimes the best places are the ones you wouldn’t even guess.  I will call this restraunt one of those places.