Grubbin' Mexican Celebration

Jim had the day off, so he came up to take me out to lunch. I was definitely in the mood for celebrating, since I FINALLY screwed up the courage (and the stars were aligned to LET me do something) to talk to JDH about a job. So we ended up going out to Los Reyes, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The place started as a complete hole in the wall that we accidentally stumbled onto. We had previously gone to the address for Mexican food because it was in the Entertainment Book and were going for a repeat. I don't remember the name of the old place, but anyway, it was closed and there was Los Reyes instead. We were already there and decided to try it out, and when the owner honored the coupon, she won us over right there. Really, they improved the old place from the get-go. The restaurant looked cleaner, she paid a ton of attention to us, and the food was better. Initially they really were nothing but a hole in the wall, so she worked overtime to make us repeat customers. This was towards the end of 2004.

We went again for Valentine's Day 2005. I was studying for the Bar then and didn't have time for anything fancy, so there we were, the only people in the restaurant again (since the place was anything but romantic). However, the food was great and the service impeccable.

I took my dad there a couple of months later, and she actually remembered me, despite the fact that on Valentine's Day my hair was down to my waist and when she saw me again, it was above my shoulders. I was quite impressed. My dad loved their chips and got some to go. But for me, it has always been about the salsa. It's mild and tomatoe-y and just so fresh tasting.

Originally, they had a salsa cart (leftover from the previous owners). We tried all of the salsas, but always came back to the house version. We liked the place so much that we recommended it to Sister J and took a mutual friend of ours there for lunch once. Since my office is only about 15 minutes away, when I started working, we began going regularly about once a month. That's pretty amazing for a hole in the wall located kitty corner to a Dollar Store.

These days, the restaurant is completely different. For starters, they moved into a very nice location on the main street of the same city. It's no longer a hole in the wall--it's actually very, very nice. They've got a separate bar and main dining room and all-wood furniture. Despite the upgrade to the place, Jim and I definitely miss the old location. While I'm happy for them that business is doing so well, there's no more salsa cart and the prices have gone up. We still go, but we're no longer regulars. I actually miss seeing the owner regularly. She was always so nice and super friendly. Plus it's a little further from work, which makes it not as good of a lunch spot.

We've always gotten burritos there and sometimes we get nachos to share (like we did today). Their guacamole is soo good, but today's version wasn't up to par. Jim gets the chicken burrito without sour cream and I get a veggie sans rice and cheese, w/ the sour cream and guac on the side.