Mexican Restaurant Reviews
Chilango's Mexican Restaurant. 42 Nichols Street (behind
McDonalds), Spencerport, NY 14559. 585-349-3030. (Map
from MSN Maps) (1/05).
Rochester, NY and the surrounding area has a few Mexican restaurants
including one Mexican restaurant chain. Unfortunately, none of them,
except Chilango's, serve anything remotely like authentic Mexican
food. Chilango's excels over its competition in every imaginable way.
The food is excellent, high quality, and authentically spiced. Nearly
everything on the menu is made from scratch. The hospitality of the
owners is gracious, welcoming, and sincere.
Chilango's is located just off the 531 expressway West of Rochester in
Spencerport, NY . It is literally just a few minutes drive from Rochester's inner
loop. When you turn off the expressway onto Union Street, turn right,
which is North, to the first stop light and turn left onto Rt. 31. In
less than a hundred feet you will see a McDonalds. Turn into the
driveway just before McDonalds that leads to a small strip mall.
Chilango's is located in the strip mall.
Chilango's is small and intimate. The d�cor is tasteful and
understated, with just enough hints to let you know that you are
eating in a Mexican restaurant. Latin music plays tastefully in the
background. It is family run, so expect to see Ricardo the
owner, his wife Donna, and children performing whatever tasks that will make
your dining experience enjoyable.
We were seated immediately and asked by Ricardo if we had
been to the restaurant before. We said that we hadn't. Ricardo
excused himself and rushed
off to the kitchen and came back with a sample plate containing a
dollop of each of his main entr�es for us to taste. We hadn't been in the
restaurant for more than five minutes and we were already impressed by
Ricardo's hospitality. The samples brought to us included Chicken Mole, Barbacoa, Pork Adobo, Tinga con Pollo, and Pork and Rajas. The
following are descriptions of these entr�es from Chilango's menu with
annotations:
“Chicken Mole. Tender chunks of chicken breast, covered with a truly
Mexican sauce composed of ground chili peppers, many different spices,
and herbs, and a bit of chocolate. Served with warm
tortillas."
Few Mexicans actually make mole except during special holidays.
Most purchase it from local markets in chunks which they melt over low
heat and mix with water or broth. You can purchase mole in jars
at several of the Rochester area
Wegmans markets or you can order it online from places like
MexGrocer.com. Because it contains
Mexican
chocolate, it has to be heated slowly over a low flame and diluted
with water or low salt broth. Chocolate probably sets off
visions of milk chocolate. Mexican chocolate is so different
from candy chocolate that they should not share the same name.
Mexican chocolate is very dark, hard, and strongly flavored.
“Barbacoa. A very tender beef mildly spiced, and cooked slowly in the
oven with Mexican seasonings. Served with warm tortillas." Barbacoa
translates to barbecued meat.
“Pork Adobo. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly in a spicy sauce made
of
ancho and
pasillo peppers. The pork falls apart and melts in your
mouth! Served with warm tortillas."
“Tinga con Pollo. Shredded chicken and onions cooked slowly in a mild
red chipotle pepper sauce. Served with warm tortillas."
“Pork and Rajas. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly with
poblano
peppers and onions. Served with warm tortillas."
All of the options were impressive and made our decision about what
to order difficult. However, as we reached the bottom of our
homemade tortilla chip basket and finished off our
salsa verde (the first basket is free) we made our selection.
First, we ordered an appetizer of Chorizo con Queso, "Rickys homemade
chorizo sausage (a spicy Mexican sausage made 70% ground pork and 30%
ground beef), covered with melted cheese and served with warm
tortillas." Although the Chorizo con Queso was wonderfully rich
and tasty, it was a little blander than I would have expected.
My wife and I shared an order of pork adobo. Our guests ordered
beef fajitas. The pork adobo was exceptionally good. Our
only disappointment was the lack of chilies. Unfortunately,
Chilango's seems to have toned down the use of chilies in most of
their dishes to defer to the Rochester palate. Even at our
table, one of our guests asked "That's not too hot is it?"
Restaurant owners who hear this frequently have no choice but to tone
down their use of chilies and strong spices. Sometimes I wish
that restaurants like Chilango's had two menus. One menu would
be for locals who don't want their taste buds challenged and another
for people who actually like authentically spiced ethnic foods.
I don't fault Ricardo or his wife Donna on this issue, they are just
being good hosts by meeting the needs of their customers.
Chilango's tortillas seem much too regular in shape to be homemade
and they are unusually small, but they are flavorful and served warm.
We accompanied our meal with a Chalingo's
margarita which
is served over ice cubes from a pitcher. Several Mexican beers
are also listed on the menu. It would be enjoyable to see
Mexican soft drinks on the menu.
For dessert we ordered the Mexican Flan, “A baked custard consisting
of cream, eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, and topped with caramel" and
Chocolate Flourless Cake, “A fudge-like cake made out of semi-sweet
chocolate, butter, eggs, and sugar. Topped with fresh whip cream and
fruit garnish." Both desserts were wonderfully yummy. The
flan is probably one of the best flans I have had anywhere. It
has a slightly firm and at the same time creamy texture and the flavor
is rich, but not heavy. The chocolate cake is intensely
chocolate flavored and has a dense texture.
I would probably return to Chilango's just because Ricardo and
Donna are such wonderful hosts. The fact that they serve the
best and most authentic Mexican food I have tasted in the region
guarantees many return visits.
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