so-so

I have a lot of fantastic food pics waiting in the wings. Before I unleash a stream of gushing upon you, I think I should clear something up and temper all that oncoming positivity with some reality. I've noticed that I may be fostering a perception that I either like everything I eat, or that I have spot-on taste in restaurants. The truth is that I just lack the motivation to post about meals that don't excite me. The food we eat is rarely downright bad, but sometimes it's merely mediocre. I also don't fancy myself a true food critic, so I don't always feel comfortable complaining about local restaurants. However, it's hard to trust the opinion of someone who likes everything, so to foster your confidence, here's an attempt at some negativity.

One so-so meal was our Valentine's Day dinner at El Dorado Grill on Williamson Street in Madison. The style is Southwestern, and the decor is fittingly and charmingly rustic. We expected good things from this member of the Food Fight family of restaurants, but were not blown away.


The chips and salsa were tasty, though not as spicy as we'd usually prefer. The highlight of the meal came early, in the form of the priciest margarita I had tasted to date. I asked the very helpful server for a tequila suggestion (something in the lower price range for a beginner), since their list of 70+ tequila options was fairly intimidating. The tequilas ran from $5 - $10 per shot, and I opted to add another $2 to get the shot made into a margarita. I would absolutely return for margaritas and chips.

pasilla chile chicken enchiladas

I would most likely not go back to El Dorado for the food. While the drizzle of sauce over my enchiladas looked appealing, the flavor was sorely lacking. The chicken was dry and bland as were the beans. I would sooner take the saucier and more complex enchiladas in green sauce at the more casual Food Fight Southwestern joint, Tex Tubbs.

I also don't fancy myself a true food critic, so I don't always feel comfortable complaining about local restaurants. However, it's hard to trust the opinion of someone who likes everything, so to foster your confidence, here's an attempt at some negativity.

machaca pork chalupas

Matt ordered the machaca pork chalupas. The pork flavor was nice, but again the sides were unremarkable. The whole plate (and flavor) was obscured by the blanket of bland greens on top. The meal was capped off by a decent, but not amazing, piece of chocolate pecan pie. All in all, the food that we ordered at El Dorado was not worth our money. I might give it one more chance and try one of the entrees from the specialties section on the menu or for brunch.

chocolate pecan pie