Jose's Mexican Bar & Grill

Jose's Mexican Bar & Grill, 638 Wave St, Monterey, CA 93940

Date: 4 Nov 11
Meal: Dinner
Cost (Value): $$ (4)
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Good: Jose's is one of my Dad's favorite joints, but the previous times I'd eaten there (admittedly, a year or two ago), I don't remember being impressed. However, I decided to give it another go, this time with a critical eye.  The atmosphere is good, with bright colors and Mexican sundries on the walls, and Hispanic music playing at a respectful volume.  The margarita I had was tasty, if pretty standard, but didn't taste watered down.  We were served two types of salsa, a red and a green; the red had better flavor, but the green was a bit more picante.  Both salsas tasted outstandingly fresh, and the chips (which were also freshly made in-house) were refilled by our server repeatedly without having to be asked.  For my entree, I ordered a Combination #3 (two tacos and an cheese enchilada, with rice and beans).  All the food came out piping hot, which is a great start, and there was a lot of it for the price (about $11.50).  Although I ordered a cheese enchilada, a beef enchilada came out by mistake; however, when I reported the error, our server quickly and happily brought me out a fresh cheese enchilada too.  Great customer service!! The rice and beans were quality, but the estrella del plato was definitely the cheese enchilada; the enchilada sauce was plentiful and tasty, the cheese was gooey and stringing, and it tasted like it had been made by hand just minutes before it was put on my plate.

Bad:  Although the enchiladas hit a homerun, the tacos definitely could have been better.  The shells were fried (I asked), but felt and tasted baked.  It seemed like a weird fried-baked hybrid thing, that was definitely edible, just a little strange.  In addition, the shredded beef in the tacos was a little dry, and definitely bland. So close to greatness...


Overall: