Chilango’s, Spencerport, NY

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
Soon as we walked in, we were greeted by two different hostesses who were eager to seat us.

Mise en Scène
It was a small establishment. Inside was space for maybe 40 guests, and outside was a patio with 4 tables. The walls were painted with dark red on the bottom half and a golden hue on the top, similar to the color scheme of their website. There were tasteful decorations on the walls. Guests seemed to be dressed casually. Very few were dressed semi-formally. We came in after a bike ride, and we felt comfortable in our jeans, shorts and t-shirts.

While waiting to take your order, the hostess brings corn chips (which are toasty warm) and a watery salsa that is very good. Most Mexican eateries will also have a bean dip at an extra charge. This location did not have this, though we were offered a side of refried beans, which seemed to satisfy this need.

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat
Compared to other Mexican restaurants in the Rochester area that list more vegetarian based options on their menu itself, it seemed this location may do more substitutions. For meat eaters, this would be a haven of carnivorous treats as the dinner menu side was a list full of such choices. Being that I did not feel like asking for substitutions and I was not all that hungry for a main course, I went for the Ensalada de Nopales- a salad made from cactus! Hubby got a beans chimichanga with sides of beans and rice.

Upon seeing the salad of cactus pieces, I wasn’t sure if I’d get past the aesthetics of the dish to experience the taste. When looking at it, it could look like very thick spinach pasta- maybe linguine. It definitely has an exotic look which many may not be able to pass. However, it is not just passing the looks of it that makes you hardcore! You must past the taste test too! I think if you’re a fan of slightly bitter and spicy dishes you’d really like this. The cactus pieces seemed to be soaking in a jalapeño type juice which gave them an unexpected kick. But, since I am used to eating and cooking a lot of Indian food at home, to me it did not seem at all spicy or hot. It was a kick to keep me interested in eating more. However, I admit, eating half of the dish became hard (mostly because it’s monotonous) and I ended up packing the rest and taking it home.

See the Chilango’s menu.

Checking In
Our waitress checked on us in regular intervals and refilled our coffee promptly.

See you later
Receiving the bill took a little longer than usual (compared to other places). Waiting for the bill to be returned with credit receipts was average time.

One of the notable items on the bill was the charge of $1.50 for the chips and salsa. I was a bit surprised to see this charge as other Mexican eateries that give this while waiting for food do not charge for it on the bill.

Pay Scale
$11-15 per person
(Our totals are skewed as the cactus salad I got is listed as an appetizer, and I did not choose a meal. The dinner plates ranged from $10.50-$13. Personally for Mexican vegetarian I find this rate a bit high, but for non-vegetarian items it may be a good deal. For the non-vegetarian eater, they had a variety of chorizo dishes, which seems to be a Mexican non-veg favorite that not all Mexican eateries provide.)
Tips
10% was sufficient
Star System 2.5/5
(A low rating has been given mostly due to no fault of their own besides distance from our house. The service, friendliness and promptness of the staff was impressive.)

To find/Contact
Chilango's Mexican Restaurant
www.chilangosmexicanrestaurant.com
42 Nichols St (Behind McDonald’s on Route 31 near 31 & 259 intersection)
Spencerport, NY 14559
(585) 349-3030

Get directions

September 14, 2008 update.
We visited this location last week. It was after viewing the menu, I remembered why I gave such a low rating, though others in my group like this place a lot. There are very few if any vegetarian options and for many menu items substitutions do not make sense from a taste perspective as well as a financial one. The waitress also mentioned the rice side dish also has chicken broth in it. Shocking for a Mexican eatery how few vegetarian options are on the menu. I think I got a burrito. We both had an odd feeling of fullness afterwards. THe plus point of this location was on a Sunday evening when we showed up about 8pm, there were no lines and no waiting and the waitstaff were knowledgeable about the menu, prompt and friendly.

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