Jalisco offers affordable, good food in a casual atmosphere

December 03, 2014 11:00 pm • Last Updated: April 10, 2015 2:12 pm

By Jill Blanchette

At Jalisco Mexican Restaurant, Westerly's newest eatery, the complimentary chips and salsa alone may be worth the trip.

Located in the former Friendly's on Route 1, just north of the Route 78 intersection, the restaurant's very large Tex-Mex menu includes the standards - tacos, flautas, chimichangas, burritos, chalupas, quesadillas, enchiladas and tostadas - plus an array of less ubiquitous dishes. But every meal starts with those chips, a big basket of large, thin, warm, crispy, perfectly salty corn tortilla wedges that taste freshly fried. And when you eat them all, another basket magically appears.

Cilantro-forward, nicely spicy salsa accompanies the chips, but additional dipping options include a nicely tangy guacamole, $3.99; and a delicious chile con queso, a hot, creamy dip made from white American cheese and the essence of jalapeno, $3.99.

With the chips, a drink is necessary, soda perhaps, or a pink lemonade. But Jalisco also boasts "an unrivaled selection of tequila." Their house margaritas come in single-serving sizes - 12-ounce, $4.99, 18-ounce, $6.75 - and by the pitcher, $17.50.

The beer selection includes the usual suspects plus some Mexican imports, including Tecate, Negro Modelo, Modelo Especial, XX Laguer and Ambar, Sol, Bohemia, Pacifica and Carta Blanca, many of them on draft in 12-ounce ($3.50) and 27-ounce ($6.75) sizes.

For our first visit, on a Wednesday night, a frosty 12-ounce mug of Especial was waiting for me, as was my husband, sipping on an XX Ambar. Both were just right.

After a quick look at the giant menu, we stuck to the basics. I chose a combination plate, $9.75, and selected a mahi mahi taco, a cheese enchilada and a bean chalupa, topped with a guacamole salad. My husband went for entree No. 35, "two chimichangas (one chicken, one beef) topped with cheese sauce and red mild ranchero sauce, served with lettuce, sour cream and refried beans," $10.25.

The chimichangas were the winners, their filings fresh and nicely spiced. On the other end of the spectrum was the half-hearted taco, served in a hard shell that had become soggy from the salty bits of sautéed mahi mahi inside and from sitting in an encroaching puddle of enchilada sauce.

But the meal rose somewhat in our estimation when the bill arrived, just $32.83 for basically an adequate dinner.

On our next visit for an early Saturday dinner, we started with the small house margarita but upgraded to the "gold" version, made with Jose Cuervo, $5.50, on the rocks, of course, with salt.

Most traces of the old Friendly's dining room have been replaced by heavy wooden tables and chairs, high-back booths, and much artwork devoted to the growing and harvesting of agave. It's not hard to imagine losing track of time in this room while enjoying chips, cheese dip and margaritas.

Eventually, my husband ordered the Taco Salad Fajita, in a "crispy, fried, flour shell," He opted for the steak version, $10.99.

I was determined to move away from the standards, but I couldn't make up my mind. So I ordered both the Arandas Special, "chunks of pork or steak covered with verde or Colorado sauce," $11.99, and Mole Jalisco, grilled chicken breast, topped with mole sauce, $11.99.

I chose the pork Arandas and what arrived was a plate full of slow-cooked pork, big, juicy, tender chunks bathed in a tangy green sauce. The pork was a bit salty on its own, but with its accompaniments - tender and steamy flour tortillas, cheesy refried beans and shaved lettuce topped with guacamole - it made a perfect bite.

The mole was dark and rich, blanketing two thin, tender and juicy chicken breasts, accompanied by a mildly spiced rice and a sour cream-topped salad. As with the Arandas, it was most delicious in a bite that combined the chicken and mole with the cool sour cream and crisp salad.

The fajita salad was enormous and tasty, a huge bowl formed from a fried flour tortilla, filed with beans and cheese, steak and fried onions and peppers, topped with lettuce, tomato and guacamole.

Despite the early hour, Jalisco was quite busy. We saw more than half a dozen tables turn over during our meal, many of them families and extended families with children. During both of our visits, large parties were seated and served, a table of 14 the first time and a table of nine the next.

The place seems to be filling a niche in town by offering good food - and drink - in a casual atmosphere at an affordable price.

J.BLANCHETTE@THEDAY.COM