Cielito Lindo ("lovely, sweet one") … Mediocre Mexican Is The Norm In Lawrence

Patio

We ate here for the first time in August 2013 while in the midst of moving, so I did not have time to write a review. I recently returned for some follow-up visits and now provide my candid opinions.

The restaurant is large and the service pretty good. It reminds me of a real Mexican cantina inside with colorful decor and an open feel with a balcony on the second floor overlooking the dining room. The patio in front is large and inviting on a mildl day or evening and Cielito Lindo has been named the 2014 BEST OF LAWRENCE “Best Outdoor Dining” spot, a great place to have a drink, appetizer, and/or meal with friends and family.

The margaritas are decent, both on-the-rocks and blended, but compared to most places in town they are overpriced unless you can catch a special as we did recently ($12.99 for a pitcher on a Sunday night). 

The chips are abundant and appear homemade and the salsa one of the best I have fond in Lawrence. The guacamole ($3.99 for a “regular”) is reasonably sized and not bad, containing tomatoes as is the norm in many restaurants and a faux pas in my eyes. The regular queso blanco (white cheese dip – $3.99) comes in a similar size bowl, but was lukewarm and runny, not thick enough to cling to a chip and making quite a mess on the table and my clothes as I attempted to get it from bowl to mouth.

The tacos and enchiladas are adequate, yet boring. Tacos are tasty enough, coming in small, prefab shells and the small cheese and onion enchiladas are bland with little melted cheese. The chili relleno’s are well done, coming with plenty of cheese in a large chili surrounded by fluffy egg, but again the sauce was lacking flavor. Tostadas, which are hard to mess up, are OK, nothing special. Combinations are reasonably priced ($7.99) and ala carte items can be mixed and matched for a cost effective meal.

Carnitas

The carnitas appeared underwhelming at first look after arrival, but were crispy, well seasoned, and delicious pork tips that when pulled apart (as most restaurants serve them) filled the four corn tortillas that accompanied the meal ($10.49). I asked the waiter if the dish came with guacamole and pico di gallo before ordering, and he assured me it did, but when the plate arrived there was barely enough guac for one taco and zero pico di gallo. The rice and beans were flavorful and good. Some canned jalapeños topped the dish for some unknown reason with little value added. 

If you do not mind paying $10 for a plate full of grilled onion and a little meat, then the Cielito Lindo’s carne asada is the plate for you! Carne asada is routinely sliced and/or pounded very thin (in this case less than 1/8 of an inch), so it appears much larger than it actually is. In this case, my steak did not even appear that large. The abundance of perfectly grilled onion obscured the small, thin steak … weighing in at a maximum of four (4) ounces. At the equivalent of $40 per pound for a very inexpensive cut of meat, I would expect a top quality piece of beef, which was obviously not the case here.

Side Order of Quesadilla (2) – $14.98?

In conclusion, Cielito Lindo is comparable to the other mediocre Mexican restaurants in Lawrence, all of which fail in comparison to some of my favorite spots in Mexico, California, and Texas. Make sure to check your bill as we have had rather large errors, in their favor of course, on at least 50% of our checks. On our most recent visit, we were charged $7.49 (twice – totaling $14.98) for two small flour tortillas baked with a little cheese (aka quesadilla), accompanied by some lettuce, tomato (half a slice), and some sour cream. So before you leave, check your check and make sure you get what you paid for (or pay for what you got).

CombatCritic Gives Cielito Lindo 5 Bombs Out of 10 … MORE BOMBS ARE GOOD!

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Waterfront Cantina (Naguabo): Mexican Fare, Fresh Fish, Cheap Drinks … What More Can You Ask For?

Waterfront Cantina
Playa Naguabo, Puerto Rico
$$$$$

Waterfront Cantina is a small indoor and outdoor restaurant and bar across the street from the beach in Playa Naguabo with a reasonable Mexican and fish menu and drinks from $2.50-$6.00. 

Starters run from $5.95 to $13.95, dinners are $8.49 to $14.95, and drinks are $2.50 to $6.50. Cold beer, affordable prices, and friendly service make Waterfront Cantina a great place for a cool drink or a hot meal.

We stopped in several times during our week in Punta Santiago for drinks and on our final night for the nightly SPECIAL … Two entrees (one fish/one meat), two glasses of Sangria, and dessert for two, all for just $25. 

We ordered the beef fajitas for two, about 8 ounces of marinated skirt steak each with plenty of guacamole, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and tortillas for three decent size tacos. Everything was fresh and delicious although the garlic was a little excessive even for my taste. The sangria was good and dessert well done with a slice of cheesecake drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with four small, crispy mini-churros.

With a sea view, flat-screen TV (football on Sunday), and an owner who speaks English, it is a very tourist friendly option in an area where most locals have limited English speaking skills.

CombatCritic Gives Waterfront Cantina 7 Bombs Out Of 10 … BOMBAS ARE BUENAS!

Menu

Key Words: Waterfront Cantina, waterfront, cantina, Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Mexican, food, eat, lunch, dinner, TV, English, fajitas, beach, sea, view, indoor, outdoor, patio, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value

El Patio de Sam … More Like El Yucko de Sam!

Santa? What Are You Doing In This Dump?

El Patio de Sam

Calle San Sebastian 102
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936

(787) 723-1149

$$$$$

San Juan, Puerto Rico: We came for the piña coladas… advertised prominently out front as “2 for 1” until 7pm weekdays … and decided to try a burger ($10.95) with cheese and fries because the server told us “our burgers are the best, not only in Puerto Rico, but in ALL OF THE US!” We trusted her, first mistake!

Pina Colada – $9

Our burger FINALLY arrived after 30 minutes and was slightly bigger than a White Castle (Whitey One-Bite). There was no sauce, the patty (advertised to be 8 ounces) was small, maybe 5 ounces at best, and accompanied by a pickle spear, very small slice of tomato, and a little lettuce. The fries were shoestrings and not many of them at that. We finished the sandwich literally in less than 3 minutes and I am not a fast eater by any stretch.

Thankfully, the piña coladas ($9) were large and tasty, not strong, good, but thank God it was happy hour because they were way overpriced … $33 for two drinks and an itty-bitty burger … Never again!

CombatCritic Gives Patio de Sam 3 Out of 10 Bombs … BOMS ARE GOOD!

Key Words: Patio de Sam, patio, Sam, Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, old, San, Juan, bar, saloon, restaurant, pina colada, rum