Mexican Restaurant Reviews
Chilango's Mexican Restaurant. 42 Nichols Street (behind McDonalds), Spencerport, NY 14559. 585-349-3030. (Map from MSN Maps) (1/05).
Rochester, NY and the surrounding area has a few Mexican restaurants including one Mexican restaurant chain. Unfortunately, none of them, except Chilango's, serve anything remotely like authentic Mexican food. Chilango's excels over its competition in every imaginable way. The food is excellent, high quality, and authentically spiced. Nearly everything on the menu is made from scratch. The hospitality of the owners is gracious, welcoming, and sincere.
Chilango's is located just off the 531 expressway West of Rochester in Spencerport, NY . It is literally just a few minutes drive from Rochester's inner loop. When you turn off the expressway onto Union Street, turn right, which is North, to the first stop light and turn left onto Rt. 31. In less than a hundred feet you will see a McDonalds. Turn into the driveway just before McDonalds that leads to a small strip mall. Chilango's is located in the strip mall.
Chilango's is small and intimate. The décor is tasteful and understated, with just enough hints to let you know that you are eating in a Mexican restaurant. Latin music plays tastefully in the background. It is family run, so expect to see Ricardo the owner, his wife Donna, and children performing whatever tasks that will make your dining experience enjoyable.
We were seated immediately and asked by Ricardo if we had been to the restaurant before. We said that we hadn't. Ricardo excused himself and rushed off to the kitchen and came back with a sample plate containing a dollop of each of his main entrées for us to taste. We hadn't been in the restaurant for more than five minutes and we were already impressed by Ricardo's hospitality. The samples brought to us included Chicken Mole, Barbacoa, Pork Adobo, Tinga con Pollo, and Pork and Rajas. The following are descriptions of these entrées from Chilango's menu with annotations:
Chicken Mole. Tender chunks of chicken breast, covered with a truly Mexican sauce composed of ground chili peppers, many different spices, and herbs, and a bit of chocolate. Served with warm tortillas." Few Mexicans actually make mole except during special holidays. Most purchase it from local markets in chunks which they melt over low heat and mix with water or broth. You can purchase mole in jars at several of the Rochester area Wegmans markets or you can order it online from places like MexGrocer.com. Because it contains Mexican chocolate, it has to be heated slowly over a low flame and diluted with water or low salt broth. Chocolate probably sets off visions of milk chocolate. Mexican chocolate is so different from candy chocolate that they should not share the same name. Mexican chocolate is very dark, hard, and strongly flavored.
Barbacoa. A very tender beef mildly spiced, and cooked slowly in the oven with Mexican seasonings. Served with warm tortillas." Barbacoa translates to barbecued meat.
Pork Adobo. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly in a spicy sauce made of ancho and pasillo peppers. The pork falls apart and melts in your mouth! Served with warm tortillas."
Tinga con Pollo. Shredded chicken and onions cooked slowly in a mild red chipotle pepper sauce. Served with warm tortillas."
Pork and Rajas. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly with poblano peppers and onions. Served with warm tortillas."
All of the options were impressive and made our decision about what to order difficult. However, as we reached the bottom of our homemade tortilla chip basket and finished off our salsa verde (the first basket is free) we made our selection. First, we ordered an appetizer of Chorizo con Queso, "Rickys homemade chorizo sausage (a spicy Mexican sausage made 70% ground pork and 30% ground beef), covered with melted cheese and served with warm tortillas." Although the Chorizo con Queso was wonderfully rich and tasty, it was a little blander than I would have expected. My wife and I shared an order of pork adobo. Our guests ordered beef fajitas. The pork adobo was exceptionally good. Our only disappointment was the lack of chilies. Unfortunately, Chilango's seems to have toned down the use of chilies in most of their dishes to defer to the Rochester palate. Even at our table, one of our guests asked "That's not too hot is it?" Restaurant owners who hear this frequently have no choice but to tone down their use of chilies and strong spices. Sometimes I wish that restaurants like Chilango's had two menus. One menu would be for locals who don't want their taste buds challenged and another for people who actually like authentically spiced ethnic foods. I don't fault Ricardo or his wife Donna on this issue, they are just being good hosts by meeting the needs of their customers.
Chilango's tortillas seem much too regular in shape to be homemade and they are unusually small, but they are flavorful and served warm.
We accompanied our meal with a Chalingo's margarita which is served over ice cubes from a pitcher. Several Mexican beers are also listed on the menu. It would be enjoyable to see Mexican soft drinks on the menu.
For dessert we ordered the Mexican Flan, A baked custard consisting of cream, eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, and topped with caramel" and Chocolate Flourless Cake, A fudge-like cake made out of semi-sweet chocolate, butter, eggs, and sugar. Topped with fresh whip cream and fruit garnish." Both desserts were wonderfully yummy. The flan is probably one of the best flans I have had anywhere. It has a slightly firm and at the same time creamy texture and the flavor is rich, but not heavy. The chocolate cake is intensely chocolate flavored and has a dense texture.
I would probably return to Chilango's just because Ricardo and Donna are such wonderful hosts. The fact that they serve the best and most authentic Mexican food I have tasted in the region guarantees many return visits.
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