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closeFriday, Nov. 06, 2009
Mijo’s taste just as fresh as remembered
Heather Svokos
Heather Svokos
The Michael’s Selection combo plate at Mijo’s in Arlington Heather Svokos
The last time I stepped into Mijo’s, it was 2004 and I was a new Texas transplant. I remember slurping up the salsa and thinking it was the freshest stuff I’d ever tasted. That memory has stayed with me, and I’ve always meant to find my way back to the Arlington restaurant, tucked into a strip mall on Park Row Drive. Finally, one brisk October day last week, I got my chance. As I stood in line at the counter waiting to order, I wondered whether Mijo’s would live up to my memories.
One taste of the salsa, and the memory came rushing back: It was smoky and bursting with the taste of fresh tomato and peppers.
My dining companion ordered one of the soups off of the special board, a homemade chicken pozole verde. Huge chunks of chicken bobbed in a green, cilantro-infused broth; poblano peppers added a little heat.
We sampled a few other sides: a small guacamole ($1.89) and a small queso ($1.89). While they didn’t make our eyes roll back in our heads, they were both fresh and tasty.
As I scanned Mijo’s overwhelming menu, I nearly had a meltdown trying to decide what to order — and I had already skipped over the enchiladas, burritos and fajitas. I mulled the taco and special plates, and I settled on Michael’s Selection ($7.99), a combo platter with a grilled chicken chalupa and a fish taco. The chalupa was served on an open-faced red corn tortilla with mango and avocado. On its own, the chicken didn’t have much character. But the whole flavor medley worked together in chalupa harmony. I had been craving fish tacos, and I was in damn-near bliss as I chowed down on this one — packed with grilled grouper, drizzled with chipotle sauce, topped with lettuce. (I got the pico de gallo on the side, and it also came with a cold black bean corn salsa and Latin-Asian slaw.)
My dining companion ordered Randy’s Special: a sour cream chicken enchilada, New Mexico red chile cheese enchilada, and a crispy beef taco ($7.39), served with black beans and Mexican rice. We both have our reservations about ordering combinations — it seems there’s always one item that leaves us cold. But in this case, he thought Randy’s Special made for a perfectly nice trio. (They were all above-average, he said.) His favorite was the taco — the ground beef delivered a zing that he didn’t expect but welcomed.
I dug my fork into all three of his Randy’s items and thought that if I didn’t have to go back to work, I might be able to just drown happily in the sour cream chicken enchilada.
All of our food was fresh, solid and tasty. If you’re not a close neighbor in Arlington and Pantego, it might be tough to make Mijo’s destination-dining. But rest assured, this gal will be back. And next time, it won’t take five years.
Arlington
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