September 10th, 2007 By Jenna Walker
West Side Review: El Charro
It has been a while since we last reviewed a Mexican restaurant at It’s Evansville, despite our never ending obsession with the region’s flavors. This time we ventured out onto the West Side to visit El Charro for lunch.
El Charro is located in a little strip, and is very hidden away. Once you find it, the little outdoor seating area looks inviting, but I still felt unsure until I got inside. It does not appear that there is a vast amount of seating, but the décor brought you more and more in. It was a hodgepodge of bright colors, piñatas, and various Mexican trinkets. It works and draws you in and makes you want to stay.
We were seated and brought chips and salsa and our drinks. The salsa was delicious, and while the chips were nice and hot, they felt too airy and tasted as if the oil hadn’t been recently changed. Our menu was the lunch menu, with no dinner menu in site, which was nice since most menus are together and you have to figure out what to order off of. Also, everything on the lunch menu was $5.50. My dining partner ordered the Chicken Fiesta Burrito which is topped with sour cream lettuce, cheese, and a big slice of tomato. It also comes with beans and a side of rice. Delicious! I decided on a dish I absolutely love, but rarely get: huevos con chorizo. It is a nice little plate of scrambled eggs mixed with chorizo, next to rice and beans, served with warm tortillas. Perfect — nice and spicy.
All your favorite Mexican dishes are available at El Charro. I have heard their specialties include paella (usually a seafood and rice dish) and chimichangas (a fried burrito). There are different names for and seemingly different takes on their food, but it all seems to be there. Burritos, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, and quesadillas.
The service was good, the waiters seemed very friendly-even trying to speak Spanish with us. Moreover, the food was very good, and I’d be glad to go back. It is a little out of the way and hard to find, but the good food is worth it, especially with such reasonable prices.
El Charro is located at 720 N Sonntag Ave, between Mt Vernon Ave. & W Maryland St. (812) 421-1986. Mon-Thurs 11AM-9PM, Fri-Sat 11AM-10PM, Sun 11AM-8PM.
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If Evansville has one redeeming quality, it’s definitely that there is no lack of good places to eat.
The only place that I have found with a better array of mexican restaurants is Lafayette. They were EVERYWHERE.
As for El Charro, I agree with the chips. They are very airy, and definitely not my favorite. I absolutely love the food there though and the wait staff is 1000x friendlier than any Los Bravos I’ve ever been to.
Try the Nachos Fajita Chicken, easy on the lettuce….. :) YUM
El Charro is a staple for my friends and family. The Chicken Fajita Quesadilla is amazing, as is their Arroz Con Pollo. If you’re not a fan of their chips, at least pair them up with bean dip, it’s so good. Their beans are wonderful, you won’t find better ones in Evansville.
A heads up though, unless you like wine margaritas, you had better pass. They don’t have a liquor license for hard liquor, and margaritas san tequila just doesn’t work for me. Wine margaritas, while innovative, are just wrong, IMO.
@ daisy–thanks for the heads up since margaritas are almost a staple at mex restaurants–I wasn’t aware of that!
Daisy couldn’t be more correct. The Chicken Fajita Quesadilla at El Charro is the best Mexican dish in Evansville for my money. Get the cheeze dip with the chips, it has the perfect spice kick to it and get shredded cheese on the side of the Chicken Fajita Quesadilla. Try it, you won’t be displeased.
I have to agree with most of this review. the caveat is that I do like their chips.
If you like spicy, you must try their Salsa Picosa – spicier salsa. It is my second favorite salsa in Evansville.
El Charro is my favorite west-side Mexican restaurant, and one of 2 Mexican restaurants in Evansville that I frequent.
As a side note, if you have a man-sized appetite, try the Burrito Jalisco (pronounced Hal-eesko). You won’t be disappointed.