Delgado's Cafe

Name: Delgado's Cafe
Location: 119 Harry L Dr., Johnson City, NY 13790
Phone: (607) 798-7306
Cuisine: Mexican
Price: $15-$20 per person

Review:
Megan and I used to go to Delgado's quite often. Mexican food is one of our favorites, and its nearby location made it very convenient for us. Then came the day that we found Los Tapatios, superior in quality and much cheaper in price. This rendered Delgado's pretty much obsolete in our minds.

But we are trying to be complete in our food-blogging duties, so we paid a visit to Delgado's last night for dinner. I was curious to see how things had evolved in the several years since we had last been there. We arrived around 4:30 PM on a Friday and were surprised to find very few spots available in the parking lot at such an early time. We entered through the rear (the restaurant entrance--the bar entrance is in the front) and seated ourselves in one of their spacious wooden booths. The restaurant is a large, well-decorated space with a big dining room in back and a long bar in front. Delgado's provides a low-key, comfortable atmosphere and seems to be a popular place for the after-work crowd to have a few beverages.

We were presented with menus, tortilla chips, and two different dips. The first was the standard salsa, which I found to be pale by comparison to Los Tapatios' equivalent, while the second was a much tastier bean dip. The menu is rather extensive and includes pretty much any standard Mexican dish you can imagine, available in various combinations. One of their most popular items are the wings, which I have had many times in the past. I didn't get any wings on this visit, but I can attest that the honey garlic and the spicy BBQ wings are rather tasty and a little bit different, sauce-wise, from most other wings I've had. Megan ordered the Fajitas a la Carte (around $13 with no extras) while I went with the Ranchero-style Beef Enchiladas dinner ($16), which came with albondiga (meatball) soup, and sides of beans and rice.


The albondiga soup was a pretty good start to the meal. Featuring tiny meatballs with various vegetables in a beef broth, I would describe it as the Mexican equivalent of Italian wedding soup. Not bad, but nothing particularly memorable.


I was reasonably happy with my enchilada dinner. The enchiladas were pretty tasty but were covered in ranchero sauce, which I found to be kind of oddly thick, gravy-like, and maybe a little bit cheesy in taste. Whatever it was, I found it to be mildly off-putting. But I did enjoy the seasoning of the ground beef filling and the Mexican rice and refried beans contributed to make this a mostly satisfying meal. Although I was kind of thinking to myself the entire time that I could get the same exact meal more authentically for half the price at Los Tapatios.

Megan's fajitas were decent, but were definitely different from any other fajitas we've had before. Served with the usual sauteed peppers and onions and a side plate of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream, the chicken is marinaded in some kind of garlicky sauce vaguely reminiscent of soy sauce. Perhaps a little bit weird, but not bad. Megan was reasonably pleased but she lamented that the entree does not come with any sides unless you order the full dinner for $3-$4 more. Sorry, but beans and rice are not worth $3-$4.

Overall, our visit to Delgado's reconfirmed what I knew all along, that Los Tapatios is the better of the two restaurants in both quality and value. That said, I wasn't displeased or disappointed with my meal. I don't know if or when we'll make it back to Delgado's again, but I can see why others may like it. It has a laid-back atmosphere and would be a fine place to hang out with friends, eat some wings, and have a couple margaritas. If you like Mexican food, you owe it to yourself to try Delgado's, but it pales in comparison to the area's best.

Grade: B-

Margarita's Cantina

Name: Margarita's Cantina
Location: 1166 Upper Front St., Binghamton, NY 13905
Phone: (607) 772-0722
Cuisine: Mexican
Price: Around $25-$30 for two

Review:
Binghamton is a city with relatively few local options for Mexican food. There's Los Tapatios in both Vestal and Endicott, Delgado's in Johnson City, and the subject of today's review, Margarita's on Upper Front St. Margarita's is located almost exactly at the intersection of Route 11 (Front St.) and I-81, next to Sam the Beer Man. As a regular patron of Sam's I have often wondered about Margarita's but never bothered to give it a chance until tonight. What I found was a quaint little eatery with excellent service; the food was good, but not extraordinary.

Upon arriving at Margarita's we were greeted immediately and told we could sit anywhere we liked. After a quick scan of the small dining room, we opted for a booth and were quickly presented with menus and a basket of chips, and were instructed that we could pick any of their homemade salsas to go with the chips. There were three choices, a mild pico de gallo, a medium verde, and a hot salsa with a somewhat smoky flavor which I believe contained chipotle peppers. Naturally we opted to try all three. The pico de gallo was very good and extremely fresh, with a balance of tomato, onion, and lime. The verde was a little spicier but not too hot. It was good, but I preferred the other two. The hot sauce was my favorite of the three. Great level of spiciness with, like I said, a bit of a smoky sweetness to it. This was different from any salsa I am accustomed to, and I enjoyed it very much. So much so that I asked for another basket of chips after we voraciously polished off the first one, just so I could keep eating the salsa.

When it came time to order, I opted for carnitas, a marinaded, slow-roasted shredded pork dish that is a personal favorite of mine when it comes to Mexican cuisine. At Margarita's, it's served with lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, rice, and black beans with some flour tortillas on the side. I was enthusiastic about this dish. As it turned out, I found it to be alright, but not amazing. The pork was a hair on the bland side, less juicy and less seasoned relative to other carnitas dishes I've had in the past. That said, it was not bad at all, and I happily devoured every last bite. Megan ordered a burrito and had a similar reaction. She liked it well enough (well enough indeed to take the portion she couldn't finish home with us) but it didn't blow her away.

What did impress both of us most about Margarita's was the service. From the moment we walked into the restaurant until the minute we left, we felt very well taken care of. The waitress was truly exceptional. She was friendly without an ounce of artifice and offered quick service without hovering over us too much. We could tell she genuinely cared about whether we enjoyed the experience or not. Upon paying our bill, they even gave us some coupons to use for our next visit. I can say that the service we received tonight at Margarita's was easily among the best we've had at any area restaurant.

Obviously, we found Margarita's to be most impressive from a customer service standpoint. The food is definitely passable Mexican fare (the salsa being the highlight), and the atmosphere is low-key and mildly festive. I prefer the food at Los Tapatios for now, but the excellent service ensures that we'll be making a return trip to Margarita's at some point in the near future.

Grade: B

Los Tapatios - Megan's Take

Since Dan already provided a great deal of information on Tapatios, I will give my basic take on the place based on the many times I have eaten there. For me, the important parts of a restaurant experience are ambiance, service, presentation, and of course, taste. Let's face it, you are not going to return to a place if you don't like the food. That being said, you aren't going to be in a rush to go back to a place or give out a recommendation if the other parts of the equation are lacking. Of course, each restaurant should be judged in its own context. There is no point in comparing fast food to fine dining. As such, I will keep those things in mind with all of my reviews.

Tapatios, on the whole, rates fairly well on my list, mostly for consistency. Having eaten at both locations dozens of times, the overall experience has been the same. No frills, quick seating and ordering, and a short wait for food. It is a laid back space with some traditional music playing in the background. The booths and tables are fairly generic and not that comfortable, but they serve their purpose. The wait staff is friendly, but not overly attentive as they are usually short staffed. This only comes into play when you are ready to pay your bill, as there is rarely anyone manning the register, so sometimes it can be a wait. If you are not in a rush, this is not a problem. Either location is not normally too busy, so it is a great choice for a quick meal.

As far as food, you can't go wrong with chips and salsa - though the salsa is the only somewhat inconsistent thing at Tapatios - sometimes it is a bit spicy for my tastes (I am not a big fan of spicy foods, so keep that in mind). On the whole, I usually get the same thing each time I go - the Taquitos Mexicanos, which contain beef or chicken wrapped in a tortilla and fried. The taquitos are placed on the outside with lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and a tomato slice in the middle as well as rice and beans served on a separate plate (or a choice of one or the other if it is the lunch portion). For dinner you get 2 of each and for lunch you get one of each. For me, this is the perfect combination of Mexican food - you get the different kinds of meat, a bit of crunch with the fried shell, and you can pick and choose what sides to use and it is less messy than fajitas as you can use a knife and fork. I have tried other dishes at Tapatios, such as the taco salad and the enchiladas, which are both okay, but I always find myself coming back to the taquitos. They are always good and I have successfully recommended them to friends.

Tapatios is my favorite Mexican restaurant in the Binghamton area. I have no preference for either location, as they are somewhat interchangeable. It has been our go-to place most weekends when we are faced with the task of choosing dinner options and I have never had a bad experience.

Grade: B+

Los Tapatios

Name: Los Tapatios
Location: 11 Washington Avenue, Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 785-3544‎
Cuisine: Mexican
Attire: Casual
Price: $25.00 (normal check for party of 2)

Review:
It is fitting that Los Tapatios is the first restaurant we'll review on this site, since it is probably the one we've visited most often, due to a combination of good food at a great price. It should be known there are actually two locations of Los Tapatios, one in Endicott, and the other on Bunn Hill Road across from the Binghamton University campus. I am partial to the ambiance of the Endicott location, plus it is far from the bustle of the Vestal Parkway, hence that's the one I'll be specifically reviewing. But they are more or less the same.

Tapatios is a no-frills Mexican restaurant that offers good, albeit not spectacular, food at a low price. The place is unassuming from the outside but is kind of homey on the inside, with a bar along the left side of the restaurant, and two columns of booths off to the right. In the back there are a couple longer tables available for larger parties. The dim lighting provides an intimate atmosphere. The wait staff is generally friendly and quick, although there have been a few times we've had to wait a while for our check after finishing our meal. Likely, this is more due to the fact that they only have a couple servers working at a time than anything else. And it's usually not a real concern at all.

For starters, each table is given a basket of warmed tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa. Both are pretty much par for the course. The salsa is homemade and tends to vary a little bit day to day. Sometimes the tomatoes are chunkier, sometimes it's spicier than others. Throw a little salt on the chips and you're good to go, but be careful not to spoil your meal by eating too many chips. It's been done before. At any rate, for free chips and salsa, this is a nice start to the meal.

There are several options for appetizers (nachos and the like), but the chips and salsa more than suffice. One thing you might want as a "starter," so to speak, would be one of their margaritas, which they consider a house specialty. I've had a margarita there a few times and they were good, but somewhat unremarkable. They also have a selection of bottled beer, including some Mexican varieties such as Dos Equis, and my personal favorite, Negra Modelo. They have a limited selection of wine as well, in addition to the usual soft drinks.

Entree-wise, they have a wide selection of traditional Mexican fare, including tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chiles rellenos, taquitos, and many others. There are 30 or so different "combination dinners" you can choose from that enable you to pick several of these options at once. I've often gotten the #29, consisting of two enchiladas, a taco, and rice and beans. It's decent fare, but nothing to get too excited about. Most of the combo dinners will run you about $8.

Past the numbered meals, they have a list of 15 or so "house specialties," including the Taquitos Mexicanos, which Megan usually orders. Certainly she will have more to say regarding that. Myself, I think the real draw of Los Tapatios is the fajitas ($11-$13), also on the "specialty" menu. They have a few options as far as fajitas go. You can get normal chicken or beef fajitas, mixed fajitas which combine the two, and a dish they call Fajitas Tejanas which adds shrimp to the mix as well. Lately (at the Endicott location at least) they've been offering carnitas as an option as well, which is a slow-roasted pork. This is what I've been ordering lately every time. It has become my favorite option on the menu. The fajitas come with a sizzling plate of onions/peppers/tomatoes/whatever meat option you chose, a side plate with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and rice and beans. They also give you a couple tortillas to build your fajitas, and there are a variety of Mexican hot sauces available on every table. Warning: they are actually hot and not for those who like just a "little spice." The portion size you get is prodigious, to say the least. Most people probably eat about half of what they give you and take the rest home. I'm a bit more of a glutton, and am usually able to polish off the whole thing. Usually I end up somewhat regretting it later, but I digress... the fajitas are quite good. Sometimes the shrimp can be a little fishy-tasting when I've ordered the Tejanas, and sometimes the vegetables can get a little too soggy or a little charred, but these are minor quibbles. I always enjoy the fajitas--they keep me coming back time and time again.

Desserts? After the fajitas it's time to wheel me out of the place on a stretcher, or so I often feel. But for those who make it that far, they have some usual Mexican favorites like fried ice cream and flan. I can't speak to the quality of these choices, as the entrees always fill me up!

In summary, Los Tapatios provides pretty good bang for your buck. The chips and salsa make for a good start, while the entrees are pretty average Mexican fare, with the fajitas being an above-average option--bring your appetite! Service is usually good and it is rare to have to wait for a table unless you go at peak dinner time. The price is right with all entrees being in the $7 to $14 range. I give Los Tapatios a solid recommendation.

Grade: B