El Patron Mexican Restaurant & Cantina
As I've been entirely consumed by academic interests over the last few weeks (read: months), I haven't had much time for blogging. I'll have some more time in the coming weeks (hopefully!), and I also plan on launching a new blogging venture very soon. For now, here is the text of a recent review I wrote for Yelp.com, as I'm sure my blog readers will not have a chance to see my material there.
El Patron sits at the corner of Centralia and Ironbridge in Chesterfield County, though its road signage is easy to miss. This location makes it ideal to a wide demographic of local residents, and many of them do make use of this restaurant. Busy at almost all hours, El Patron is obviously a local favorite and lines at dinner time are common, though guests are still seated quickly.
The food at El Patron is the real story, however, and it stands on a tier apart from many of Richmond's other Mexican restaurants. The word to describe El Patron's dishes? Quality. Its obvious that the cooks at El Patron invest effort in every piece of food that leaves the kitchen. Don't get me wrong; this isn't 5-star cuisine, but the cooking staff at El Patron still strive for the highest quality possible. In example, do not be surprised to find burritos containing actual black beans as a filling, rather than the ubiquitous regurgitated bean paste found in many other local Mexican establishments. This isn't to say that every entree at El Patron is designed to be above the norm, though many clearly do surpass reasonable expectations.
And, clearly, quality is the secret to El Patron's recent success. This quality extends beyond the food as even the decor of the establishment is a cut above the rest. Indeed, you'll also have to look hard with a microscope to find places in the dining area that haven't been thoroughly scrubbed between services. (Even the tops of the picture frames have been dusted, thoroughly).
The ownership of El Patron obviously has a pride not often found in local Mexican food restaurants, and their pursuit of quality can be seen throughout. Let's hope that strict adherence to this policy continues well into the future, and that the El Patron continues to be a local success.
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El Patron sits at the corner of Centralia and Ironbridge in Chesterfield County, though its road signage is easy to miss. This location makes it ideal to a wide demographic of local residents, and many of them do make use of this restaurant. Busy at almost all hours, El Patron is obviously a local favorite and lines at dinner time are common, though guests are still seated quickly.The food at El Patron is the real story, however, and it stands on a tier apart from many of Richmond's other Mexican restaurants. The word to describe El Patron's dishes? Quality. Its obvious that the cooks at El Patron invest effort in every piece of food that leaves the kitchen. Don't get me wrong; this isn't 5-star cuisine, but the cooking staff at El Patron still strive for the highest quality possible. In example, do not be surprised to find burritos containing actual black beans as a filling, rather than the ubiquitous regurgitated bean paste found in many other local Mexican establishments. This isn't to say that every entree at El Patron is designed to be above the norm, though many clearly do surpass reasonable expectations.
And, clearly, quality is the secret to El Patron's recent success. This quality extends beyond the food as even the decor of the establishment is a cut above the rest. Indeed, you'll also have to look hard with a microscope to find places in the dining area that haven't been thoroughly scrubbed between services. (Even the tops of the picture frames have been dusted, thoroughly).
The ownership of El Patron obviously has a pride not often found in local Mexican food restaurants, and their pursuit of quality can be seen throughout. Let's hope that strict adherence to this policy continues well into the future, and that the El Patron continues to be a local success.
Labels: mexican food, restaurant, Review
posted by Brent | 12:38 PM
1 Comments:
Yum! When are we going to have dinner there?
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