Los Jarrones

In 2019 Los Jarrones moved from its long time location at 120 E. Redd Road to a new restaurant at 170 E. Redd Rd (just up the hill and around the curve of the street). In my opinion Los Jarrones serves high quality, authentic Mexican food at reasonable prices (of course these are subject to interpretation, but I have tried quite a few Mexican restaurants in the border area).

As of this writing I have not eaten at the new location, so I will not comment about the atmosphere or the service, but only the food (which should be the same as it has been during the years that I went to the old restaurant).

Los Jarrones seems to be modeled after a Ciudad Juarez style family restaurant with as many items on the menu as they could manage. Breakfast plates are listed and a kid’s menu is available. Seafood is served, and they seem to have items that appeal to the taste of just about anyone. While only Mexican food is served, the restaurant begins to approach some of the Mexico City style restaurants with a wide variety of food including steaks, different types of soups, tortas, and non-spicy entrees that some may not necessarily think of as being Mexican.

I believe beer is served, but since I did not write it in my notes, I have not listed alcohol under the “restaurant details.” I tried to get aguas frescas drinks but could not. I ended up with Jarritos, a brand of Mexican soda, that I thought was good.

The bakery at the old location

A bakery is attached to the restaurant, and this is a good source for dessert or take-home treats. I have not been to all the Mexican bakeries on the west side, but the two I frequent are here and the Valley Super Market. Of these I think Los Jarrones is better overall, although I prefer the empanadas at Valley Super Market.

Chips and Salsa

Chips and salsa

Both the chips and salsa have been standouts, with the salsa being puréed (not chunky) with a jalapeño flavor.

Mexican Plate

Mexican plate

A good introduction to the food here is with the Mexican Plate, which includes some of the most popular items in Borderland restaurants.

The Chile Relleno in my opinion is the best item on the plate and possibly on the entire menu. They use an excellent asadero cheese inside and the chile is almost devoid of seeds (bonuses to the already high quality chile).

The Red Enchilada holds its own to the ones in other good restaurants, although I cannot say it is particularly remarkable. I should point out, though, that I think the red chile used is more typical of the local El Paso restaurants that the true Chihuahua style food, with the richness and spiciness that people in the area expect.

The Shredded Beef Taco was a little greasy but very good quality otherwise.

The Rice had a nice tomato flavor, and was about the closest to a home made flavor I have found in El Paso restaurants. The Beans were not greasy.

Barbacoa

Tacos de barbacoa

Tacos de Barbaoca can be quite flavorful when good, but quite dried up when not done properly. On the advice of the waiter I got an order, and when trying them I thought they were correctly listed as one of the “Los Jarrones Mexican Favorites.” These were moist and flavorful, making them better than the barbacoa at some restaurants at which it is supposed to be a specialty. This is not usually on my list of things to try at restaurants, so I do not have a wide universe from which to compare.

The menu gives patrons the choice on this dish and the tacos de bistec of baked potato and salad or rice and beans, but with my bad eyesight in the poor light I did not see the word “or,” and ended up with rice and beans. The waiter did not point out the fact that there was a choice, and when I pointed out that I was expecting a baked potato, the owner gave me one. It turned out to be one of the better baked potatoes I have had (so is the choice I recommend to those who are not set on having rice and beans).

Tortas

Torta de milanesa

Tortas make a smaller meal than the dinner plates (but not a very much less expensive one), and several choices are available. I tried the Torta de Milanesa con Aguacate with a breaded beef cutlet and avocado. I have to refer back to the milanesa steaks at Lucy’s Restaurant as the standard I use, with the one at Los Jarrones in comparison being rather dry and less flavorful.

The French fries seemed greasy to me, and forgettable.

Mole

Chicken and mole

The Chicken and Mole plate was one of the best I have eaten, with some at other restaurants that were formerly my favorites being of lesser quality recently. I look for good quality, freshness, and flavor in the mole, and I found all of them here. The type of chicken used is not as big a concern to me, but I thought the chicken here was very good. I do not try mole at very many restaurants because it is so easy to be disappointed with this dish, but I am very glad I tried it here.

One of my friends says that the mole here is too sweet, something I really did not notice when I tried it but I will pass along this information to readers in case anyone is looking for mole that is less sweet.

Flautas

Flautas

I thought the Flautas had very good beef, and the shells were not greasy. This is about all I ask in a flauta, although it would have been nice if the guacamole had been more flavorful.

Additional Notes
So far enough items have been a standout that I think this is a very good Chihuahua style restaurant. The lack of lemonade and other drinks prepared from scratch is a negative for saying this is a truly authentic restaurant, but ultimately I think the food is more important than the drinks.

With the exception of the chile relleno, the items on the Mexican plate did not impress me as much as at several other restaurants (enchilada, taco, etc). I would have to add rice to the list, though, of items that are better than at most other restaurants.

The list of “Los Jarrones Mexican Favorites” seems to be a good starting point for finding the items that the restaurant does best.

RATING: 24

Mexican Food Details

Chile Index:
Cooking Oil:	N/A

 

Special Ratings

	Tacos de Barbacoa
	Red Enchiladas
	Chile Relleno
	Chicken Mole
	Beef Flautas
	Shredded Beef Taco
	Lentils
	Torta de Milanesa
	Baked Potato
	Rice
	Beans
	Chips
	Salsa

The German Pub

9530 Viscount Blvd.
El Paso, TX
(915) 595-8888

German Pub

I understand that The German Pub (or simply “German Pub” as it says on the sign) used to be a popular place on Fort Bliss, particularly with the many German personnel who were stationed there. I think it was always meant to be a drinking place where you could get some good food rather than the other way around. Either way, though, the food is pretty impressive for a place that is this small and this focused on good beer.

The menu selection is somewhat limited, and it seems that about half the items are different types of schnitzel. It does list several types of fish, though, as well as bratwurst and sausages, and even potato pancakes.

The atmosphere here is basic as would be expected in a pub. It is lacking some of niceties that would be evident in many German restaurants such as table decorations, etc. I did not think the noise level was too bad but apparently it is noticeable at times.

Schnitzel

Wiener schnitzel with home fries

Schnitzel seems to be a specialty of The German Pub–there are different toppings and they even have a chicken schnitzel. I thought the Wiener Schnitzel was one of the better ones I have eaten. The meat was good quality, and I particularly liked the breading. For flavor this was certainly a very good choice.

Jagerschnitzel with sauerkraut

Jagerschnitzel has a mushroom sauce on top, and is usually my number one choice for schnitzels. In this case I am not sure, since the regular wiener schnitzel was so good, but this one was good as well. It had the same excellent breading as the regular schnitzel, and of course the only difference is the topping. As for the sauce, I have to say that I think Peter’s (in west El Paso) has a sauce that is more flavorful. There is not enough difference, though, that I would prefer going to one restaurant over the other.

Cordon bleu with home fries

I thought the Cordon Bleu was overall the best dish I tried, but I do not have an analysis of it other than to say the flavors came together very well and the quality was very good.

Side Dishes
The Home Fried Potatoes were a very good choice for a side dish. These are cooked with bacon, and I think have all the flavor that would be expected in German style potatoes.

I did not think the Sauerkraut was one of the best ones I have tried, but it was fresh and had the characteristics of one that was house made.

Summing It Up
The food here compares favorably with German food I have had in other cities, with the exception that the menu was more limited than usual. I think this is especially true of the vegetables and side dishes.

El Paso has a very limited choice of German restaurants, but the quality of the food is good because of the fact that Fort Bliss has a hosted the German Air Force for a number of years in joint training missions. The German Pub and other restaurants have proven the test of satisfying their German customers as well as the American ones.

I have not tried the German beer at The German Pub, but this is obviously one of its main attractions.

RATING: 23

 

Special Ratings

	Cordon Bleu
	Wiener Schnitzel
	Jagerschnitzel
	Home Fries
	Sauerkraut

Mekong Thai

Mekong Thai represents both the frustration I have with El Paso Asian restaurants and the surprise that we get Asian food this good in a city where most people know little about authentic Asian cuisine.

My frustration stems from the fact that this restaurant is called Mekong Thai, Vietnamese, and Sushi (the Mekong River runs through two of these countries so that part at least makes sense). My philosophy is almost always that if a cook is from a certain country, that is the cuisine I want to try in that restaurant. I also know that if I ask for the authentic version there is a good chance it can be specially prepared, or that I will be pointed to the best menu choices for the type of food I want.

At this restaurant I was trying to ask these questions but I really do not think they understood what I wanted. The waitress told me that pad thai was a very popular dish and therefore that is what I should order (which was not the question I was trying to ask). I did order it, though, and afterward one of the chefs came into the dining room and I was able to ask him what had been my real questions. I found out that this was in fact one of their better dishes and that I had been given a good recommendation. Thai food was the chefs’ specialty, and at least the name “Mekong Thai” and the fact that most of the menu was Thai food gave a good indication of this.

Further conversation revealed that at least one of the chefs is from Laos, and the “native” food for both of them is Lao/ Northern Thai (Isan) style food. A former restaurant called True Thai on Fred Wilson Avenue across from Fort Bliss had an owner from this area, and she once made a special order of Isan style pad thai for me which I really loved and have been seeking out ever since. I believe the pad thai at Mekong is what I have been seeking, and perhaps it could be made a little bit more authentic if I request it, but the version they served me seemed really close.

Pad Thai

Pad thai

Pad Thai is supposedly one of the most popular dishes at Mekong, and this makes me think that people in El Paso (as in most other places) appreciate authentic and well prepared Asian food when it is made available. I think this surpasses the flavor in most pad thai dishes, although I could not say specifically what ingredients are in it unless I asked the chef. The color makes me think tamarind paste is prominent in the sauce, and the other ingredients are what I would expect in a good pad thai. In any case I thought this was a very good version of the dish.

My notes say I ordered the pad thai at a three star chile level, but I do not know the maximum amount of stars they have. To me the 3 star level was not enough, and I used the chile they gave me on the side to supplement it. It is always necessary to experiment with the chile level when I try Thai food in a new restaurant, and I made it right by adding my own. At least I am fairly confident that they will not surprise people by making the food too spicy for them (I have had this happen on occasion, and restaurants are probably following good policy by erring on the side of making it too mild rather than too hot).

Lao Food
On one hand I was upset that the wait staff could not give me enough information to know that the chefs were Lao, so that I could have ordered this type of food. On the other hand, though, I got one of the best pad thai dishes I have ever had (at the waitress’s suggestion), and I do think it was northern Thai (Isan) style based on what I can remember about the pad thai I had at True Thai Restaurant.

My belated conversation with the chef did give me some good information for next time, though, or just for general knowledge. He indicated that a couple of items on the menu are Lao dishes–papaya salad and a beef dish (I did not get the name of it but I think it was written on a special menu board they had).

The chef also indicated that there are several dishes on the menu that you can ask to be prepared “Lao style” so that they will have a little different flavor than the normal version. One thing he mentioned is that Lao food has more egg in it than the Thai version.

Some Further Comments
With Thai food I need to try several dishes before I can determine what I think is their best dish. What I can say, though, is that the pad thai was one of the top ones I have had anywhere.

I am not giving a rating to the restaurant yet because of the small sample size of food I have tried. In addition, I have not tried the Lao food, and I do not know if there are any “special dishes” which I could try. I do know, though, that the regular menu has some solid choices of delicious food.

They apparently have Vietnamese food as well, but I have not tried it and I do not even know what dishes are offered. I do think, though, that these chefs have good expertise with Asian food.

RATING: N/R

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Thai Tea
MSG:	N/A
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

Pad Thai