Tres oles! for Chano’s Grill
The best thing at authentic, family-owned Chano’s Mexican Grill in Bowman Curve shopping center isn’t on the menu.
It’s in the smiles of welcoming family members. It’s in the excited explanation of their dishes and Hidalgo culture. It’s in the warmth of service. Not only are hospitable servers happy to be there, they’re happy you’re there, too.
Chano’s treats visitors like family — maybe better. Best of all, this family can really cook.
While we initially felt reluctant to visit a Mexican restaurant replacing that other Mexican restaurant (Fonda; others loved it but we weren’t as Fonda it) in the space that once housed Faded Rose, that faded fast when we were greeted
and seated in the cozy, casual dining room with colorfully painted tables.
Diners receive a basket of chips and a crock of pleasing, pulpy tomato salsa. But this is Arkansas, so of course we’re going to have cheese dip ($3.99 small, $6.99 large); Chano’s serves a creamy, clingy white. Or better yet, we’re going to have the Trio Dip ($6.99), featuring three ramekins of different dips with choices like the cheese dip, a respectable guacamole, cheese-covered refried beans or salsas with different peppers and levels of heat.
And what are chips without an adult bebida? Pick one: cerveza, a michelada, an apple martini. The slushy frozen margarita I sipped ($6.99) was refreshing, if surprise black pepper flakes in the seasoning around the rim looked like dirt and threw me off a bit.
From there, Chano’s menu caters to an array of appetites and budgets. There are a la carte items like crunchy tacos ($1.79) and tamales ($2.99). There is more ample fare in the Tex-Mex Favorites (like Steak & Shrimp, $14.99) and Authentic Favorites (like Steak Mexicano, $14.99) categories. And there is plenty
in between.
But we’ll start with the best first. Three of the Authentic Favorites really were our favorites.
The most impressive presentation goes to the Pina Vallarta ($13.99), steak, chicken and shrimp covered in melted cheese and chorizo and served in a hollowed-out pineapple with sweet fruit chunks mingling with the meat. It was both hearty and, well, arty.
The other two dishes — Guajolote ($8.99) and Tacos Dorados ($9.99) — we would have missed were it not for a sweet server’s recommendations. The Guajolote, a torta or Mexican sandwich stuffed with meat (steak was our choice), boiled egg, green enchiladas and beans that is popular in Hidalgo, sounded odd. But after one busy bite, it made total sense. It’s the stuff of cravings and hangover cures.
The Tacos Dorados was a filling platter of four tacos, with meat (shredded chicken was our choice), deep fried and topped with salsa, cheese, sour cream and lettuce. Think taquitos, only less tiny and more terrific.
One evening my dining companion ordered Jaqui’s Special ($12.99), grilled mix of chicken and steak served with bacon on a skillet, covered with shredded cheese, as written on a board. Only what he received instead must have been the skillet-and-baconfree Chano’s Special ($10.99), grilled chicken, shrimp, peppers and onions topped with cheese sauce, served with rice and salad. While good, it didn’t seem as special as the other special.
There are 16 lunch plates ($6.99-$7.99) served with typical rice and cheese-covered beans. My friend ordered the Shrimp and Rice ($7.99) and reports, “Boy, if a dish ever had the correct name, this one is it. Yep, shrimp … and rice. And cheese on top. Mmmm. And the shrimp had been cooked with other meats — maybe beef and chorizo? But man, add some very good cheese sauce on top of that, and you’ve got a tasty meal. No, it wasn’t the least bit fancy. The plating was about the least exciting I’ve ever seen. But it was good, and it was what the menu said it was. And I like that. And I would eat it again. The portion was just right, too.”
To try a bit of everything, I ordered a combination (two items $7.99, three items $9.99) that came with heaps of rice and beans. I selected a chicken enchilada, a pork tamale and a chile poblano; all of it came unexpectedly and pleasantly blanketed in cheese sauce. The enchilada was standard. The tamale, topped not with the tomatillo sauce specified on the menu, but with a pile of beef, was tender and tasty. (I’m not the first to think so; the menu says “Buy a dozen of our famous tamales $23.99.”) And the roasted chili was full of flavor and yet even more cheese.
For kids, $4.99 Child’s Plate choices include Mexican items (a quesadilla, taco, enchilada or burrito) with rice and beans; chicken with rice; a burger with fries; or chicken nuggets and fries.
There are desserts — a cheesecake chimichanga, flan, sopapillas, tres leches cake ($3.99) and seasonal fruit ($4.99) — but we engaged in too much chip-and-dip pregaming to attempt postgaming.
On weekends, Chano’s serves two special soups. On Saturday, it’s Pozole ($8.99), made with pork shoulder, red chilies and hominy. On Sunday, it’s Menudo ($8.99), made with tripe.