Los Panchos

The wife, some friends, and I ate at a relatively new Mexican restaurant in town last night. Los Panchos is conveniently located across the street from the popular pizza/Italian restaurant, Luigi's, on Davison road near Franklin (Yes, the Davison and Franklin where the shell of a restaurant named Angelo's stands, but that is a story for another entry.)

What I first liked about Los Panchos when I entered was how strikingly similar the atmosphere was to many Mexican restaurants I'd eaten at in Baja. It is relatively sparse, with few decorations. The tables and chairs are similar to Coney fair; they look like they could just be hosed down at the end of the night and left to dry, but they weren't uncomfortable.

The service was friendly and the menu was adequate. They don't have the extensive menu that El Potrero has, but they do serve beer. A full bar will open in a room next door soon, so I imagine they will have a full compliment of liquor. My friends had a combination plate, their son had a taco, and my wife had a tostada place. I had an amazing plate of wet tamales to wash down my Negra Modelo.

The plate had three tamales, all thin, but longer than the mini-tamales one finds at many other Mexican restaurants and Tippy's. They weren't as massive as the tamales I remember eating while growing up, but there was enough to eat. (I still managed to eat part of my wife's dinner.)

What might have pleased all of us most was the beans and rice. They weren't the most amazing I've ever had, but given that I have yet to find good beans and rice in the Midwest, I was ecstatic.

I've learned that this Los Panchos is actually the second one opened by the owner, Frank Molina. The first Los Panchos is located on Fenton Road. The Davison Road Los Panchos will also sport a Mexican Bakery. I assume they won't call it a pandaria because no one would know what it is, but I hope their bread is as good as the bread I ate as a child from local pandarias in Ensenada.

I look forward to the bar and bakery, and I can't wait to go back to Los Panchos. If you're interested in going, they're address is 2209 Davison Road in Flint, and their phone number is 233-8226. If you go, tell me what you ate and what you think.