Manny's Tortas

2700 E Lake Street
deli style/take-out/parking lot in back
specialty: tortas
price:$5-$7

Sleek, modern Manny's Tortas still reeks of fresh paint. Bright orange and green walls with large images of oranges and avocados welcome you. Order from the over-sized menu above while brushing up on your Spanish vocabulary (menu in English and Spanish). The ambiance is clean, modern and very visual with its enlarged blocks of text printed on the walls. "What is on Your Mind?" Manny's asks. hmmmm... "Perhaps a pollo torta and a dos equis?" I answer.

I was impressed by the quality and flavor of Manny's pollo torta. Layered between lettuce tomato and avocado, the chicken was caked in refried beans and grilled, giving it a crispy texture on the outside. Also equally as crispy and flavorful the baguette used for the sandwich was perfectly done. To top it all off, Manny uses a special chipotle mayo, which is heavenly.

hip vibe: 5
overall rating: 4

El Nuevo Rodeo

2709 E. Lake Street
hours: Mon-Sun 10am-3:30am
happy hour: M-F 11am-2pm & 4-7pm 1/2 price apps, 2 for 1 and $2 margaritas
street parking/sit-down dining downstairs/booming disco upstairs
specialty: birria meat platters in juices (feeds 2-4 people)
price: $6-15

Charro: in Mexico, charro is a term referring to a traditional cowboy of Mexico, originating in the State of Jalisco.

After reading many varied reviews online, I admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when visiting our second stop. Thrifty Hipster http://www.thriftyhipster.com/minneapolis/south/el_nuevo_rodeo/ did not give positive reviews so I was a bit hesitant, but a great City Pages article http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1234/article12337.asp from 2004 offered reassurance. Any apprehensions were quickly diminished, however when walking into the dining room (lower level) and viewing the upscale Tejas-esque atmosphere complete with custom chairs bearing the well designed logo. Note to self: no more reading other reviews before reviewing.

It was Friday night and there was eight of us sitting around a solid pine table. For a Friday at 8:30 PM there was a medium-sized crowd. We were instantly greeted and waited on by a friendly man who spoke little to no English and ordered a round of Dos Equis pitchers. The menu had a good selection of items (menus in Spanish or English) all reasonably priced (my pet peeve is upscale Mexican restaurants that charge $20 for enchiladas which cost $2 to make!). We noticed the section labeled "House Specialties" which included chili rellenos, various meat platters including goat and chicken tamales. Not being a big meat eater I ordered the chili rellenos and my companions ordered tamales, enchiladas, fajitas and tostadas. In the meantime, we were served chips and a salsa verde. A friend attempted to order the goat meat specialty but was turned down because they had apparently, ran out.

Overall, everything had good flavor but lacked spice. The salsa verde, served with chips is made with fresh ground chili and tomatillos. It had a slight vinegar taste, but was not overbearing. When our meals came, we were served a second red salsa, which was more like a spicy gazpacho, a tangy whipped fresh salsa that I proceeded to add to everything on my plate. The poblano peppers were stuffed full to the gills with cheese and fried perfectly in a crispy batter. Topping the rellenos, was a red sauce which seemed to me it could have been a heated, more mild version of the gazpacho-like salsa.

As we were enjoying our rather large platters, a compadre from across the table, who had also ordered chili rellenos, yelled out "toothpick!" I dug into my rellenos with a fork, and long behold, I also had multiple toothpicks in my platter! Shortly after, another compadre yelled "chicken bone." What was this? Our dinner quickly became a game of dodging harmful objects that were mixed within our gooey cheese laden feasts. It was disappointing and somewhat cruel, but did not seem intentional (was there truth to the reviews in Thrifty Hipster after all?) since the wait staff was albeit friendly and accommodating.

Then, at about 9:15 something happened. Smoke from the upstairs began billowing down into the sterile dining room (this doesn't happen at Tejas!) and the clunking of cowboy boots overhead. This was the reason we had come to El Nuevo Rodeo on a Friday night. After using the bathrooms, which were complete with hairnet on top of a plant in the women's and beer sign for a mirror in the men's, we set off to explore the upstairs disco.

So I admit, I am not familiar with the Minneapolis charro scene. In fact, I didn't realize that there was even a scene at all. But let me tell you, there are many charros among you, Minneapolis and El Nuevo Rodeo is the hub of it all. And I for one, enjoy the ten-gallon hats, turquoise and sequence. I am disappointed that we were not able to fully enjoy it to it's potential on this particular evening.

Unfortunately, that night the band canceled, according to the wait staff so the upstairs was virtually empty. There were only few charros sitting on the outskirts and nobody on the dance floor. After going through three security guards and having our pocket knives confiscated we entered a huge, expansive with various rooms jutting off in all directions. On a busy night, it is said that El Nuevo Rodeo can hold approximately 800 people!

chips & salsa: 3
ambiance/culture: 5
overall rating: 3.5

El Norteno Resturante

4000 E. Lake St.
hours: 10am-9pm Mon. - Sat.
plenty of street parking/family style sit-down/patio!
specialty: tamales
price: $7-12

As our first candidate, El Norteno, was a good way to ease into this adventure (okay Taco Bell is technically the first restaurant on Lake Street from the bridge -you got me). Its appearance is inviting and the neighborhood is nice, located on the banks of the Mississippi river. Peering into the window it appears as though there is a bakery inside and the size of the place is quite substantial. There is not a bakery inside but rather a small Mercado (carpet samples $3!) selling a scant amount of chili powders and canned goods. Off to the side of the Mercado is a small deli case with tortillas, meats and a few individually wrapped desserts and behind it is the kitchen where you can view the cooks making your order. Note: the main door to the place is shattered and so there is a sign directing patrons to the emergency exit door off the dining room.

Walking into the dining room portion of the business, we immediately noticed that the clientele was entirely gringo. For a Monday night the place did well -nearly half of the room was full. We seated ourselves at a pleather covered table near the window and opened our menus to find a hearty list of items and a good variety. Our server was friendly and offered a list of their specialties which includes tamales (homemade on site), enchiladas and and tacos. She added that the enchilada sauce is made from tow different types of chilis, which caught our interest immediately. My compadres and opted to order a variety of items off the "pick 2" menu so that we could sample everything. While we waited, we soaked in the typical Mexican restaurant ambiance, the Mexican memorabilia on the walls and the door to a patio off the back and took the edge off our appetites by chowing on chips and salsa (first basket free, after that you are charged).

Chips and salsa deserve their own category, and these I would rate a 2.5 (out of 5). They tasted as though they were fried in the kitchen but then sat a few days. The greasy taste was good but the crispy factor lacked. I like my salsa fresh with a bite because I believe that salsa, rather than chili sauce, should be fresh and made with tomatoes (you can believe what you want but this is my idea of good salsa). This salsa lacked the two qualities I uphold, it was watery and not fresh but I ate it none the less.

Our food arrived quickly from deli counter/kitchen and smelled devine! We dug into the thick portions of beans and rice and each made noises of mmmmm in sync. The beans were an automatic hit, made with lard, no doubt. They were creamy and flavorful, defiantly notable (there is an option on the menu for vegetarian beans if you so please). Since enchilada sauces are different from each region in Mexico, it is hard to know what to expect. The red sauce on our cheese and chicken enchiladas was tasty, but defiantly consisted of mostly a tomato-based sauce, rather than chili. Overall, the quality of the ingredients was good, the meat was fresh and from good cuts. Fresh cilantro topped the tacos, which were made with handmade taco shells. Out of all the items we sampled, the tamale proved to be the winner (you might be able to tell that this was the thing to order by the huge "TAMALES" sign outside). Filled with pork and a mild seasoning they melt in your mouth and define the meaning of comfort food. I usually like my tamales more chili infused, but this was defiantly edible.

Other things to note about this place, there is no happy hour but they do serve beer and a "margarita wine". As far as we could tell there was not any live music, but we did go around back and view the patio which could really heighten the experience on a nice day. A virtual jungle, the patio is a gated utopia surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers (someone has a green thumb). On a nice day, I would hang out there for sure! In fact, I may become a regular there next summer so watch out. For this reason, I am lifting the overall rating from 3 to 3.5 and making note to stop there on my next trip to St. Paul.

chips and salsa: 2.5
overall rating: 3.5
(out of 5)