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