So, last night we made plans to go to dinner and movie with Natalie parents. To accommodate Natalie and her crazy freeway drive we met fairly close to our house in Long Beach at the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant on PCH and 2nd Street in the Marina Pacific Shopping Center. Mike and Lisa picked me up and we arrived at the restaurant a short time before Natalie. It was busy and there were many people waling in and putting their names on the list, but we were seated within about fifteen minutes. As far as location, this Acapulco has to be the best since its main dining area overlooks the Marina which sits directly below its giant windows. We unfortunately did not get a window seat, but were sat in a large booth against the wall. The waiter took our drink order and quickly brought out chips and salsa, my favorite and the salsa at Acapulco is very good! The chips were light and fluffy and the salsa was super fresh. You chips and salsa people know what I'm talking about with the fluffy chips, warm, fresh cooked and not stale. We were about halfway into the chips and salsa when we put our orders in and then I got a call from Nat. She was a little turned around, having never really driven to the Marina Pacifica before, so I went outside and waited for her, while guiding her in via cell phone.
When we got back the chips were at the same level and I jumped right back in. It wasn't long before the food came out and let me tell you, there was not an inch to spare on our table. Lisa, Natalie's mom had to take the plate her soup was on and remove it, putting her soup bowl on her other plate. My plate was so large that it actually went over the edge of the table quite a bit. So, lets talk food! I ordered a three item combo for Natalie. It had a dinner salad (with creamy Italian), two chicken flautas (basically giant taquitos), a cheese enchilada, rice and pinto beans (not refried) and for desert a bowl of fried ice-cream. The kicker was that her whole combo only cost $9.99! What a deal! I got a four item combo, which was why my plate was so large. I better adjust my last statement, I probably shouldn't call it a plate, rather more like a serving dish. The first Item I ordered was the Shrimp Brochette, which is a 3 shrimp skewer with onions, peppers and tomatoes. The second item was a Shrimp and crab meat burrito and the third and fourth items were two Tecate Beer Battered Shrimp Tacos. To top things off, the whole meal with served with a heaping helping of rice and beans. Sounds like a ton of food right? Well, it was! The price was pretty awesome too, $14.99 for my whole meal. As you can see, there is quite the value trend!
One silly thing. I ordered a Pacifico and for those of you who don't know, Pacifico is a light Mexican Style beer that goes great with the flavors of Mexican food. Now traditionally, Pacifico is known as a surfer's beer and in America, no matter where I've had it, it has always been served with a lime. The lime is in the top of the bottle and you push in it, thumb the opening, tilt the bottle to get a nice lime zest throughout the beer. The silly thing is that when they brought out the beer, it was sans lime. I asked our server for a lime for my beer and he literally brought me a whole lime cut into slices. By this calculation I was supposed to drink eight Pacificos which was not happening.
We were stuffed by the time the fried ice-cream came and Lisa and I helped Natalie eat it. Then we were off to the movies!
Business Time!
If you could gather by my review thus far, I think that last nights dinner was one of the best valued restaurants I've come across. I don't always think about Acapulco when I think Mexican food, but obviously I should. We got a ton of food for a small price. Our totally bill came to $69. I'm not even sure how they can make money with food being that cheap. Lisa insisted that she pick up the tab, but we made a deal. If they picked up the tab this time, then when I got my first paycheck from my new job, I was taking us all out to eat in celebration. We all agreed and left the restaurant! In addition to great prices and huge quantities of food, the restaurant seemed very clean and had a huge staff of people to attend to you. They also had both an upstairs cantina and a downstair bar for waiting, pretty cool. I give it five out of five stars for Value!
There is something to be said for overly Americanized Mexican food that is mass produced in large chains. Thankfully Acapulco doesn't seem to follow the standard. The food was good, not too greasy and seemed like a lot of thought had been put into the menu. There were so many options to choose from that it was hard to make a decision, but when the food came out, starting with the great chips and salsa I was yet again impressed. One of my new favorite trends that is showing up at Mexican Restaurants is the use of Cotija cheese, but I'm applauding Acapulco for not following the trend. They stuck to their guns, I didn't see any cotija, and I'm okay with that. Every Mexican Restaurant uses it now and it is being overdone. Food quality is high, let's say 8 out of 10 seconds.
The category is easy, prototypical Mexican Restaurant. Good food, vibrant colors, staff in bright shits with dark slacks, just what I expect from a Mexican Restaurant, and they have the added benefit of overlooking the Marina and all the boats. I think this place will be in business for a long time, that is if they can make any money on their ridiculously inexpensive food! 10 out of 10 for Category.
Resumen (Summary in Spanish:)
Value: Go there, eat and be thankful your wallet will not be very much lighter! 5 Stars (Out of five).
Food Quality: I based my rating on how long the food could sit on the floor before I would just leave it there on a scale of 1 to 10 seconds. Good food is in the seven second range, great food is eight and above. I give it a rating of 8 seconds!
Category: Mexican Restaurant, well, it fits the bill! 10 out of 10!
So there you have it folks, go to Acapulco in the Marina Pacifica, eat until your pants burst, then go see a movie!
Until Next Time!
Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant
6270 East Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach, CA 90803
Recently, we went to the Acapulco on the San Pedro side of the marina - it also overlooks the marina - and was less than impressed with the food, though Ann and I both agreed that the value was decent. Ann ordered a tostada which was nearly 70% lettuce and, of all things, it had some sort of salad dressing on it. Not entirely what one would expect of a tostada. They did have $4 Maragritas that night.
ReplyDeleteIf you are ever on the San Pedro side, check out Pina's Mexican near the 25th and Western crossroad. They have some real good food at an even better price.
There is visibly a bunch to identify about this. I suppose you made various nice points in features also.
ReplyDelete4 each: O Cedar Every Which Way Dust Mop (125389)