Pueblo Viejo's - We Don't Speak Spanish, But We're Pretty Sure It Means "Stupendous Food"...Maybe.

For some reason, this month's (actually September's) post has been difficult for me to get the post out. I think I'm just being lazy.

Anyhoo; This month is Jeri's birthday month!! Yay! Happy Birthday to Jeri! It also marks an anniversary of sorts. A year ago, Mom and I took Jeri out for her birthday to Olive Garden. We decided that we enjoyed it so much, that we wanted to do it again and include Susie and Martha. 

Pueblo Viejo is a Mexican Restaurant in Lapeer, Michigan. It's just this tiny little bistro type place in downtown Lapeer. The decor is so snappy and authentic. We loved it. 

We also had a surprise visitor this month! Ellen Margaret. Jeri's granddaughter. She was so quiet and shy, we barely knew she was there. 

Place: Pueblo Viejo

Location: Lapeer, Michigan

Our Special Guest!

As usual, we love eating outside. But it wasn't going to happen this time. The wasps in our area have been so bad lately, that they made it impossible to eat outside. Instead we were sat a large table by the windows and it was lovely anyway. 

Between the carafe (corrals if you remember Olive Garden) of salsa and the free bling, Pueblo Viejo is at the top of our favorites list. We had a great time and it was very obviously a family orientated place. I would love to go back with my husband and kids. It would be pretty awesome.

Highlights

Green Sauce - It was so spicy! Mom tasted it and her face puckered and she had to get a napkin. I think it was too spicy for her. But it was perfect for the rest of us. I think we actually fought over who go to take the remainder home. The warm tortilla chips didn't hurt at all either! (*Bonus! The sauce came in a carafe! We love that! It makes us unreasonably happy for some reason!)

Big Drinks - By far the biggest drinks we've had. As a matter of fact, everything was big. All the proportions were so large. Some of us couldn't even finish our drinks cause they were so large. And they tasted amazing too.

Free Bling - After the waitress sat us and found out it was a birthday lunch, she brought us some awesome bling. Necklaces with chilies on the end! And Ellie got a a little toy pinata! It was so cool.

Fried Ice Cream!

The Ratings: On A Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Mom - 5; She brought us necklaces! We love little things like that.

Jeri - 10!

Terra - 5; I'm sad I didn't get her name. She was so attentive and kind to us.

Susie - 5; She brought so many chips! We love chips.

Marti - 4

Food Quality

Portabella Fajita

Mom - Portabella Fajita; 5; "The green stuff was really spicy! The salsa was excellent and my fajitas were delicious. There was so much left over, I had lunch for 2 days after. The steak and mushrooms in my fajita were cooked to perfection."

Jeri - Quesadilla; 10; Very authentic and fresh.

Quesadilla!

Terra - Grilled Chicken Salad; 5; The chicken was marinated perfectly and

there were warm tortilla strips mixed in with the salad. Yummy! There was so much left over I had lunch for two days, like Mom. It was the best salad I've ever had.

Susie - Deep Fried Chicken Tacos; 5; The tacos were very tasty, and they had bacon on them! The White Blanco sauce we ordered for an appetizer was amazing. It went with everything on the table. Marti and I poured it over our fajitas and tacos, it was so good!

Marti - Cholula Fajitas; 5; There was BACON in my fajitas. Bacon! And the white sauce was so awesome.

Look at the size of this salad!

Food Value

We all agreed our meals were worth the price we paid. The sheer amount of left overs alone was worth it. But really, the taste and quality of the food was pretty awesome. We could've eaten the chicken and steak just by itself without any toppings or condiments.

Drinks (Out of 10)

Mom - La Bamaba; 9; There was no frou frou in the drink, but it was large and very tasty.

Jeri - Peach Sangria; 20; "I LOVED my glass. And the drink was really good too!"

Terra - La Bamaba; 10; It was nice and fruity.

Susie - Zalamero; 10; It was pink and fruity. Very Yummy! And I loved my glass too! It was so big.

Marti - Mexican Lover; 10; "Imma call you Sancho" It was so good, she gave her lover a name.

Fried Chicken Tacos

Overall

Mom - 5; I would defintlely come again.

Jeri - 10; "They gave me a free Fried Ice Cream! I loved it."

Terra - 5; I would love to go back with my husband and kids. I think we would have a great time and it wouldn't break the bank.

Susie - 5; "I love my necklace!"

Marti - 5

Cholula Fajitas

Another lunch, another success. My only regret is that I didn't mark down our waitresses name! We love when we can give a shout out to good staff and let the management know what good and dedicated employees they have. Maybe she remembers us though and if she's reading this, let your boss know we loved our experience!

Terra

Taste the Rainbow. More Specifically, Rojo!

The Birthday Girl!

This month was Susie's birthday month! Yay! Happy Birthday Susie! She chose Rojo for her birthday lunch, and we had a great time! As usual the Birthday Girl gets to up her score to a possible 10 for everything but drinks. Drinks get upped to a possible 20.

And again, I took forever in getting this out. But in my defense, I've been ill. I'm getting better and hopefully it won't take so long next month with Jeri's Birthday Lunch!

Rojo is a Mexican Bistro. Ironically located right next to Taco Bell in the Partridge Creek Mall. There was much amusement had over the entire situation. Seriously. Taco Bell, the farthest thing from actual mexican food you can get and still call it mexican.

Place: Rojo Mexican Bistro

Location: Hall Rd, Clinton Township, Partridge Creek Mall

We see you, Taco Bell!

We really like eating outside. And luckily Rojo has patio seating. We can be as loud as we want and none of the other customers complain. It was the perfect day for it. Warm, sunny, with a slight breeze. And afterwards, we got to walk around the mall. It was perfect.

We all want to go back and eat inside. At the bar inside, they have "Lover's Seats". A two person bar stool. They have shots of Tequila that are $150 a piece. But don't let that dissuade you. The rest of what is on the menu is very reasonably priced. But if you're ever in  need of an expensive shot with your special someone, go to Rojo.

Highlights

Finished Guac!

Fresh Warm Tortilla Chips - They were warm and salty and crispy. They went great with all the appetizers and the salsa they provided. And they just kept coming.  I don't think we can adequately describe to you how tasty they were. And crispy. And salty. And warm.

Tableside Guac!

Table Side Guacamole - They make it at your table. At. Your. Table. It's literally as fresh as you can get. You can choose the spiciness before they make it. We chose medium. It was so good. We were angry when it was gone. Also, FYI, the bowl is super heavy. Make sure you give those biceps a good workout before you come.

Chocolate Raspberry Lemonade - Not really. Really it's Cirac Berry Lemonade. But when Mom looked at the menu, she saw Cirac and read Chocolate. It was Dora the Explorer all over again. And if you don't know what that means, check out the post on Red Robin. She was quite perturbed that her drink wasn't chocolatey.

The Ratings: On A Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Shara! The best waitress!

Mom- 5; She really knows her stuff.

Jeri - 5; She was really outgoing.

Terra - 5; We never wondered where she was. She always let us know where she would be and when she would be back.

Susie - 10; She was frickin' awesome. Very attentive. AND..and all of our fajita components came out together and the meat was sizzling. We like it when that happens.

Marti - 5; She was very informative. All kinds of answers to questions and suggestions for future visits.

Shara was our waitress and she was amazing.  She knew all of the menu and she is the one that actually made the guacamole at the table. We were very impressed with her overall. By far the best waitress we've ever had. She deserves a raise. (I'm looking at you, Rojo managers.)

Food Quality

Steak Fajitas

Mom - Steak and Chicken Fajitas; 5; The apps were almost so good I couldn't eat my lunch. But when I did? Mmm. The fajitas were so tasty. And as leftovers, the were pretty good too.

Philly Cheese Steak Tacos

Jeri - Quesadilla de Huitlachoe; 5; It's a mushroom quesadilla. Mushroom. Quesadilla. It tasted amazing. We all (those of us who like mushrooms anyway) had a bite. It was so good. And you could tell that the salsa was made in-house. Everything tasted and seemed so fresh.

Terra - Steak Fajitas; 5; I was so full from the delicious appetizers that I could only eat one fajita. But what I could eat was delicious.

Mushroom Quesadilla

Susie - Steak and Chicken Fajitas; 10; The steak was cooked wonderful. Nice and tender and just a little pink. We all agreed that we now enjoy our meat cooked medium well. It adds to the flavor of the steak so much.

Marti - Philly Cheese Steak Tacos; 5; Oh. Muh. Gawd! (She even told me how to spell this phrase. She was very specific.) Amazing. Lovely flat bread shells and melt-y cheese over the steak. I almost had to fight Susie for the last of the Fundido appetizer that we ordered too. But it was her birthday. So she got to take it home.

Queso Fundido

Food Value
Mom - $14.99; Yes.
Jeri - $12.99; Yes
Terra -$15.99; Yes
Susie - $14.99; Yes
Marti - $10.99; Yes

Drinks (Out of 10)

Mom - Ciroc Berry Lemonade; $8.00; 5; It wasn't chocolatey enough

Our Drinks!

Jeri - Chi Chi; $8.00; 8; I would've liked a fancier glass. And I expected a puree. But it was still pretty tasty. And my lemon water was good expect for the rice. ("There is rice in my water! That's you mom." - Jeri, "That's a lemon seed!" - The rest of us)

Terra - La Flama Blanca; $8.00; 10; Really good. And green. Nice size for a lunch drink.

Susie - White Zinfindel; $7.00; 20; It was nice. It looked so pretty in my new glass! (I got her a special wine glass for her birthday. It was pretty and decorated so nice - Terra)

Marti - Chi Chi; $8.00; 9; I was expecting a slushy drink. But it was still delicious.

Overall

Chicken & Steak Fajitas

Mom - 5; Everyone was so nice. Even the manager came to check on

how we were doing.

Jeri - 5; It was fun!

Terra - 5: I had a great time and the food was really tasty.

Susie - 28!; "Because I'm 28!"; Everyone wished me happy birthday. I got their "Amigos" card so when I came back I could get some special deals!

Marti - 5; They were all so nice.

We had a great time. There are so many reasons to go to Rojo. Each day they have special deals. The day we went was $5.00 appetizers. Wednesdays are $10 fajitas, Tuesdays are $1 tacos. On Fridays and Saturdays after 10:00pm in the lounge you get half of your entire bill.

Susie's Birthday Glass!

The "Amigos" card gives you some great special deals. Both Marti and I bought one. For a single $10 fee you can sign up. Check it out. Seriously.

Rojo was worth the time and money. We highly suggest you go and check it out. Till next time!

Terra