Adam & Eats: Los Lagos

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree. Feel free to give him a hard time.

If there is one thing that everyone loves, it’s Mexican food. The runner-up in the “Everybody Loves This” contest is an all-you-care-to-eat buffet. Los Lagos combined the two and created something that we can all enjoy.

Located in the old, um, Ole Feed House, Los Lagos offers a variety of your favorite Mexican dishes served buffet style. When you arrive at Los Lagos, you are greeted with the traditional Mexican restaurant flair and flamboyance. Bright colors, artificial wildlife, an indoor terra cotta roof over the check out counter, all of the favorites.

Interestingly enough, once you get past the main foyer and into the dining area, they seem to have taken a page from the Saigon Express book of decorating. They have chosen to cut right to the chase. Food. Tables. That’s it. It was a jarring contrast from the front entrance, but you won’t be stunned for long. The bright, shiny, steamy, row of delicious Mexican food beckons to you like Sirens luring sailors to the rocks: “Come. Feast upon this Mexican food. You won’t spend the rest of the day napping. We promise.”

The rumor has it that when they first opened, the food was terrible. They were transitioning from a typical made-to-order restaurant to a make-lots-of-everything restaurant. Now, though, the food is pretty good. All of the food is made fresh, in house, with “no canned goods.” Sounds good, right?

Their beef burritos and beef chimichangas are stellar. Unfortunately, buffet food tends to be rather bland for the masses, and the beans and rice were found wanting. The tacos, enchiladas, gorditas, fajitas, and quesadillas were okay, but they were not the best around. I wouldn’t say that the “extremely delicious cheese dip” lived up to its name, but “regular tasting cheese dip” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

In the dessert department, on the other hand, Los Lagos knocked it out of the park. The aptly named “Sweet Paradise” showcases three flavors of real, yes, real ice cream, cakes, cheese cake, cookies, flan, and all the toppings that you can dream of dumping on top of this delicious, delicious pile of sweet goodness.

Since it is a subject on everyone’s mind these days, let’s talk money. During the week, lunch costs $6.99, but dinner and the weekend meals cost $8.49. They offer a lot of free drinks to people in uniform and people who arrive in busloads, but us civilians in a party of two catch no breaks. After a drink and a tip, to the very attentive servers, you won’t get out for under $10 a head. But, with buffets you always pay more for the ability to eat a lot, of a lot, of different things. Plus, that nap you will take as soon as you hit your office chair will be worth every penny of the bill. Los Lagos will pretty much ensure that you will get the best afternoon’s sleep you’ve ever had. You might also want to warn your cubicle neighbors to take some post-bean eating precautions, just to make sure that you don’t end up wearing a “Kick Me” sign to the next board meeting.

Overall, Los Lagos is a good place to eat if you’ve got a Mexican food itch that you just can’t scratch. Plus, you can get so much cake and eat it, too.

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Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.