Adam & Eats: Joe’s Grill and Cantina

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.

Is it just me, or has this warmer splash of weather made eating seem a little dull?

To compensate for this lull in our munching habits, I thought this week I’d take us somewhere that is more fun than normal. The weird thing is, I can’t for the life me figure out what makes this place such a good time.

Maybe it’s the dollar margaritas.

Located next to the main Post Office on 74th Street is (Just Call Me) Joe’s Grill and Cantina. You may remember the location back when it was Cuco’s. You know, the place with the good cheese dip.

Yeah, now you remember.

Anyway, the place has the atmosphere of, say, any commercial Tex-Mex restaurant without the silly outfits or schtick. It is the type of place you go with friends to have a few drinks and a good time. If there was a television commercial to be made, it would feature a shot of a group of people sitting around the table and laughing with frosty beverages in their hands and plates of half eaten appetizers.

Perhaps, I am not selling you on the place by describing it like this. Let’s try a different route. You know all of those things that are designed to attract you to a restaurant, but end up scaring you away because they seem commercial and false? They are genuine at Joe’s. Friendly and helpful waitstaff, upbeat music, and cheap drinks give the place an air of good times to be had if you are willing to let yourself enjoy them.

Now, the food. It always comes back to that in a restaurant review.

Joe’s offers a variety of Tex-Mex favorites that are sure to put a smile on your face and a clog in your arteries. I recommend the chimipoquitos. They are little flour tortillas stuffed with beef or chicken, rolled up into tiny burritos, and deep fried and covered with cheese and what can only be described as a beefy gravy-like substance they call Ranchero sauce. They also come with one side of your choosing. I recommend the black beans, which are seasoned to perfection and cooked with expert precision.

If something heavy isn’t your cup of tea in this hot weather, may I suggest the taco salad. The fried flour tortilla bowl filled with shredded lettuce, ground beef or shredded chicken, cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes makes a wonderfully filling and surprising light meal. Be sure to get it with the house dressing, which is an avocado infused Ranch. The house dressing is also perfect for dipping, say, chimipoquitos in.

Maybe you want to feed a couple of people from one dish. Well, the Mexican pizza is the dish for you. It consists of a couple of 12-inch flour tortillas layered with cheese and the infamous ranchero sauce and topped with spectacularly seasoned ground beef, green onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. It makes the perfect crunchy meal for two.

An alternative to the pizza is the always popular Joe’s Sampler Platter. This big platter comes packed with quesadillas, nachos, chimipoquitos, cheese dip, guacamole, and boneless buffalo bites.

Sure, most of the food there comes from a freezer bag, but the daily drink specials and fun atmosphere make Joe’s a friend and family oriented, alcoholic friendly, place to eat and have a good time. They never claimed to be a fancy restaurant. The place is called Joe’s for chrissakes.

If you haven’t tried them yet, and you are looking for a good time call Joe’s. Until next week, good eating to you and yours.

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When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]

Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.