Be a (Wo)Man, Eat at Manuel's Fine Mexican Food!
Written: Mar 25 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good food, great service, excellent prices
Cons: the original location is not the best for large parties
The Bottom Line: I heart Manuel's. If I, too, were a restaurant, I would marry it and we would make lots of babies.
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| emptywishes's Full Review: Manuel's |
I'm quite the creature of habit. When I find something I like, I will stick with it 'til the bitter end. Hence why I still wear my pants with the hole in the crotch (although only at home), and why I've been wearing the same eyeglass frames for the last four years (well that, plus a lack of proper health insurance).
Manuel's is my fight to the death mexican food joint.
Going along with that same theme, I tend to frequent their original location (which was also, not surprisingly, the first Manuel's I ever dined at) at 32nd St. and Indian School Rd. in Phoenix, Arizona. The restaurant is in a strip mall there, along with a miniscule pizza joint and various other businesses. There's always plenty of parking in the lot, so don't worry about that.
The inside of the restaurant is a simple, square shaped room, with comfortable booth seating. Chances are, you will be seated immediately (I've been here at least a good fifty times, and I've only had to wait once... and even then, it was a quick ten minutes). The hosts and hostesses seat promptly, leaving you with your menus, which will soon be followed up by the busboy (or is it "chipboy") with water glasses and chips and salsa. Manuel's offers two types of the dip, one being a chunky veggie-packed number, and the other being a liquidy hot type which is absolutely delicious.
When it comes to food, Manuel's covers all the basics, and some not-so-basics as well. They offer many appetizers one would expect to find in a mexican joint, such as taquitos, cheese crisps, and nachos. My favorite, however, is their mexican pizza... fried tortillas topped with hot sauce, cheese, green onions, tomatoes, and your choice of chicken, or ground or shredded beef. The ground beef version is absolutely delicious... the only problem is convincing people to share an appetizer; mexican restaurants are notorious for huge meals, and it's nearly impossible to finish up already. However, when snubbed by my dining companions, I've been known to just order this as my meal. Take that, suckers!
As far as main dishes go, Manuel's offers all sorts of selections. If you're a picky eater, why not go with the "Mix and Match Combo?" It offers your pick of one or two (depending on your appetite) of the following: beef or chicken taco, beef or green corn tamale, bean or beef tostada, beef or chicken flauta, a bean burrito, or a cheese, chicken or beef enchilada. All come with both beans and rice. There are also a few already combo'd combos, available... I've had the #2 a few times. It features a sour cream beef enchilada, a shredded beef taco, comes with a side of rice, and is quite reliable. They also have your typical mexican desserts as well, such as flan, sopapillas, and fried ice cream.
Vegetarians won't have tons of options, but they won't starve either. There's a cheese quesadilla, bean burritos, tostadas, or a couple of different salads, and one creative option... spinach enchiladas, topped with jalapeno cream cheese and tomatillo sauce, with rice and beans on the side. They do offer discounted lunch menus from 11am until 4pm, as well as a kids menu and a senior citizen's menu... but I'm not familiar with either of those, being I don't fit into either bracket.
I've never had any problems with the service; chips and drinks are promptly refilled, and the servers are always quick to ask if everything is delicious. If you are a smaller party, I suggest going to the original Manuel's (at 32nd St. and Indian School Rd.). It doesn't have the fancier restaurant decor that the others do, but due to the smaller size your service is more attentive, and your food will come out much faster. Bigger parties be advised -- you would be better off going to another one of Manuel's nine locations; there is only one round booth here that can sit six, and the rest are for four. However, the center booths can have the dividing wall folded down to join the two booths as a party of eight; if you are interested in doing this, I would suggest calling ahead first so they can make sure to have two adjoining booths available for you.
I've had a lot of mexican food in my days (growing up in Arizona makes one quite the expert), but Manuel's always stays at the top of my list. If you've got ten or fifteen bucks to spare, give it a chance... it'll win you over too!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
emptywishes
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: the land of fries and toast, apparently.
Reviews written: 185
Trusted by: 164 members
About Me:
Still alive. Find me here: http://www.francophoney.net
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