The Best Value In Tex-Mex This Side of the Potomac
Written: Mar 17 '07 (Updated Mar 17 '07)
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Pros: Great food, great prices, great for the whole family, or two.
Cons: Sangria
The Bottom Line: Great food and a quaint atmosphere are the cheese topping on the whole enchilada. For family, or for two, the prices are as good as the food.
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| customeright's Full Review: Casa Chimayo |
If you have a hankerin' for American-Style Mexican food, Casa Chimayo in Manassas Virginia fits the bill. Great food and a quaint atmosphere are the cheese topping on the whole enchilada. And the prices are as good as the food.
Food
Chips and Salsa
What's a Mexican restaurant without the nacho chips? My wife and I love Mexican food, and we will try any Mexican restaurant we can find. We usually say that you can tell nearly everything you need to know about a Mexican place by the chips and salsa. With Casa Chimayo, there is no exception. The chips are actually the only appetizer we've had there. These corn-fried treats have just the right texture, and are not too oily, salty, or dry. They are crisp, and taste very fresh. The salsa as well tastes very fresh, and isn't too hot, or too mild. The salsa has a slight hint of lime and cilantro that makes it nearly perfect.
Appetizers
While we really have only tried the chips for an appetizer, the menu offers such treats as: fajita cheese crisps, Mexican pizza, quesedillas, and taquitos. They also offer cheese nachos, shredded beef nachos, and 'super nachos' (cheese nachos covered with beef, beans, jalepenos, and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.)
Main Courses
According to the menu, the '#1 seller' is the Enchilada De Monterrey, and I totally see why. This is also my favorite dish at Casa Chimayo's. It's a flour tortilla with spiced chicken and jack cheese. It's covered with a cheese sauce, and served with lettuce and sour cream, as well as sides of beans and rice. The Mexican spiced chicken is shredded, and it has a perfect consistency. You can cut it with a fork. It's not too wet, not too dry, and is full of flavor. The sides are typical Mexican fare, refried beans and Spanish rice, but the beans are excellently prepared and cooked perfectly. The rice, like the chicken is also not too wet or dry.
My wife's favorite is the Taco Salad. Consisting of a large fried tortilla bowl filled with all the goodies: spiced chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, green onions, mixed with cheddar and jack cheeses.
Other main course choices are: Chicken Picado, Enhilada de Suiza Con Pollo, Enhilada De Vera Cruz, Sancho Supreme, and California Wet Burrito. As well as spicier options such as Grande Chicken Combo (mild), Chipolte Chicken Burro, and Mas Macho Burro. As well as an assortment of Fajitas, Chimichangas, Enchilada diners, or combination platters.
Alternatively, they also offer cheeseburgers, and a chicken sandwich. And for the kids they offer all beef hot dogs, chicken fingers, and quesadillas with cheese and rice.
Almost all main courses are under $10, some are as low as $6.99!
Dessert
For dessert, Casa Chimayo has some of the best fried ice cream we've ever had. It's the perfect blend of Mexican vanilla ice cream, topped with honey, whipped cream, and a cherry. All of this is laid in a small, sweet tortilla shell, and covered in a light cinnamon sugar mix, served in a dark metal bowl. The portion is perfect for two to share, or one if you really love your ice cream!
Sopapillas, a popular puffy Mexican pastry, sprinkled with powdered sugar and honey are also available, but we have yet to try these.
Service
For Two
My wife and I are originally from Orlando Florida, and we are accustomed to outstanding, top-notch service (say what you will about Orlando, it's hard to find bad service anywhere in the regional area there). So for us, saying Casa Chimayo's service is 'good', means that for the area here in Virginia, it's really very good. On nearly every occasion we've visited, we've been served by a friendly and attentive staff, and only on rare occasions have we had to wait longer than normal for something we've asked for, or to be visited for follow-up service. Also, we have never had to wait long to get the check, or pay (two of my personal pet peeves), and meals usually arrive quickly, and are cleaned up quickly as well. So on the whole, we've had no major problems with the service, although sometimes we have had a less than perfect experience on occasion. Of course given the price point, sometimes there's a necessary trade-off between great tasting food and service, and here the food more than makes up for the minor issues we've had with the service. (Again being from Orlando, we have found great service across the board here in the Washington DC/Virginia area hard to come by, but then that's another discussion in itself!)
For a Party
A few months ago I convinced the teacher of a nearby class I was attending to bring the class to Casa Chimayo. After calling ahead, they were able to accommodate about 15 people, and they never missed a beat. Everyone got their orders in a timely manner, and the staff had no problems waiting on the group.
The Restaurant
Environment
The ambiance at Casa Chimayo is a relatively quiet, laid-back atmosphere. It does not have the Mexican Fiesta! feeling to it, which to us makes it very nice. In fact, if you happen to be seated in one of the booths towards the front, the small planted scene around which the tables are positioned, almost gives the place a hint of romanticism. While it's not the type of restaurant I'd recommend for a strictly romantic dinner date, it is great place for a quick diversion for two, or for the whole family. There's also a bar in the back, but we've never visited, and you can't see it well from the main dining room.
Location
Casa Chimayo is located on Sudley Road (234), across from the Manassas Mall in Manassas Virginia. It's about 2 miles south of Interstate 66 heading towards old town Manassas. There's no direct turn into it heading south, so you'll need to make a U-turn from the west at the light just past it. (Google Map: http://www.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=casa chimayo&near=Sudley Rd, Manassas, Virginia 20110&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=38.766666,-77.404175&spn=0.165164,0.31929&om=1&iwloc=A )
Summary
Casa Chimayo has a great selection of food for the entire family, at a price that's worth every penny. My wife and I frequent the place at least a couple of times per month. Each time we visit, we have found that the quality of food is consistent, and it's consistently good. Additionally, the group of 15 I went with had no complaints. They ordered a wide variety of items from the menu, and they thanked me for the selection of the restaurant. The only real negative we have believe it or not is with the sangria. It has no fresh fruit, and it's really just an average beverage compared to everything else. My wife also got a headache from it. Finally, while the main focus of a restaurant should be the food, ambiance and service compliment the meal. Here too, Casa Chimayo gets an excellent rating. Laid back yet contemporary, the atmosphere is nice, and the service is very good. If you're craving excellent tex-mex at an excellent price, bring the family and head out to Casa Chimayo (just skip the sangria!).
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Try the Enchilada De Monterrey for great shredded chicken. Save room for the fried ice cream. Skip the sangria.
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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Epinions.com ID:
customeright
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Member: Alan
Location: Orlando, FL, USA
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 18 members
About Me:
Home is where the heat is. We're back in Florida!
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