Jalisco Cafe — Restaurant in El Paso

(From ~2010) Best Pork Chile Verde Ever: I picked the place out of Google results on my phone while driving from Arizona to Dallas. It was early in the morning and I was planning to get breakfast food. I walked in and the place was cozy and sunlit. I saw a clean kitchen and prep table covered in tons of fresh poblanos, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, and I figured I was in for a treat. Due to the time of day, they didn't have chile relleno yet, so I ordered the pork chile verde. The lady who was serving and cooking the food didn't speak any English but I managed.

While I waited for the entree I munched on chips and the most amazing tomatillo salsa I've ever had, fairly hot with incredible fresh flavors. The pork chile verde brought a tear to my eye it was so good. The ample chunks of meat were fork tender and pink in the middle and so flavorful, and again the sauce was perfect and better than any I'd had. A little more Spanish on my part would have helped though because I decided to order a beef taco at the end, assuming it would be a soft corn taco with shredded beef, onions, and cilantro, but it ended up being deep fried with ground beef, which I've since learned is a pretty traditional homemade style. It was simple and tasty, if a bit oily. Everything else was spectacular. I wish I could eat there...

We were delighted to discover this Mexican food treasure while exploring El Paso, along the border to Juarez. We met the brother of the owner of Jalisco who explained that Jalisco was founded by their aunt and had been in business for more than 60 years. We were there on a Thursday and the special was Caldo De Albondigas, a meatball soup cooked with vegetables and noodles. It was delicious.

We were even given a private tour during our visit and loved learning about all the celebrities who make it a point to dine at Jalisco when visiting El Paso.

Jalisco is famous for their Menudo, a traditional Mexican soup made with beef stomach in broth with a red chili pepper base. Usually, lime, chopped onions, and chopped cilantro are added, as well as crushed oregano and crushed red chili peppers. Sunday is Menudo day at Jalisco and El Paso residents line up at the door, even bringing their own soup pots and containers, to take the soup home for the week. It's a historical and traditional Mexican restaurant you should plan to visit when you are hungry to a memorable...

Maybe they have good menudo, but I ordered the huevos rancheros and they were a complete miss for me. The ranchero salsa was basically melted shredded cheese and very few bits of onion and chile that lacked flavor and spice. I wish there had been table salsa to cure it but sadly that wasn’t the case. I saw the server once when I ordered and then when I got my food but not thereafter so I never got a chance to ask for more salsa. Waited a while for the ticket that also never came so I just got up to pay. Service was fast but otherwise lacking, sorry to the waitress who was attending to at least 8 tables at once, but they mostly were ordering menudo so probably not much to follow up on, though she did manage to check in on them after serving them and never...