El Azteca — Restaurant in Kinston

Vast, heaping quantities of yummie Tex-Mex staple dishes with a home-cooked flair - the staff are cheerful, kind, and attentive - it's as if you've suddenly discovered a building full of doting Hispanic aunts who really know how to cook, and Surprise! They've got a decent service bar tucked away in a corner.

Try the Poblano pepper dishes, either as a Chile Relleno stuffed with fried hamburger, onions, and garlic - or stuffed with home made spicy chorizo. The peppers are fresh and cooked with just enough snap and seeds to have authority without brutality, while the chorizo adds solidity and a savory afterburn

If the world's been treating you harshly, order the Enchiladas Verde - they're light, delicate, and flavorful - with just enough kick to remind you that the sun will rise again and it will be worth greeting.

But the surprise gem is their blessed tamales - most restaurant tamales are limply disappointing rollups filled with stuff, but these tamales are light, crisp, flavorful, and filled with identifiable ingredients that have actual taste and textures too - one of the rarest of tamales, they're worth driving out for.

The only downsides are that the parking lot's small and fills up quickly, and the kitchen can be slow if there's a gathering in the back room - but not to worry, the chips and salsa flow freely and there are much, much worse ways to kill an evening than waving your hands, munching down, and discussing...

I do not recommend! back when this place first opened it was amazing, but not anymore the staff are so rude and disrespectful I’ve even argued with a waitress over her being in my business like it’s very unprofessional! The food quality has went downhill and the atmosphere just feels dingy and dark, they always decide whenever they want to be open or not I have tried for months to go get some food but everytime they’re somehow closed even when it says they’re supposed to be open, they are not reliable at all. Not to mention if u come a hour before closing or opening they’re somehow closed, I mean everytime I feel like eating there it’s mission impossible just to get in! I will not be coming back here ever again and I will be making sure the people I care about don’t get put through...

I was here in late September of '19. It was a Sunday and they were slammed with the after church crowd. My heathen self seated myself in the bar area where one other patron was. Service was great and prompt despite being in an obscure part of the restaurant. This chicken breast was huge! I can't remember the exact price but I remember being around $7 or less, then! I even commented "How do you make money at these prices?" The salsas offered accommodate the range of tastes people have for spicy heat. I'd definitely be back when I visit the area again. Jessie, Victor and Hunter are beautiful souls that make it special and their crew helps to make it all happen with exemplary excellence! The fact Jessie packs a pistol made me feel all the more at ease. I'm guessing robberies aren't...