|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The current coronavirus pandemic has certainly curtailed my restaurant activities, as most, if not all restaurants have shuttered their dining rooms, as per the wish of the governor, as of this writing. Despite the current lockdown in place for "non essential' business, it hasn't completely stopped my dining activities, as there are a handful of restaurants that have an outdoor patio, and are actually open for business. Such is the case with Los Cabos Grill, located in west Roseville, CA. As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's just after 10:30 in the morning, on "Taco Tuesday," March 31, 2020, and I've arrived at Los Cabos Grill to enjoy a lunch of three tacos. The restaurant shares a large, attractive patio with now-shuttered Fisher's Sandwich Shop next door, and offer's plenty of space, and comfortable dining.
Photo: I hadn't had the chance to visit Los Cabos Grill, and as I hiked down Foothills Blvd., I noticed this sign, which caught my interest. Three tacos and a Mexican beer sounds great to me!
Photo: "Taco Tuesday" is a special that happens each Tuesday, and you'll enjoy three delicious tacos for less than you'll pay for a meal at a "fast food" chain restaurant. Just like the sign placed outside on Foothills Blvd., this sign painted on the window, let's you know that you've come to the right place to enjoy tacos, every Tuesday.
Photo: Like many Mexican restaurant, Los Cabos Grill operates on what I call the "taqueria format, in that you make your selection from the menu posted above the counter, pay for it, receive a number, and when your order is ready, it will be brought to your table by one of the friendly staff members. Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the dining room is closed, but you can dine outside on the lovely patio, or do take-out or home delivery dining. I'm "old school," so when I spend my restaurant dollars, I prefer to dine on-site, but the spacious patio works for me.
Photo: The menu is posted above the order counter, and printed menus, for take-out dining, as well as posted menus on the restaurant's web site are available. This fine restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and with the exception of the closed dining room is offering a full menu, along with full service to it's customers. Due to the current - as of this writing - corona virus crisis, the dining room is closed, but you can still go inside to place your order, pay for your meal, and enjoy your meal outside, on the patio.
Photo: I was treated to the friendly company of Elizabeth, to took my order with a smile. If you look over her shoulder, you can take a peek inside the kitchen, along with the "old school" order wheel, in the lines of a classic diner, that is still in use on the last day in March, 2020!
Photo: Meet super friendly Elizabeth, who brings my order to me, outside on the patio, with a smile. Due to the current coronavirus scare, all orders are considered "take out" and packaged as such, even if you plan to enjoy your meal on the patio. Friendly Elizabeth was kind enough to help me remove the packaging, and arrange my meal for photos.
Photo: My order arrived quickly, perhaps only 10 minutes after I placed it. Thanks, Elizabeth, for snapping my photo, as I prepare to enjoy my delicious lunch. During these coronavirus times, I find it annoying that most, if not all dining rooms, are closed, but Los Cabos Grill offers patio dining, which I ALWAYS choose if I have the choice. My only "gripe," and it's minor, is to have to eat my meal from a styrafoam box, as to me, it just doesn't taste the same as it would from a plate. Maybe that's just me? No, I'm not duck hunting, as I'm simply on an eating expedition...
Photo: Since today was "Taco Tuesday," I went with the Tuesday special of three tacos and a beer, for $10.49, plus state sales tax. Imported beer is normally priced at $.50 more than domestic beer, but on "Taco Tuesday," the price is the same, so it's a "no brainier" to go with a great Mexican beer; in my case, my beer of choice is Pacifico. This delicious lunch tasted almost as good in a styrafoam box as it would on a plate! The meal revolves around three Mexican style "street tacos," with your choice of meat, and today my choice of meat was carne asada. In case you're not familiar with the term "street taco," each taco starts with two toasted corn tortillas, each slightly larger than a DVD, and the meat and condiments are placed on the taco. Yes, I'm familiar with "street food" in Mexico, and if you haven't already done so, click on THIS LINK to enjoy some of my dining experiences, in Baja California, Mexico. The carne asada, which is marinated, grilled and thinly sliced steak, was absolutely perfect, and each taco contained a generous portion of meat. Enhancing the amazing meat was super fresh diced onion and cilantro, along with salsa verde. As I mentioned before, all of this goodness was wrapped around two toasted corn tortillas. If that wasn't enough, you get a couple wedges of lime for flavor enhancement, and a couple slices of radish to chew on. Delicious! As I took a bite into my first taco, I was instantly transported to Baja California, as these tacos are both AUTHENTIC and DELICIOUS! If I wasn't sitting on an upscale patio in Roseville, if I closed my eyes and just judged by my taste, I'd think I was dining on the streets of any town in Baja California. Los Cabos Grill serves delicious tacos on "Taco Tuesday!" The salsa bar and the dining room are closed, due to the current coronavirus scare, but there are no worries, as your meal comes with a bag of chips, and a cup of chipotle salsa, along with a cup of medium "house" salsa. I'm guessing if you were in the mood for seconds, the staff would bring another helping, but I was completely satisfied with my helping. As during previous visits, I noted Los Cabos Grill serves some of the best tortilla chips in Roseville.
Photo: One of my delicious carne asada tacos, showing all of the goodness that Los Cabos Grill has to offer in their "street" tacos. You'll enjoy delicious, authentic Mexican cuisine, you'll be treated to friendly service, and you'll love the attractive outdoor patio. "Taco Tuesday" works wonders for your soul, and your appetite, at Los Cabos Grill, in Roseville, CA. Let's go back to Saturday morning, June 30, 2012, and enjoy a previous dining experience at Los Cabos Grill... I consider enjoying a quality meal one of the most important aspects of my life, and I raise my standards when I enjoy a meal at a restaurant, as besides taking care of my daily nutrition requirements, I'm paying for ambiance, presentation, quality of food, and the fact that someone else is doing the cooking, serving the food to me, performing the necessary clean-up chores, and doing the dishes. So when I dine at a restaurant, I tend to raise "the bar," as since I'm paying for the experience, service and the meal, I expect a quality enjoyment. If you're a fan of "Authentic Mexican Cuisine," as their take out menu advertises, and you love you'll find yourself at home at Los Cabos Grill, located in beautiful Roseville, California, as they present a quality dining experience, and reasonable prices.
Photo: Los Cabos Grill is located in a small, new, upscale shopping center, located at the corner of Foothills Blvd. and Pleasant Grove Blvd., in west Roseville, California. There's plenty of easy, free parking. Los Cabos Grill defies many established stereotypes, as most folks don't picture a restaurant that serves authentic, grilled, Mexican cuisine to be located in an upscale shopping center, next to a coffee place, where all of the local yuppies hang out, as most folks would picture a restaurant, such a Los Cabos, located, on "the wrong side of town." Indeed, Los Cabos is located in posh digs, in an upscale shopping center, yet their mission is to provide authentic, down-home Mexican cuisine, as they feature some of the best Mexican food that Roseville has to offer. As per the name of the restaurant, most of the meat entreés are grilled, not fried, in the style of Baja California, Mexico. As you enter the restaurant, you'll notice the shiny tile floors, the fresh decor, and just how squeaky clean the place is. You walk up to the counter, and you're greeted by a friendly guy to take your food, or drink order. As per the format of most taquerias in Roseville, the menu is posted above the counter, so you make your selection from the menu, the friendly counter guy takes your order, you pay him, and then, if the restaurant is busy, you pick a number, pick a table, and then head over to the salsa and chip bar for all the chips and salsa that you can eat. On this Saturday morning, June 30, 2012, Los Cabos Grill wasn't busy, so I didn't need a number; I just picked a table and helped myself to chips and salsa while waiting for my order to arrive.
Photo: I had the whole restaurant to myself, as seen in this photo. The ordering counter is in the center of the photo, the kitchen is directly behind the counter, and the menu is displayed on the wall, to the right. Not shown in the photo, is the awesome salsa bar, to the left of the soft drink dispenser. Los Cabos Grill features fast, friendly service, but all good things in life take time, so while you're visiting Los Cabos, you might as well enjoy yourself and take advantage of the free chips and salsa bar. Naturally, its a all-you-can-eat-help-yourself affair, and the salsa bar features probably the freshest and most delicious fried tortilla chips that I've had the pleasure to enjoy in Roseville, plus several kinds of in-house made salsa, and a big dish of pickled peppers, onions and carrot slices. All of their salsa is good, but I especially enjoyed their chipotle salsa, as its smoky, delicious, and not terribly hot. I sat down at a table, and began treating myself a bowl of their fresh tortilla chips, dipped in chipotle salsa, all the while sipping on an icy-cold Pacifico beer, while watching the staff at work. The dining room is clean, very modern, clean, and has quite subdued decor, via the standards of most Mexican restaurants in Placer County. Soft, traditional, Mexican "banda" music plays in the background, which adds to the laid-back atmosphere. Los Cabos Grill has one guy who works takes orders, makes change, delivers the food, busses tables, while there are two guys in the kitchen, one of which seems to have the duty to prepare salsa and vegetables, while the other guy performs cooking duties.
Photo: The chips and salsa bar features all-you-can-eat fried tortilla chips, three varieties of house salsa, and an assortment of pickled jalapeno peppers and carrots. It's hard to read in the photo, but the salsa is labeled as mild, medium or hot. I tried all three, and I found that the medium offered the most flavor, with just a hint of heat. The mild is wimpy, both in taste and heat, and the "hot" isn't really all that hot. When you order a taco or a torta, at Los Cabos Grill, you get to choose your meat from their extensive selection, which includes carne asada, desebrada, al pastor, carnitas, chile verde, pollo, pollo asado, chorizo, or lengua. Wow! Normally, I tend to prefer something slightly exotic, such as lengua, but since I was ordering a mid-morning torta, carne asada sounded like a good filling. You just can't go wrong with carne asada! I managed to peek into the kitchen, and yes, Los Cabos Grill lives up to their name, as my carne asada was grilled, not fried, which makes for a delicious, healthy meat filling.
Photo: Here's a meal to die for: A delicious carne asada torta, icy-cold Pacifico beer, fresh, mmmm-delicious chipotle salsa, and perhaps the best tortilla chips that I've had the pleasure to enjoy at any Roseville taqueria.
Photo: I'm not shy, so I asked the waiter to take my photo, along with my delicious lunch. When your order is ready, it's brought to your table by one of the two guys working in the restaurant. I was just starting on my second helping of their delicious tortilla chips when the friendly waiter brought my torta to my table. If you're not familiar with what a torta is, its a Mexican sandwich, and in the case of the torta that I ordered from Los Cabos, the sandwich includes carne asada, beans, cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce and diced tomatoes, all placed between a large sourdough roll, cut in half.
Photo: A close-up photo of one of the most delicious carne asada tortas that I've had the pleasure to enjoy in Roseville taquerias. I ordered mine with everything, and it even included guacamole, which most restaurants charge extra for. The carne asada torta was not only delicious, but it was filling and represents an excellent value and a fantastic lunch.
Photo: Saturday, April 06, 2013, I stopped by again, fully intending to enjoy another carne asada torta, with all the fixin's, but the white board that greeted me near the order counter advertised a special on menudo. So, how could I pass that one by? Photo shows my Pacifico beer, tortilla chips from the salsa bar, lime slices, and smoky, "medium" chipoltle salsa. Los Cabos Grill has some of the best tortilla chips in Roseville, and the salsa bar, although pretty "basic," offers a "basic" selection of condiments, and the chipotle salsa is among the best in the area.
Photo: Friendly Mida brings my order of menudo, and garnishes to my table with a smile. Of course when I asked to take her photo, she was hesitant, but the photo shows I snapped her photo at just the right time. I always tell the staff that I "love to photograph beautiful women," and I do, as Mida is beautiful. Like most women, she doesn't seem to agree with me, but, alas... that seems to be the fate of a photographer...
Photo: Mida snapped my photo, as I was poised to enjoy my brunch of menudo. She wasn't familiar with how to take a photo with an iPhone 5, but she did a super job, and Mida, I thank you for it.
Photo: My lunch of menudo, with all of the garnishes, corn tortillas, and tortilla chips and salsa from the salsa bar. The menudo was great, but contained a large chunk of cow's knuckle, and when it was fished out of the bowl - it is for flavoring and you can't eat it, unless you're a lover of fat - reduced the amount of soup by about a third. I considered talking to the kitchen staff about that, to get a refill, but I really wasn't "all that" hungry, so I just sucked it up. The menudo didn't have any hominy... what? Although it was good, I think in the future, I'll stick to tortas... A carne asada torta from Los Cabos Grill is truly a slice of heaven, as its fresh, juicy, hot, delicious, filling, beautiful to look at, and it truly comforts the soul of a person who enjoys delicious Mexican food. Not only does Los Cabos provide delicious food at reasonable prices, but they have a modern, state-of-the-art, "squeaky-clean" facility that will shatter any stereotypes of dingy, run-down taquerias. The food is delicious, the price is right, the staff is friendly, and the dining room is clean and contemporary! Their menu advertises menudo and birria on weekends, so I'll be checking that out one of these days. I highly recommend Los Cabos Grill... Los
Cabos Grill Copyright(c) 2020 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
|
