Slowmad - 3-30-2005 at 12:36 PM
Might have missed the actual name of this place. First saw it touted on Nomad general board.
Sited between junkyard, pirate gas outlet, and highway.
Pleasantly landscaped patio. "Chicken Onyx" very tasty and filling, despite floating in a pool of greasy saute juice. Combo plate standard issue, but
well-priced. Service friendly but typically slow. Worth trying, as La Pinta is notoriously spotty. Good alternate to Santa Inez.
Food: 3/5; Service: 3/5; Value: 4/5; Ambience: 3/5
You found a good one!
thebajarunner - 3-30-2005 at 01:45 PM
Last year we took our whole tribe (14) in there, they were reasonably efficient, food was excellent.
Added touch, since we were on the way North and had some supplies left we took a case of "Two Buck Chuck" into the cafe and treated every table there
to a bottle, on us.
Interesting, and very mixed reviews from the mostly local customers.
One table actually turned up their collective nose at our wonderful offering.
(proves that Mexicans have pretty good taste, I would say.)
Baja Arriba!!
Slowmad - 3-30-2005 at 02:36 PM
Hell's Bell's, with a bottle of comp vino tinto, I might have loosened up the ol' review...
Catavi?a update
Slowmad - 2-15-2006 at 11:04 AM
Following a week of snipe hunting in the Lesser Shag, we flew across the Blood Meridian in a cloud of moon dust and atomized tire rubber. The Chapala
road had not been kind, and nerves were raw. "Famished" wasn't figurative, it was for real.
Pollo de Marmol (Onyx Chicken) was required.
"Mande?," I asked the waiter. "No cervesa?"
A scamper up to the Aborrotes for a sixer of XX.
Ah.
Country Club living.
The Onyx Chicken was right on time--tender, sweet, and bursting with flavor.
Tucked into a flour tortilla with frijoles and salsa mexicana, the day's tribulations melted away.
We steeled ourselves for the run north...back to Babylon.
thebajarunner - 2-15-2006 at 06:23 PM
Thanks for the update, we are headed there in about a month, and planning to again invade them with 12 or 14 scruffy NorCal guys.
Glad the food is still on top...
That place is a real oasis for the hungry traveler.
And yeah, we probably need to take along some more 'comp vino' just for the tradition.
Slowmad - 2-16-2006 at 01:41 PM
N.B.
There's a gringo hobo living on the stone bench there, and he'll shake you down for change. Given a chance (don't--trust me) he'll tell you how Howard
Hughes stole his idea for reel-in dog leashes and gave it to Marilyn Monroe.
Also, note the super soul handwash basin they built in front from old onyx blocks, complete with clorox bottle dipper.
The "rich pageantry" of the Valle de los Cirios...
[Edited on 2-16-2006 by Slowmad]