Mi Casa Reveles

It is my pleasure to review the outstanding chimichanga I had recently at Casa Reveles! Made with your choice of beef or chicken, plus cheese inside. The whole affair is topped with sour cream, guacamole, cheese, lettuce and tomato. (I could have done without the olives). Only $7.95.

This was definitely a big league chimi! Roughly the size of a chubby sock puppet. It was so long in fact that I felt like laying down after only eating half of it. The chim held a generous amount of seasoned, tender & moist shredded beef. I appreciated that it came with a sharp steak knife. Made it much easier to eat. All of the toppings were well proportioned and fresh tasting. It was among the top two of Ramona chimis I’ve had, that I can tell you! 

The red & green squeeze bottles contained exceptionally good house-made hot sauces. Unique, smoky and very flavorful without being too hot. Not like any I’ve had elsewhere. Worth checking out!

The Par Lounge

Earlier this year there was about a two week period when the kitchen was closed here for upgrades.   During this time, The Par Lounge offered foodstuffs from the San Vicente Resort snack bar.  Outstanding fresh made sandwiches, etc.  

Jersey Mike’s

The #9 Club Supreme at Jersey Mike’s is outstanding!  This is a remarkable sammich that takes flavor to a whole new level.  Made with quality Swiss cheese, top round roast beef, turkey, bacon, and mayonnaise.  This and the #13 are my two favorite things at JM. 

Little Caesar’s

Outstanding $5 hot & ready at Little Caesar’s!  It’s especially great when it comes out both!  More often than not, when it’s ready, it’s unfortunately been sitting a while getting all dried out, etc.  Timing is critical! 

Taco Bell

Outstanding order of nachos supreme at Taco Bell!

Panya Thai Kitchen

My favorite Thai restaurant in Escondido is Panya Thai Kitchen!  Here’s an outstanding dinner order of their excellent Pad Thai.  I ordered this one with shrimp.  The shrimps were abundant and perfectly cooked.  

Mi Ranchito Taco Shop

Another outstanding order of flautas at Mi Ranchito! I ordered two for $4.50. You can get them individually for $2.25 each. The flautas rest atop a bed of shredded lettuce, then are topped with sour cream and shredded cheese. The whole thing is served on a narrow foam tray.
For decades I’ve eaten flautas at various taco shops throughout SoCal and these are pretty average sized. I’ve been to some places where they come out looking like small chimichangas!  
Here at Mi Ranchito they tasted just fine and two filled me up. They are filled with a fairly conservative amount of tender shredded beef.
Tortilla was nice and crispy; they were not at all greasy. I thought the amount of sour cream on top was reasonable and appropriate. Any more and it would have turned into a hot mess. 

Pailin Thai Cafe

Outstanding garlic & pepper beef lunch special at Pailin Thai Cafe!  It’s the perfect alternative when you want something other than their amazing Pad Thai or curry dishes.  The beef is very tender, flavorful and just the right amount. 

Way Point Saloon

The other night we tried some appetizer/small plates at Way Point Saloon. Here’s an order of “Island Fries” ($9.25). Not sure what’s island about them but it was pretty tasty. Crispy crinkle fries topped with Cheddar cheese sauce, shredded Cheddar, bacon, green onion & sour cream. Served with Frank’s & ranch.

I personally like their beer battered fries better but I can see why they use the crinkle cuts with this dish. All the ripples need to grab on to the topping stuff. Still need to eat it with a fork. It’s a big enough serving for two people to share without eating much else. It had a fairly conservative amount of cheese (sauce and shred), I felt it could have used more. Everything else was proportioned well. After a while though, the tastes all ran together and it felt like you were just eating a big plate of fries. Seems like something else could have been added to complete this dish or bind it all together, I just can’t put my finger on it.

Since Gail does not do “chicken on a bone”, I ordered the boneless wings (strips). You can get their wings tossed in a wide variety of creative flavors. We chose the “lemon, pepper, parmesan” and it was excellent.

Taco Bell

Recently I had the distinct pleasure of visiting our new Taco Bell! I tried the “Double Stacked Tacos” for only $1 each. You can choose from three varieties. Nacho crunch; cool habanero; or spicy sweet. I got one nacho crunch and one cool habanero. Both were very good, although the cool habanero was the best. I like these better than the regular hardshell crunchy tacos that tend to break up and fall apart. There is a soft flour tortilla adhered to the hardshell by some sort of cheese substance. This made it much easier to eat without the whole thing disintegrating in my hands!

As others have noted, the parking lot is a complete cluster! Knowing this, I parked in the K-Mart lot over by Los Rancheros and made the short walk across the street. I highly recommend parking here during busy times. Easy in & out for sure! Dining area is extremely small and cramped, but I guess that’s the space they had to work with. Overall, happy to have the Bell in town for cheap and tasty eats.