Restaurant review
The Great Alaskan Chip Tour
Reviewed by Crystal Hutchens
All chips are not created equal. I can testify to this after a recent tour of several Anchorage Mexican restaurants. Further, the chip might be the most important part of the Mexican restaurant experience. It’s the first thing to arrive at your table; it’s your first impression of the restaurant and the meal that is to follow. Are they fresh, crisp, warm? Do they whet your appetite or leave you unimpressed? The salsa is equally important and was included in the decision-making process. The following list is in order from my favorite to least enjoyed. I tried to include plenty of details because there are many criteria on which to judge and preferences will vary from person to person. This is by no means an all inclusive list. There are many great Mexican restaurants in Anchorage that I didn’t even have a chance to get to. You’ll have to get out there and conduct your own experiments where I left off. Happy chip and dipping.
Pancho Villa, 3104 Spenard Rd.
Of all the chips I tried recently, these were my favorite. Made at the restaurant, these chips are so thin they offered the best crispy crunch. They were served warm, oily and perfectly salted. Our waitress said they were made fresh daily and they tasted as if they were just made. Accompanied by mild and spicy salsa, I enjoyed both. Often the mild salsa served with chips is too heavy on the tomato flavor, which makes me think of canned tomatoes. This mild sauce was very flavorful with a heavy hint of cilantro, not too chunky, but not too thin. The spicy salsa was also of a medium consistency and medium heat. It had traces of cilantro and visible red pepper seeds were definitely the culprit of the heat factor.
Don Jose’s, 2052 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
These chips were more substantial than the super thin chips at Pancho Villa, but they weren’t at all thick. They were served warm, very crisp and crunchy and not too salty. The mild sauce was very chunky and also very flavorful. I thought that if I had the inclination I could of heated it up to use as spaghetti sauce. The spicy salsa was also quite chunky, very flavorful and had a pretty spicy kick. Our waitress said they were made in-house from tortillas they purchased locally.
Qdoba Mexican Grill, 702 E Benson Blvd.
Qdoba is an order-at-the-counter establishment and you have to buy chips if you want them. For $1.95 you get a standard sized basket of chips with your choice of mild, medium or spicy salsa. My friend and I chose the mild salsa and paid extra for a side of medium salsa. For $2.50, we also ordered a second basket of chips with guacamole. The counter service person told us they made the chips fresh every day but she had no idea where they got the tortillas. A little more on the thick side, they weren’t quite as crisp. They had a course texture but were still pretty crunchy. There was enough salt on them to be visible. Neither my friend or I were impressed with the mild salsa. It was prepared like pico d’ gallo, with nothing more than big chunks of less-than-fresh tomatoes, sparse onions and a little cilantro. It was bland and virtually flavorless. The medium salsa was quite good. It was green, chunky, and likely made with chilies and possibly tomatillas. It had a tangy flavor and a not too hefty kick. The guacamole was also quite tasty; it was chunky and flavorful and made with fresh avocados.
LaMex, 2550 Spenard Rd.
LaMex makes their own chips from their own tortillas, but in massive quantities. I’ve been behind the scenes there and they are not made daily, but kept in a giant barrel. This makes for a sad looking basket of chips when they arrive at the table. They aren’t served warm, and as opposed to most places, a majority of the chips in the basket are broken which makes them aesthetically unappealing as well. They are on the thick side, so even though they are crunchy, they aren’t really crisp. The mild salsa is very runny and tastes like flavorless tomato sauce. The spicy sauce is a little more flavorful, but almost insignificantly so, relying almost entirely on heat for its flavor, though it’s heavy on the cilantro.
Simon’s Taco Rico, 2409 C St.
These chips were my least favorite, but for personal preferences. They were served warm, but dry as if they had been baked instead of fried. Likely it’s the American in me that enjoys a nice, oily chip. They were crisp but bland, and seemingly unsalted. They reminded me a little more of a thin cracker than a chip. The salsa was a little more unique. Both the mild and hot were flavorful and not chunky, but seemed to be pureed. The sauce itself was thick enough to cling to the chip, it just didn’t have chunks floating in it. Both the mild and hot were flavorful. The only apparent difference between them was the medium spice of the hot sauce which seemed to come from pepper seeds. The restaurant itself seemed much more traditional than the standard Americanized version of the Mexican restaurant prevalent in our little burg. The hot sauce that came with my carne asada taco was actually better than the two sauces served with the chips. It was a moderately spiced and flavorful green sauce with pureed chillies and noticeable pepper seeds throughout. It reminded me of something you would find on the west coast, where those authentic taco carts are prevalent.
Honorable Mention: Taco King has a delicious chip of sorts on it’s dessert menu. For $2.50 you can order the Buenelos, a pile of deep-fried flour triangles sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with honey. They are absolutely sinful on a calorie counters list, but a delight to follow a selection from Taco King’s inexpensive and traditional menu.