Northwest Indiana Restaurant Review

	Northwest Indiana Restaurant Review
	Don Pablo's - Just Say No to Anejo
Don Pablo's is a Mexican restaurant I've been glad to dine at several times. It's festive, has a great atmosphere, the food is usually pretty great, and the chips and salsa are edible by the ton (yum).
Seems the menu at Don Pablo's has changed since the last time I was there. My husband and I found that we wanted to try one of everything. He solved the problem by ordering The Conquistador, which has (get this...) a shredded beef brisket taquito, chicken flauta, Mama's Skinny enchilada, mini BBQ rib burrito, crispy beef taco and chicken breast fajitas meat taco. That's six items. And believe me, my husband got full from this dish. He talked about the state of his bloated stomach for a few hours following. But I'm confident it was worth it. Who can pass on getting stuffed at a good Mexican restaurant? Not I.
My selection was attractive to look at, but was a disappointment overall: the Fajita Salad Pepita. This salad consists of "Fresh romaine lettuce with marinated and mesquite-grilled steak or chicken breast fajita meat, a creamy cilantro dressing, anejo cheese, Pico de Gallo and roasted pumpkin seeds." I am a fan of salads, especially when they have loads of ingredients like this one has. However, I resent having to cut my salad, which can sometimes be quite a task. (Maybe that's my some salads are calorie burners...all the work you have to put into eating them.) I suppose a properly prepared salad for visual presentation does not have cut or shredded lettuce leaves, but having to cut the lettuce just leads to more mess on the table and less food in my stomach. I can see why Chili's Restaurant came up with those lettuce wraps because I was temped to eat this salad in the same way: using the leaves of lettuce as tortilla wraps. Oh, and I'm going to have to remember the name of the cheese that was on my salad - anejo cheese - because I want to be sure to avoid ordering any selection that has it on it. I found it to be bitter, bitter, bitter.
But on past occasion, I've been very pleased with the food at Don Pablo's. (And what I snuck off my husband's plate was great!) I've probably dined at Don Pablo's ten or twelve times, and I'll eat there plenty times more. I just won't get that salad and maybe stick with the more traditional dishes.