Mexico City Grill
11653 Fishers Station Drive
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.mexicocitygrill.com

Saturday night brought me to a restaurant location that EatHSE has reviewed on this blog before, Mexico City Grill.  I have been to this restaurant several times before and always ordered the same thing, so I figured I would mix it up a bit this time and order something different and do a review.  I reiterate the chips and salsa part of his review, so I’ll just stick to what I got as my entree and here we go…

What I Got:  Pollo Loco; ~$9.50 (can’t remember the exact price and the menu is not posted online for me to verify).

My outstanding three years of Spanish in high school tells me that Pollo Loco loosely translates in English to “crazy chicken” so I was handed a seasoned and grilled chicken breast served with Mexican rice, lettuce, two avocado slices and pico de gallo.  Served on the side were three warm flour tortillas (not in the photo).  If you can’t tell in the picture, this chicken breast was pounded thin and when I say thin, I mean extremely thin.  Frankly, it was so thin that it was borderline comical and I’ve got to say that I was disappointed in how absurd it was.  I guess the thinness of this chicken breast was the loco part because no one in their right mind should pound a chicken breast that thin unless they are telling a joke.

I was disappointed in the flavor as well because while the seasoning was nice, the chicken breast was pounded so thin that it probably took about 7.3 seconds to grill and that was about 2.5 seconds too long because they dried this one out quickly.  When I was able to mix the chicken with the rest of the plate in a flour tortilla it was palatable, but once I ran out of tortillas and had to start eating just the chicken breast, I was pretty disappointed because not only was it dry, but it was also tough.  What a major, hardcore disappointment.

The remainder of the dish was pretty much standard stuff.  The avocado slices were nice and I always appreciate that and the rice, while fluffy did taste as if it was made in a big batch and then kept in a warmer tray for a long period of time.  Thankfully, it hadn’t dried out yet and was still flavorful with a bit of spice too it, but it was nothing to write home about.  The pico de gallo had a slight tang, but again, nothing to write home about.  All of this stuff wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either.  It just existed.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes to Mexico City Grill, but no specifically to the Pollo Loco dish.  I have had good meals at Mexico City Grill (the dish with seasoned pork chunks is my go-to dish, but I can’t remember the name and the lack of menu stops me from looking it up), so I’ll just stick to the stuff that I know well and like and not venture out again next time.  I know that there is a large seafood tortilla that my mom and her husband swear by too, so they do have good dishes here.  Unfortunately, I chose one of the dishes that is not one of those good ones.  Oh well, you live and learn.

-IndianapolisEater

The Roost
7371 East 116th Street
Fishers, Indiana  46038
http://www.sahms.com/index.php?cID=74

Some of my friends and I have started a tradition within the past couple years where we take it easy on New Year’s Eve and do our partying on New Year’s Day while watching football.  This past New Year’s Day was the second year that we have done that, so naturally after a day of adult beverages, I was feeling the need for a nice, greasy breakfast and that led me to meet my mom and her husband at The Roost in Fishers (part of the local Sahm’s restaurant group).  EatHSE has previously reviewed The Roost, so I felt that I should order something different from what he got so that we can get some blog review variety and that led me to…

What I Got:  Jose Salsa Skillet; $7.69.  ”Two poached eggs served over chorizo sausage, hash browns, fresh salsa, and topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.  Served with warm flour tortillas.”

You can’t really tell in my picture because of my expert photography skills and also the way the dish was constructed with everything piled in a skillet (I would estimate it was roughly eight inches in diameter), but I can confirm that all the ingredients listed in the menu description were in fact present.

In terms of taste, a lot of the ingredients were difficult to distinguish (the two different types of cheese, for example), but when all added together this was a tasty dish.  With my tortillas (think one large tortilla cut in half to make two), I made two breakfast “burritos” by scooping the contents of my skillet into each one.  When I bit into my homemade burrito, I immediately tasted the spice of the chorizo and being that spicy food does not affect me in the slightest bit most of the time, I rather enjoyed this little kick.  My next immediate taste was the salsa and I can’t confirm for sure, but I do believe The Roost’s claims that it was fresh because the tomatoes had a nice firmness to them and it felt like they added a little onion and cilantro into the salsa to add a little extra zing.  This was all topped off by the mix of eggs and potatoes and then topped by two gluttonous melted cheeses.  Basically, this was a comfort food classic treat with a hint of Mexican flair and after a long night of consumption, this is a nice mix.  My only complaint is that somehow this dish lacked a bit of salt (I’ve come to like my potato products to be extra salty), but a few shakes of the salt shaker quickly solved that problem.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, I would.  A lot of times breakfast can just be a compilation of bland foods thrown together and without the chorizo and salsa, I think this skillet would have fallen victim to that.  But, when you add in those two key components to bring an extra spice and zing to the dish, you really end up with a winner that I would recommend to anyone that can handle a little spice in their life.

-IndianapolisEater