Escondidos Restaurant - Freehold, NJ

Posted by Chewru Guru

September 19, 2007

Escondido’s Restaurant
Freehold, NJ
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Price: $34 (Two - Tip Included)
Meal: Lunch

A buddy and I hit up Escondido’s for lunch yesterday. Since I’m a big fan of Mexican food, would it hit the spot?

Escondido’s has a fairly simple and straightforward exterior. It did have a medium-sized area to eat outside, but there weren’t many (at least that I noticed) fun things like murals, Mexican flags, or hanging lights to put you in the mood that you’re eating in the barrio. The inside, however, was right on target. It has a neat, not obnoxious, brightly-colored interior with spanish music playing at a reasonable volume. We were told to seat ourselves and within a minute the waitress took our drink order.

The waitress came back with our drinks (my Michelob Ultra was just $3.25) and a nice basket of tortilla chips. The salsa, unfortunately, was pretty flat and I almost wished I brought a bottle of something from the store. It didn’t have a lot of flavor and seemed on the heavy side. The chips, though, were warm, crispy, and we happily took a second basket (at no extra cost).

I ordered the seafood enchilada with refried beans and rice. The beans were terrific and the rice wasn’t bad, so I had high hopes for the main course. It looked great - with a creamy white sauce covered on top of the shrimp and crabmeat-filled soft tortillas. Their taste, however, was a bit dry and the sauce didn’t do a whole lot besides add moisture and perhaps some aesthetic appeal. They had a noticeably fishy aftertaste which surprised me considering that shrimp and crabmeat aren’t two things I’d expect to have a strong smell. I’ve had plenty of seafood enchiladas elsewhere, and I can say in fairness that these were simply okay.

I asked my buddy how his burrito was, and he echoed that it too was “not too bad, but not great”. I think we both left with a sense that a place like this should have been a lot better.

Pros:

- Fun interior and atmosphere
- Very nice, fast service
- Decent prices for domestic bottles

Cons:

- Salsa was forgettable
- Main courses only ‘middle of the road’

Our Score: 2.5 Chews

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