…Patrón Mexican Grill (Monroeville)

I love…and hate…being busy.

I am way, WAY more productive when I’m busy – probably because I waste less time when I have more things to do.  I like to get things done as efficiently and quickly as I can without risking quality, so the less time I have to waste, the more that gets done (and done well).

October definitely has to be the busiest month of the year for me – May is a close second, though.  October is a month of working at Kennywood for Fright Nights, high school football games (Go Titans!), pumpkin patch visits, and the penultimate holiday – Halloween.

This October is no exception.  Between teaching, Kennywood, and football alone, my weekends are booked, with the exception of Sundays – and last Sunday was my trip to Triple B; this Sunday, I’m going to the Steeler game…it seems like I never have a free day.  Even tomorrow, after working at Kennywood until 1 AM and having to work again at 6:30 PM, in between I am doing the South Side Step Trek – walking 2700 steps, along with touring other South Side venues.

Thank goodness for coffee.

I have been concerned about finding time to visit restaurants this month – which is why I was relieved that my brother called me on Wednesday, asking if I wanted to go to Monroeville with him so that he could complete some errands for his trip to Disney World the next day.  In addition, he said that he wanted to go to Patrón for dinner.

He knows me so well.

I had been hearing about Patrón for awhile now, as several of my friends have gone there.  Rumor has it that their Wexford location is better than their Monroeville location, but I’ll take what I can get – Wexford is a bit of a drive from the ‘Miff for an impromptu dinner.

 

Walking into Patrón feels like walking into a redecorated Chili’s – after all, it used to be a Chili’s.  Host stand and bar straight ahead, restrooms in the section to the right, booths and tables set up the same way…but…the chairs, tables, and booths were not plain at all.  They all had things painted or decorated on them – chili peppers, Aztec symbols, exotic birds – there was plenty to see (and all vibrantly colored).  The wait staff was all Hispanic, and our waiter had a very thick accent. 

I ordered a lime Jarritos (traditional Hispanic soft drink) and a water for my beverages, and we were immediately served chips and salsa.  The chips were obviously not made fresh, as they were very uniform and not at all warm, and the salsa was served in a small carafe with individual bowls for both my brother and I.  We each poured salsa into our bowls and tried it with the chips.

 

My brother immediately commented that the salsa was too onion-y.  I tried it again, and made this comparison: you know how McDonald’s hamburgers have those chopped up onions on them?  And then they mix with the ketchup on the burger?

Yeah.  That’s what this salsa tasted like.  Onions and ketchup.  I still ate a boatload of chips and salsa, because I was starving (and I like onions, unlike my brother).  

 
For my meal, I ordered the “Special Santa Fe”, which included a chalupa, taco, chile relleno, tamale, enchilada, rice, and beans.  I thought it was a good “sampler” to get an idea of what each of their entrees would contain.  I didn’t realize that I was ordering a double meal!  It was only $14.99, but SO MUCH FOOD that it had to be brought out on two separate plates.

Tamale, enchilada, rice, beans (bottom left of the rice is where it tasted nutmeg-y)

Taco, chalupa, chile relleno (and good guac!)

 

My brother ordered the “Enchilada Mexicanas” with beef, which was $5.00 less than my meal (and he ate most of it, by the way).

Enchiladas Mexicanas (beef with red and green sauce)

 

I sampled each food, because I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to eat all of it, but I made sure to eat my taco and chalupa, since those would not reheat well.  I was glad that the cheese was queso fresco, since that is an authentic Mexican cheese, but my taco and chalupa were not exactly anything to rave over.  They were a bit bland, to say the least.  I was happy with my chile relleno, enchilada, and tamale, so I decided to save those as leftovers (which I just ate for dinner at Kennywood before typing this post, and they were just as good reheated!)

I was most intrigued by the rice – when I tried it, there was a distinct flavor – almost like nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice – that I could taste in the one section of rice.  Strange, yes.  However, whatever anomaly this was, I welcomed, as the rice itself was also bland.

My brother wasn’t thrilled about the red sauce on his enchiladas, but he liked the green sauce better.  I asked to try the green sauce, because it looked an awful lot like the green sauce on enchiladas that I had so often during my visit to Mexico 12 years ago.

And you know what?  I’m surprised that I remember this, but it tasted just like that green sauce, too.

I wasn’t totally disappointed with my visit to Patrón, since some things reminded me of foods that I ate in Mexico, but it could have been better.  I really want to see how the Wexford location compares, since I’ve heard such great things about it…

…perhaps when I have time.  And if I’m driving that far, sometime after I try The Franklin Inn…

Patrón Mexican Grill  
245 Mall Boulevard
Monroeville, PA 15146
 
Website: http://www.patronmexgrill.com (currently expired; pending renewal?)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Patron-Mexican-Grill/146845855334126

 

...Gran Agave

Everything’s relative. 

Albert Einstein was a genius for saying that.  Well, Albert Einstein was a genius, period.  However, those two words are true even without his scientific knowledge.

You may think that what you once had was fantastic – until you have something that is even mind-blowingly better.  One of the greatest quotes I’ve ever heard is, “What if what I think is great, really is great – but not as great as something…greater.”

Oh, that Matthew McConaughey.  That quote is from “The Wedding Planner”.  Not exactly a cinematic marvel, but great wisdom, nonetheless.

I think that if I had eaten at Gran Agave when it first opened, or even before I started this project, I would have thought that it was great.  The prices are reasonable, and you get a lot – a LOT – of food for what you pay.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the food itself. 

My mother talked my brother into taking me to dinner on my birthday, since we were not celebrating as a family until the weekend.  He asked me where I wanted to go, with the request that we not travel too far from The ‘Miff.  Of course, my mind is always on eating somewhere “authentic”, so I tried to think of someplace that wasn’t too far, but still related to this blog.  Where to go…where to go…?

Oh yeah!  I still hadn’t tried Gran Agave, and it’s at The Waterfront!  10 minute drive!

I was met with some resistance, however, since as it turns out, my brother had eaten at Las Velas for lunch (Ugh!  So jealous!), and Mexican food twice in one day could be a dangerous situation for his stomach.  But, it was my birthday, so off we went.

The great thing about Gran Agave’s location is that there is ample parking.  We parked in the big lot behind Barnes & Noble and walked over.  We were seated right away and were given menus.

Holy cow.  There was a LOT on the menu!

And then I looked over to my right – 2 former students at a table not far away.  I waved, said hi noted the coincidence of running into the Spanish teacher at a Mexican restaurant, and continued to peruse the menu, all while chomping on the chips and salsa, which were pretty good.

My brother had heard that the queso sauce for the chips was really good, so we ordered that to go along with our chips.  I had decided to go with the Mole Poblano, which, if you recall, is what I ordered at Las Velas when I went (I’m obsessed with mole now.)  My brother thought that the Enchiladas del Barrio sounded interesting, since they were enchiladas topped with…a steak – an entire steak.

We waited for our food, still eating the chips and salsa….and wondering where our queso was.  Minutes passed….more minutes passed….

Then out came our meals.  No queso.  My brother was not a happy camper.

Like I mentioned earlier, you get a LOT of food with your meal.  Tons of rice, beans, and chicken in mole sauce, lettuce…only one piece of tomato, though, and only 3 homemade corn tortillas.  Oh, and guac – yay, guac!

My brother had to dig under that steak for his enchiladas.  He had no idea where to start, but he found them eventually.

After eating for a few minutes, I asked my brother what he thought about his food.  I know what I thought about mine, but I was curious to see how he felt, especially since he had had Mexican food earlier in the day.  Amazingly, we both agreed.

Meh.

The food wasn’t terrible.  It could have been much worse.  However, the flavor of my mole in no way compared to the flavor of the mole at Las Velas.  I ate it all, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was disappointed.

My brother said that his enchiladas didn’t have a lot of flavor, either – the steak was the best part of his meal.  He ate the steak, and could not finish about half of the enchiladas since he had eaten a big lunch – and he didn’t even want to take them home.

Luckily for our waiter, when the bill came, the forgotten queso was not on the bill – it was originally, but it was scratched out, since it was never brought to us.  My brother was ready to scream if it was on there; however, our waiter never acknowledged that he forgot about our queso, which caused his tip to suffer. 

Overall, Gran Agave is close, reasonable, and authentic, but there are much better options in the area.  It counts toward the extra credit, but trust me – what you think is great isn’t as great as something greater…but you won’t know until you venture outside of the area yourself.

Gran Agave

152 East Bridge St.

Homestead, PA 15120

Web (picture of menu available): http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/23/1505587/restaurant/Pittsburgh/Waterfront/Gran-Agave-Homestead