Chapala

 Located on Hamilton Street in Spokane, (1801 N Hamilton St, to be exact,) this restaurant has been at this location for years.  It is near Gonzaga University and since we pass by often.  Well, tonight, we were in the mood for Mexican food, so we stopped by to see what was on their menu and how the restaurant has changed over the years.  We had been here long ago before it was painted bright yellow.




 

This is definately a colorful place, and I loved the murals painted on the walls...

The decorations were lively and festive.  With a separate lounge from the restaurant  you could tell that this was a place people come to have fun.  The sign outide says that they offer karaoke at 9:00 on Fridayand Saturday nights.  We were there on a Friday evening but it was only about 6:30, so we missed the karaoke fun.

 when we arrived we were seved the traditional chips and salsa.  THAT is the amazing thing about Mexican food eating... chips and salsa!  Yum.  The best part is that you can start eating as soon as you arrive hungy.  I love it.

Unfortunately for my taste the salsa was not very spicy, so I took the opportunity to ask if they had any other salsa, something with a little more kick.  They brought us a spicier salsa and some pico de gallo too.  Geo says that Pico de Gallo is to Mexican Food what Kim Chee is to Asian.  It was good.

 We ordered their daily special, which was two fish tacos with beans and rice for $10.95 and a combination dish from the menu... the one with the chile relleno and tamale... two of our favorites that we like to try.

The Chile relleno was good (this according the the chile relleno fiend himself... and the tamale was good too.  The best thing about the Chile Relleno was that it tasted freshly made as opposed to tasting like it was in the refridgerator too long, like some other places we have been. 

I thought the food was a little on the salty side, but it was good.   It gave me a new appreciation for eating Mexican food in Spokane, which kinda went by the wayside for a while after a couple of not so good Mexican food experiences in recent years. I do love Mexican food, especially good tamale, which I have decided, is pretty hard to find after you have had the best... which is, by the way, is in Phoenix Arizona.

What can I say....I love chips and salsa.... rice and beans....

I do love Mexican food, but quite frankly, a few times I have been places where it just wasn't very good.  However, I am learning that there really are some good Mexican food places and  I am beginning to get an appreciation for Mexican food, here in Spokane.I am just wondering where we should go next....