6B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ENTERTAINMENT
THURSDAY, NOV.15, 2001
FOOD REVIEW
Mexican eateries abound in town
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
Lawrence residents Julia and Matt Bellemere dine outside La Parrilla. La Parrilla features an outdoor patio where customers can eat while enjoying the sights and sounds of Massachusetts Street.
By Thomas Holland Jayplay writer
In the spirit of hardcore cuisine journalism, Thomas Holland, Jayplay writer and cuisine extrordinaire (requirement: being a college student), and his friends throw out the weekend and, purely for the sake of research, take a look at some of the Mexican restaurants in Lawrence.
La Parilla, Spanish for "the grill" is very different from the average dining experience. The award-winning restaurant places orders similar to fast food joints, but is then cooked on an open grill much like any restaurant, ensuring high quality production.
Co-owner Suba Bhattachan believes that La Parilla, 814 Massachusetts St., stands in a class of its own.
"What sets La Parilla apart from other restaurants in Lawrence is that we are authentic Southern American cuisine," Bhattachan said. "Other 'Mexican' restaurants in town really serve Tex-Mex. Our food is what you would find in Mexico today."
One of the better items on the menu is the Tequila Shrimp Taco meal.
"I don't know what exactly is in the sauce, but these tacos are great," said Jon Brubaker, Montville, N.J., freshman.
A more traditional Mexican restaurant is La Familia, 733 New Hampshire St. Located across the street from Borders, La Familia prides itself on its family-owned and operated tradition.
La Familia lets you seat yourself where you please, showing its unique approach to customer satisfaction. Upon your arrival, four different choices of salsa are available. For first-timers, the mild sauce is a good choice to begin with. The chips also need a bit of salt, but they are part of probably the best combo offered in Lawrence.
La Familia offers more than 50 combination platters that range in
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
price from $4.15 to $12.65. A good bet is #19. Melissa's special. It comes with a taco, bottana and enchilada—a little bit of everything for less than $7. The highlight of the Melissa is the enchilada. This combination of beef and cheese in a tortilla is perfectly cooked and fillin
Another Mexican restaurant worth checking out is El Mezcal. El Mezcal has two Lawrence locations, one on 23rd Street and another at 8th and Iowa streets.
Soaking up the atmosphere on the patio in front La Parrilla, 814 Massachusetts St., one can enjoy a variety of Latin American food, such as Tamales stuffed with pork and served with a side of rice.
The 23rd Street location is a unique building where the dining area is built to resemble a Spanish courtyard.
In the tradition of all-Mexican restaurants, chips and salsa are given before the meal. El Mezcal's salsa is by far the hottest of all the restaurants sampled.
The menu here is comparable to the others in terms of price. The menu prices are less than $8 for everything except jazitas. El Mezcal also offers lunch specials for less than $5. This is a great way to get a lot of food for your money at lunchtime.
What El Mezcal is probably most noted for is its drink specials. For $13.50 you can get 60 ounces of pure Margarita heaven. If you combine that with the
Guadalajara dinner special, you will have had the complete El Mezcal experience.
Coco Loco is a different setup all together. Although it offers a Mexican menu during the day, the bar is one of the biggest of all the restaurants combined.
The food is decently priced, and the menu has lunch specials that mix and match tacos, burritos and enchiladas. They range in price from $5 to $7.
Coco Loco also has a unique bar scene at nights that differs from other Mexican restaurants. The stage has a live band almost every Friday night that offers dancing.
It's kind of a weird mix, a bar and restaurant," said Kyle Leif, Sutton, Neb., sophomore. "It works for Raoul's Velvet room, but I don't know about this."
Carlos O'Kelley's is one of the lone national chain Mexican places in Lawrence.
Brubaker thought the food was decent for the money paid.
"You get enough food and it's worth the price," he said. "The enchiladas were great though, and I would get them again."
Contact Holland at 864-4810
news at the speed of light
in
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Thursday, November 15
7:30 p.m.
Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union
Free Admission
Professor Nagel is author of American Indian Ethnic Renewal:Red Power Resurgence of Identity and Culture
For more information contact the Hall Center at 864-4798 www.hallcenter.ku.edu
Weekly Specials Insert Thumbtack
Tear this out and pin it up all week so you'll never miss a special!
ASTROS
ASTROS
BADA BING
CADILLAC RANCH
COCO LOCO
EMERSON BIGGINS
HARBOUR LIGHTS
JACK FLANIGANS
JAYHAWK CAFE
L.P. STOUTS
$2.50 16oz. dom. bottles
$2.00 beers and wells Live dancing $1 big beers & $1double wells
$2.25 Dos Equis pints
$3 premium draft,
$3.50 frozen Margaritas
$.75 draws, $1.50 dom liters,
$2.25 almost anything.
JACK FLANIGANS
JAYHAWK CAFE
J.B. STOUTS
JET LAG LOUNGE
FRIDAY
$1.50 Bud / Lt bottles,
$2.00 180 & Bacardi
$3.75 pitchers
$2.99 big beers
$1.50 u-call-it, DJ & dancing, 1/2 price burgers
$1.50 big beers,
$2.00 wells
$1.50 Miller Draft Pints
$2.50 Miller Draft Draft Pints
$2.00 well drinks
$2.00 beers and wells Live dancing
$2.50 pitchers, $2 wells, retro night
2 for 1 Margaritas World Class Dance Party
$4.75 Biggin's size margarita on the rocks
$1.50 Miller High Life bottles,
$1.50 Miller Draft Pints
$2.50 Mirce Brew Draft Pints
$2.00 beers and wells Live dancing
OLD CHICAGO
RAOUL'S VELVET ROOM
SET EM UP JACK'S
$2.50 16oz. dom. bottle°
$1.50 Miller High Life bottles,
$3.00 22oz. Rolling Rocks
$1 anything
Great Specials Old Class Dance Party
$2 domestic bottles, $3 Captain/Jim Beam drinks
$3.00 Coronas
$2.00 Bud & Bud Light
pint draws
$1.50 import drafts
$3 Stoli drinks
105.9 Lazer Dance Party
$2.00 pints, $1.00 refills,
$1.50 wells
$2.00 Rolling Rock longnecks
$2.00 beers and wells Live dancing
$2 bloody marys/
screwdrivers
$3 Biggin's size Labatts draws
2 for 1 margaritas
$2.75 Long Island Ice Tea, free pool
$1 Busch & Miller Hi Life cans, $1.50 wells, $2.75 doubles, live music
SET EM UP JACK'S
$2.00 Red Bull & Vodka
Disco Dick
$2 domestic bottles
$1 dom draws, $1.50 micro draws,
$1.75 premium draws
$3.00 Biggin's size Shiner Bock
Ride the bus to ALL KU home games
Home football games
$2.00 Boulevard draft pints
S $2 Smirnoff ice / Twisters Dr. Zhivegas
$2.50 Jackaritas, $3.50 S. Hurricanes, DJ/Dancing
$5 pitchers, choose winning team = free dinner buffet
$2.00 Boulevards
$2.00 beers and wells Live dancing
$2 Wells
SIN Night, $1.50 Bud/Bud Lt.
Pints, Free Pool, DJ, Dancing
$2.25 Dom.Fat Boys
NASCAR party during race, $2 16oz draws Bud/Lt
$1.75 dom. bottles, $3.25 micro beer liters, $3.75 premium liters
$2.50 20 oz. Coors Lt
$3 Biggin's size Bud Lt.
$2.00 house wines, wells,
domestic beers
$1.50 Bud/Bud LT. pints
$6.95 margarita pitchers
$2 Coronaes, $.50 tacos
$1.50 big beers, $4.00 20oz
Long Island Iced Teas
$2 Margaritas & Coronas.
$1.50 25 oz. big beers
$2.00 beers and wells
Live dancing
$1 anything
No Cover for Ladies
$2.50 16oz Bud & Bud Lt bottles
$2.50 Boulevard Draft Pints
$2.25 Margaritas
$3.00 Martinis /
Cosmopolitans
Karaoke!
$2.50 20 oz. Miller Lt
$2 Mexican Beers
$2 big beers
$.25 wings
2 for 1 burgers and $2.00 domestic big beers
$1 anything!
$5 pitchers Bud & Bud Lt
$3 premium bottles, $2.75 call drinks, $4 double calls
$2.50 imports
2 for 1 on most drinks
$2.00 pints domestic and micros
Import night $2.00 import and micro beers
$2.00 Boulevard pints
$1.75 all Dom. Beer Bottles
$2.25 Rolling Rock and Captain Morgan drinks
$4 32oz Bud & Bud Lt,
$2.00 double calls.
$2.00 domestic bottles,
$.30 wings
Check out Kansan.com for more drink, food and entertainment specials with profiles of Lawrence's bars and restaurants.