Chicken Chimichanga
It isn’t very often that I find a Mexican Restaurant that I really like so when I heard someone tell me about a little place in Cleveland that they thought was good, I had to try it for myself.
I invited my church pal Lounelle to lunch after service and we headed to Tres Hermanos in the heart of Cleveland. After a few wrong turns, we finally located the restaurant on Ocoee Street.
I was greatly impressed with the building. It was what I would imagine an old adobe building in Mexico would look like. From the way the restaurant was described to me, I had expected something more like a hole-in-the-wall, but this place seemed pretty nice and clean.
There was a pretty good-sized lunch crowd, but Lounelle and I were taken straight to a table. The host took our drink orders and we looked over our menus. I was trying to decide what to order for lunch, but was distracted by the larger than life mural on the wall I was facing of three hombres walking through a Mexican village.
I didn’t know who they were but I had a feeling those three must be the “tres hermanos” that the restaurant is named for.
Our waiter came to the table with bowls of chips and salsa and took our order. Lounelle asked for a grilled steak Chimichanga for $6.24. I was so enthralled by the painting I hadn’t really looked over the menu items and I quickly took a glance choosing the first thing that I saw- the Monterey Salad for $7.24.
I noticed right away that the chips were warm. I don’t know if they were freshly-made or just reheated, but they were nice and crisp and the salsa was chunky and tasted homemade. It was also pretty spicy - just the way I like it! Lounelle tried a bite, but said it was too spicy for her (my stomach is older than hers and I guess more seasoned).
It wasn’t long before the waiter brought our meals. He sat a giant plate in front of Lounelle filled with rice and vegetables and a chimichanga overflowing with steak and toppings. I believe the chimichanga was bigger than she was and I knew she would need a box!
Then he placed my plate in front of me. It looked and smelled wonderful. The light and crispy tortilla bowl was warm and full of rice, chicken and steak and was topped with grilled mushrooms, peppers and onions.
It didn’t take long for us to dig in to our mouthwatering lunch. Lounelle immediately told me how good her chimichanga was …except for the guacamole that she felt was a little bland. When I take people on my jaunts who don’t go with me often, I think they feel the need to give me something more than, “this is delicious.”
I listened to Lounelle talk while I ate my salad. As she gave her commentary, I didn’t even jot down everything she said because I was too busy enjoying my meal!
My tortilla bowl was filled to the brim with chicken and steak. I was surprised with how much meat they put in it. I have been to places where they skimp and use ‘filler’ (giving you more of the cheap stuff like an overabundance of rice) but not this place! They weren’t stingy with their meat or the vegetables and oh the cheese! The grilled vegetables were cooked to perfection. They weren’t flimsy or overcooked and they had an incredible flavor.
I ate as much as my stomach could hold, but it was just too much to finish. Lounelle was still busy trying to elucidate on her meal which struck me funny because …how much can a person say about a chimichanga? She is gonna be mad at me when she sees that I only relayed a little of what she said, but I couldn’t help it – I like my meat hot and I wasn’t going to write every little thing down. Let’s just say Lounelle’s chimichanga was remarkable (even though I left out her remarks).
I will say though, that we were both pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and how it was prepared. This place is definitely worth trying if you are out their way.
Hours:
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Monterey Salad