Friday, January 14, 2011

Amigo's Bar and Grill

Amigo's Bar and Grill
131 Margaret St, Toowoomba



Last night was my first ever Friday in a long, long time where I didn't have to work the next morning. I've been doing Saturdays since high school and as a result, have never really experienced the sheer relief people get after calling it a day after Friday is over.



Yesterday, it finally came and boy, was it good.


We decided to head into town for dinner and as is usual for me, we didn't have a clear goal. After rejecting a few establishments for being too posh (not enough of a party vibe), we settled with Mochi's suggestion of Amigo's. I don't know about you but to me, there is no cuisine more celebratory than Mexican.


My past experiences of Mexican food have mostly been confined to Montezumas, much to the criticism of everyone I've told. It was good to try something different.

Margaret Street in Toowoomba is still relatively quiet after the floods this week. We walked past a lot of dead restaurants and cafes before stopping at Amigo's and thinking 'yup, this will do'. It was comparatively rich with diners and the festive atmosphere poured out onto the street.

We were seated immediately and told the specials. I wasted no time in ordering a jug of sangria. We then sat back and inspected the menu.

The menu contains the usual Mexican dishes including burritos, fajitas and so on. However, the scope of food extended beyond these familiar terms and I saw ribs, buffalo wings, burgers and lots of seafood options.

I was contemplating sharing some starters but Mochi warned me that the servings were large. We ended up choosing a main each.


Jug of sangria

Our sangria came promptly. One jug pours about 4 glasses. It was a light, fruity sangria... not very alcohol-heavy but nice as a Summer refreshment. I always find the heavy sangria mixes to be too much like mulled wine. This one was more sweet.

Strawberry margarita

The food took a while to arrive so I had time for another round of drinks. I chose a strawberry margarita. To me, it resembled more of a daiquiri though I'm not complaining because it was tasty enough.

Texan Bliss

Byron also chose a Texan Bliss. We don't know what was in it but there was mango. It tasted very floral and also quite sweet.

Lamb and beef fajita filling

Mochi got a fajita as main. You can chose from a variety of meat and she went with lamb and beef, half and half. The meat came on a sizzling plate and reminded me of Mongolian sizzling lamb.

Fajita sides - Texas BBQ sauce, warm tortillas, sour cream, salsa and guacamole

On the side was some warm tortillas, sour cream, guacamole and salsa to wrap the meat. I tried a bit of the lamb... nice flavor but slightly dry/tough.

Texan grazer - buffalo wings, mini chimmi's and BBQ ribs served on a bed of seasoned rice with salad, salsa and sour cream

Mine was the Texan grazer, which is a sampler of a few of their specialties. The buffalo wings and ribs were good... very tender and saucy but too sweet for me. Byron liked them though. We both enjoyed the mini chimmi's. They're small tortilla wraps that have a crispy exterior and cheesy, saucy interior. I'm not a fan of rice on any occasion and this seasoned rice didn't change my opinion on that. I tried the salad last and it was perfectly refreshing after the heaviness of the rest of the plate.

Chicken burrito - with buffalo sauce, cheese, sour cream, served on rice and bean with salad and corn chips

Byron ordered the chicken burrito. He didn't have much to say about it on the night, other than to comment on the large serving size and "can't believe I finished that" but today, he was carrying on about how he could've done a better job at home. Well, that was his opinion so I'm putting it out there but I tried a bit and didn't think it was too bad.

I thought the service at Amigo's was great and it added to the pleasant, festive atmosphere. That was probably my favorite aspect of this restaurant (though the huge servings hit the spot too) and it's so important for a Mexican restaurant to portray that.

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