El Zarco Restaurant and Cantina, Grand View, WI., 6/4/21

El Zarco is on US Highway 63 in Grand View, WI. It offers “homestyle fresh Mexican Cuisine and hand crafted margaritas. “ They have been open 4 months in a building with 2 rooms, one of which is dominated by a pool table and bar and the other having a combination of tables and booths. The website said they open at 11:00 but the sign out front said noon however, the owner was kind enough to let us come in and start early. On weekends they open earlier and have brunch options. Inside are tile floors, wood ceiling, AC, music in the background and walls decorated with photos and memorabilia. Two TVs were in the bar area but both just streamed scenery visuals and they have free Wi-Fi. Talking with the owner he asked if it was our first visit and when we said yes he pulled out 3 flavors of tequila and said we were due a complimentary shot to welcome us. He was so nice and friendly it felt like we had been coming for years. I know I’ll be back.

We started with one of the hand-crafted margaritas with fresh-squeezed lime juice. We got to pick the tequila brand. It came with a nicely salted rim and was refreshing and delicious. Really tasty for just $6. They do have a full bar with beers and soft drinks.

Menu and Food

While we waited for our food he brought warm crisp chips and salsa. The salsa had a good flavor but was not spicy hot. The chips were fresh, not greasy and had good corn flavor.

Meal

First was the Quesadilla which is a 12” flour tortilla folded in half and filled with melted Mexican cheese. You can add beef or chicken but we just wanted cheese. It came with a green dipping sauce and crema (Mexican crème fraîche). He also brought out a tray of various hot sauces we could add to it. The tortilla was cooked perfectly, soft and moist and inside it was packed with gooey cheese. It was good alone or dipped in any of the sauces. It was a great size for 2 to split as an appetizer.

Next, we had a selection of Street Tacos. These come with your choice of marinated chicken or beef, lengua, or ground beef with onion and cilantro on a 4.5” corn or flour tortilla and served with a lime wedge. They were out of tongue so we got a selection of marinated meats and the day’s special, puerco al pastor or pork, on corn tortillas. They come out on the double soft tortillas covered with onions and cilantro alongside a bowl of green sauce. With a dot of some of the hot sauce they were all delicious with the green sauce. Chicken was our least favorite but all were filled with lots of flavor and freshness. We each got 3 and it was plenty to eat.